Quick: When was the last time you visited a bookstore that just sold books?
If you live in any of Canada’s major markets, then chances are your most recent trip in search of the Oprah-approved novel of the month also involved sipping cappuccino, test-driving a new software title and flipping through the latest world music selections on CD – all under one roof.
Book retailing will never be the same again. And if Color Your World has its way, you’ll one day say the same about paint stores.
From its inception, the Color Your World chain – owned by Concord, Ont.-based paint manufacturer ICI Canada – has sold paint and wallpaper. Period. Now, the company has decided to tap the do-it-yourself interior design craze by relaunching itself as a retailer of home decorating solutions.
Paint and paper has traditionally been a male preoccupation, says Lyndsay Walter-Hiduk, retail director for Color Your World. But the current enthusiasm for home décor is driven primarily by women in the 25-49 age group. So how does a heretofore male-focused retailer go about cross-dressing, as it were?
According to Walter-Hiduk, Color Your World has borrowed elements from a number of female-targeted retail categories – from clothes and cosmetics to bed and bath products – to devise a strategic approach that will appeal to fashion-conscious consumers. In its new incarnation, the store’s mission will be to help people turn their homes into expressions of their own personalities.
The store’s new image, she says, grew out of extensive research, in which consumers were asked: What would make an ideal decorating store? The resulting concept is called the ‘Color Your World Decorating Centre.’
To date, only one store in Toronto has been made over in this manner, but there are plans to rejuvenate two more by July.
In order to turn the Color Your World Decorating Centre into a one-stop-shopping experience, the company has added floor and window treatments to its traditional paint and wallpaper offerings. But the expanded product range is only part of the equation, Walter-Hiduk says. The store interior has been upgraded as well, with a view to making customers comfortable enough to stay and browse a while.
‘We’re warming it up significantly,’ she says. Big wooden tables, for example, have been added so that customers can sit and flip through home décor magazines and books for inspiration.
Another new feature is the how-to section, which was inspired in part by the ever-popular makeup testing areas found at cosmetic counters. In this area, customers can try out various techniques such as faux-finishing before attempting them at home.
In the past, Color Your World’s drawing card was its stunning range of choices in paint colours – some 6,500 in all. But in this age of big-box retailing, Walter-Hiduk says, consumers are no longer impressed by such numbers. In fact, too much choice can be overwhelming for the time-pressed shopper.
‘The demands of customers have changed,’ she says. ‘They need convenience, and they don’t have a lot of time.’ With this in mind, the retailer has organized its array of colour choices into a simple four-group system that emphasizes the personality and mood of the colours.
Sales associates, all of whom will have taken the company’s 32-hour ‘Language of Colour’ design program, will walk the customer through the system to determine which of the four colour mood groups – Warm, Fresh, Vibrant or Calm – best suits his or her personality.
Once the colour possibilities have been narrowed down to a cohesive range, a customer can choose other design elements elsewhere in the store that carry that particular group’s symbol. (A sun, for example, identifies the ‘Warm’ colours.)
Color Your World has also developed ‘idea cards’ – postcards featuring décor examples based on each of the four moods – to help customers further narrow down their choices. To promote the new store, oversized versions of these cards were mailed out to past customers, accompanied by an invitation to come and check out the changes.
GeneratorIdeaWorks, the promotional arm of Toronto-based BBDO Canada, handles all of the chain’s advertising and promotion. Gavin Roth, account manager with the agency, says that the new Color Your World tag line – ‘Inspirations for your home’ – has now been added to all of the retailer’s national advertising, in newspaper and on radio.
The relaunch is also being promoted through the company’s branded home décor magazine, Color, which has been mailed out to potential customers across the country.
Walter-Hiduk describes Color Your World’s new attitude as ‘totally customer-obsessed.’ In addition to colour consultation, the store offers free in-store seminars and complimentary house calls. (All customers have to do is dial a 1-800 number to set up an appointment for a consultant to visit their home, with samples. The consultant can take measurements, make estimates and place orders.)
Color Your World is also encouraging store managers to become more involved in the community, she says, and to form strategic alliances with local retailers that address other home décor needs, such as linen or bed and bath stores.
Also in this report:
– For the love of a good book: Indigo founder Heather Reisman couples a passion for the written word with a determination to inspire, inform and indulge the reading public p.B3
– Retailers feel the power of branding: After decades of price and product advertising, retail clients are finally coming to believe in the value of a solid brand image p.B4
