By Maggie Callahan
A trip to Nike’s newly opened flagship on Fifth Avenue in New York City is a futuristic, tech-immersive experience. Covering six floors, the almost 50,000-square-foot store features interactive displays, an instant checkout option
This unique trend of experiential retail has been growing as retailers search for creative incentives to get shoppers off their computers and into brick-and-mortar stores. And while this experience creates excitement for the shopper, it also brings a new depth to the facilities manager’s role. Shawn Browning, a Territory Facility Manager for Nike, was deeply involved with the newest store since its planning stages began almost three years ago. She was
Browning said that the new experiential retail does not necessarily give the facilities managers new roles, but the current jobs all become a bit more elaborate and bring new considerations.
“The focus of the facilities managers will be on implementing, executing and maintaining experiential elements of retail stores,” she said. “We have new partnerships, new opportunities and new learning to do.”
New Considerations
For example, a lot of the technology in Nike’s new store is digital — like large monitors and large screens showing commercials and videos, new computer systems, iPads
“We have to compensate with additional cooling and ventilation to keep that beautiful, innovative and engaging digital equipment operational when we need it,” she said.
Experiential retail may include more state-of-the-art store fixtures, which can also be more complex to maintain. Browning dealt with this firsthand when she was learning about the foam seating option chosen for the Fifth Avenue store.
“It’s very comfortable, very innovative and cool to look at, but we found out through conversations with many vendors and team members that we had to special order a cleaning product from Sweden to clean the seating,” she added.
Crucial Vendor Relationships
Ensuring a smooth operation before and after opening comes down to frequent communication with vendors, especially because the web of vendor relationships is more complex with experiential retail.
“It’s exciting, but it’s concerning,” she said. “There are more new vendor relationships in this Nike store than at any other 100 stores in North America put together. So, I flew out to meet vendors face-to-face and to make eye contact with them. I wanted them to understand how important our relationship is going to be, the impact they make and the importance of our communication.”
Rethinking the Budget
Because of this store’s high profile and high visibility status — with planned appearances by athletes and other celebrities — Browning increased the budget on the preventative maintenance side.
“It has the most robust, most thorough preventative maintenance plan — from HVAC, to vertical transportation, to janitorial,” she said. “I’m trying to get to things before they become an issue.”
Experiential Experience
Browning offered a few tips for any FM involved in the launch of an experiential store:
Immediately begin communicating with all team leaders, especially the design team. “Depending on how much time you have, schedule weekly or monthly meetings with the team,” she said. And make sure you know your audience. “If I’m talking to designers, I’m going to come with pictures and a PowerPoint to get in front of them and provide pictorial communication.”
Contact vendors early and often. “Send an introduction email and give them your expectations, and then, ideally, meet them on-site. Connect the manufacturers and designers with the vendors who will be maintaining the fixture in the long-term, and make sure they understand the importance of the partnership,” she said. Also, anticipate any questions, like what cleaning supplies to use, the frequency of cleaning or what not to do. “Set them up for success,” Browning said. “It makes them look good, makes me look good, and, most importantly, our store’s team and our product
Keep a sense of humor. “Try to not let things get to you, and try to see things from another point of view,” she added. “As long as I’m trying to communicate effectively to my audience, we’ll all be a success.”
This forward thinking by FMs will be integral for this retail trend. While a beautiful design is an important start, implementing the designs and ensuring these retail experiences stay up, running and successful in any store will not be possible without FMs.
