20529 - INNOVATIVE RETAIL DESIGN

In order to optimize the learning process during the Innovative Retail Design course, students are recommended to have taken a basic Marketing and/or Management course during their Bachelor of Science program.

The course is designed to develop a specific knowledge about in-store marketing and visual merchandising main trends and issues. The rise of new communication artifacts in today’s multichannel context means that the store needs to transform its role and its methods for interacting with both costumers and producers. The store has to offer value through proactive interaction with its customers, because value in the store visit lies in the living an experience, regardless of making a purchase. The store has to be considered not only a tool to reach the final markets but also a new way for brand positioning and developing brand equity. The course is based on three basic processes: store dynamics, store experience, store design planning process. It has three principal objectives: • provide the students with a comprehensive understanding of how a retail store works both technically and culturally. • help the students to develop a comprehension of the management and analysis of a retail store. • teach actual tendencies in store design and visual merchandising, encouraging the students to develop an analytic and innovative approach to future innovation at the retail point. This course presents conceptual models, managerial methods, practical tools and real world examples concerning some key retail management decisions.

After a full immersion in the dynamics of visual merchandising and store management, the student will use theory and methods for observing and understanding store experience. After an attentive analysis of the transformation of the individual derived through observation, the students (in groups) will re-define the buying process and its meaning. In a final project applied to a specific area of retail, each group will create a store concept and strategy, indicating possible transformations to the buying process. 

In short, the topics discussed during the course include:

• The store as a tool to communicate, consolidate the brand equity, maximize space productivity.
• The store design planning process.
• The space experienced, the space perceived, the ideal space.
• Social interaction vs privacy
• The reaction to the ambient
• Visual merchandising aims and tools.
• Visual merchandising and communication outside of the store.
• Visual merchandising and communication inside of the store.

Acquire advanced knowledge related to:

• Issues of strategic retailing and scenario analyses, in particular:
  • The new role of the store as a communication tool adding value to the brand and the store identity.
  • The store design planning process.
  • The behavior of shoppers in terms of space experienced, space perceived and ideal space.
• Issues of operational and tactical retailing, in particular:
  • Processes of configuration and management of store atmosphere.
  • Methods of in-store communication management.
  • Methodologies and tools for managing visual merchandising.

1. Apply acquired knowledge related to issues of strategic retailing and scenario analyses, in order to:

• Work out strategic marketing analysis to support innovative retailing decisions.
• Identify the key factors that influence shoppers emotions and purchasing behaviors, as well as apply various research methodologies to them.
• Develop a retail innovation project to take advantage of the opportunities related to the development of omnichannel retailing.

2. Apply acquired knowledge related to issues of operational and tactical retailing, in order to:

• Define store positioning, its elements, assess store image, store identity and implement actions of in-store brand equity.
• Manage in-store communication.
• Plan the store atmosphere from external communication, to internal design, layout and display.

• Face-to-face lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Company visits
• Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
• Group assignments

In addition to one-on-one lectures, the course includes:

• One or more guest speeches by managers from retail and/or brand companies aimed at better understanding the main trends in the retail sector and how visual merchandising and/or in-store brand equity are applied as well as the relationships among clients-products-space.
• A group assignment that consists of creating an innovative project for a concept at the distribution level.

Attending status is envisaged with the constraint imposed by Bocconi University of the 75% attendance threshold to assign the attending status to a student, because the interaction between class, professor and managers is an essential condition for learning.  

The online attendance cannot be counted for the purpose of allocating ‘attending’ status.

Attendance recording will be always activated at the beginning of the lesson.

Attending student status will be valid for all three exam sessions of the Academic Year.

The course requires attending students (attendance: 75% in class) to:

1) answer a written exam based on the course materials; it will not cover face-to-face and video testimonials.

The written exam grade will count for 40% of the final grade.

The written exam is mainly aimed at verifying learning of the analytical and management abilities and their correct comprehension. 

In order to pass the exam, the grade must be equal or above 18/30 

The maximum grade possible will be 31/30

The format and maximum points of the questions will be:

·      open questions (essay - max 4 points)

·      multiple-choice (2 points)

·      true or false (1 point)  

2)  prepare a group project on store innovation in English based on requisite put forth in class.

The project grade will count for 60% of the final grade.  

The project consists of developing an innovative store concept and planning visual merchandising and in-store communication to enhance customer value.

It must involve several areas of innovation. These areas will be presented in detail at the launch along with the assessment criteria.

The field project will be used to verify the ability of students to apply the knowledge developed during the course and assess the ability to apply methods for observing and understanding store experience and planning an innovative store concept, indicating possible transformations to the buying process.

Evaluation criteria:

·      method followed (analysis, process, results)

·      proposed solutions (creativity, innovation, coherence)

·      document graphics (user-friendly, clarity, organization, editing)

·      in-class presentation (synthesis, clarity, interest evoked)

The assessment method for non-attending students is based on a final exam in written form. It is made up of open and/or closed answers questions referring to the concepts and models contained in the course materials. The exam will not cover face-to-face and video testimonials.

The open and/or closed answers questions are aimed at verifying learning of the analytical and management abilities and their correct comprehension, and at assessing the ability to apply the knowledge students learned when studying the course materials.

In order to pass the exam, the grade must be equal or above 18/30.

The maximum grade possible will be 31/30.

The format and maximum points of the questions will be:

• open questions (essay - max 4 points)
• multiple-choice (2 points)
• true or false (1 point)

K. ZAGHI, Visual Merchandising, In-store Communication to Enhance Customer Value, Egea, 2018: chapters 4-5-6-7.

K. ZAGHI, Visual Merchandising, In-store Communication to Enhance Customer Value, Egea, 2018.