Book smarts

Book smarts
Borders' first concept store transforms the idea of what a bookstore can be

By Jessie Bove, Associate Editor
June 01, 2008

Laszlo Regos Photography, Berkley, Mich.

Imagine an industry where your major competitors are selling the same product at the same time, really at the same price, and also at the same corner that you are," suggests Ken Nisch, chairman of Southfield, Mich.-based JGA Inc., describing the challenges bookstores face. "And what does that leave you left with as a competitive tool? It's going to be your marketing and brand positioning, your retail experience and then your relationship with your customers." It was this relationship that Borders saw as one of the key components to incorporate into its new 28,900-sq.-ft. concept store, which was unveiled on Feb. 22 in the company's headquarters city of Ann Arbor, Mich. The store is the first of 14 the company expects to open nationwide this year.

Partnering with Borders for the first time, JGA and the retailer's in-house design team worked together during the 18-month reinvention process, where Borders retooled everything from merchandising to new product categories. A logical step during the reinvention was to create a new concept—one that would mesh the digital and traditional worlds for a unique, cross-channel experience. "We were really trying to move the needle from being just a seller of books, CDs and DVDs, and take it to another level," explains George Jones, CEO of Borders, who joined the company in 2006 with a vision to create a headquarters for knowledge and entertainment.

Borders especially wanted to differentiate itself from competitors, and look at the business in a broader way. "When you think about some of the products we carry and the transition that product is taking—we have a business that's changing in the way it's being delivered and the way customers are looking for it," says Jill Lyon, vice president, store planning, visual presentation and construction, Borders. "Now, customers are deciding when, where and what format they are getting these products. We had to take a traditional design, say for CDs, and ask how customers are to access this product in the future."

The concept began with the idea of looking at the store being about readers, versus purely authors, Nisch explains. "I think it's a fairly radical breakthrough," he adds. "Most stores are thinking of the book as primarily a commodity, and now Borders is looking at readers—and readers have lifestyles and interests and needs." Playing off its readers' needs, the new concept store is organized quite radically compared to a traditional bookstore, with more cross merchandising, themed tables and endcaps, and new categories. Self-help and yoga are now grouped together, whereas previously self-help might have been next to psychiatric diseases and yoga might have been in the same category as baseball.

The new concept features a bolder, more modern façade with large windows, an illuminated and underlined red Borders logo, and a louvered construction that evokes images of the pages of a book. A café with an adjoining outdoor seating area features dramatic uplighting and exterior fixtures. The interior elements include curved feature tables; special illuminated stands; large, illuminated drums suspended from the ceiling that feature graphics and guide customers; and a large, round rotunda with three skylights. The warm, neutral color scheme is accented by cozy seating, and walnut- and ash-stained fixtures.

Another difference in the new concept is the organic, flowing layout, which makes the store seem both larger and more intimate at the same time. "If you think of bookstores in particular, they tend to be books between aisles, so the aisles have a circulation pattern and the merchandising areas are sort of those areas that aren't aisles," Nisch explains. "This store's a bit radical in that the aisles are the areas between the merchandising spaces. So when you walk into the store…you're really guided through the [space] with a series of focal points or destinations."

These new destinations, or "best life" categories, include areas such as travel, cooking, wellness and children's. The store has put a strong focus on these popular categories by incorporating the online world, creating interactive destinations where customers can not only shop for books, but also take advantage of computer kiosks featuring recommendations from expert buyers, related video content including interviews with experts and authors, and more. In addition, select categories feature large in-section LCD screens broadcasting section-specific content, as well as Borders' own exclusive programs. The concept store also has included a specific community space with a "pull-down" stage to accommodate everything from local book discussion groups and music performances to national author signings and children's events.

In the "best life" areas, Nisch says the goal was to bring the pages to life. Essentially, the store draws its architectural and visual elements out of books. "It takes the books beyond the cover and the pages and actually makes those part of the environment," he notes. Additionally, serpentine tables draw customers in and guide them through the different areas. Overall, the layout encourages exploration with intuitive navigation.

Jones emphasizes that original Borders superstores are enjoyed by customers, evidenced by research that the average customer spends about an hour in the store per visit. "This wasn't something that was broken from the standpoint that people didn't want to spend time in our stores," he points out. "We don't sell anything they have to have—they're there on their own valuable free time because they enjoy it and want to be there. So we start off from the fact that customers like our stores, and we wanted to retain what they liked—the store should be welcoming and comfortable."

In addition to retaining the original stores' charm, the company wanted to add exciting new dimensions as well, including more technology presented in an accessible and comfortable way, targeting less technologically experienced customers. Part of this incorporation involved Borders reclaiming its e-commerce business, which had previously been licensed out to Amazon.com for the past seven years. The e-commerce site is visible and easily accessible in the form of interactive kiosks, a new Digital Center and more. Contrary to the practice of some retailers keeping e-commerce sites separate from their bricks-and-mortar presence, Borders wants one to drive the other and vice versa. "We think that if you discover more, you're going to get more repeat visits, and it's going to build customer loyalty," Jones says.

The new Digital Center is marked by a 3-D, 15-ft. illuminated fixture and sign package, and houses multiple computer kiosks and stations dedicated to new services. Staffed with trained personnel, the Digital Center allows customers to mix and make their own custom CDs, download books and music, publish their own books, explore their family history and create photo books. Borders has also retained its computer information stations—"Borders Search"—to help customers locate titles and learn about in-store events, among other services.

Another part of the interactive component is a new concept called brand ambassadors—areas where customers interact with Borders as a company, such as at the kiosks, the cashwrap and the Borders Recommends area, among other places. "Rather than using the Borders red branding color as a cosmetic or architectural element, we really focused on using it on the places where you have a call to action," Nisch says. "The bookstore environment is a very visually rich environment and part of what this did was pop these elements out of that usual texture. It makes it very clear where I can engage with Borders either face-to-face or from a technology standpoint."

The new Borders store also is the first retail location in the nation to feature a new technology called LongPen, which makes it possible for Borders to host book discussions, author signings, music events and celebrity appearances without the host having to be physically present in the store. Piloted initially only in Ann Arbor, the technology will be tested for potential rollout in other locations.

The overall result is that customers are buying across more categories beyond their traditional favorites. "They're coming in for a book and they're going out as a reader," Nisch says. "I think a true reader is intellectually curious and really open to all sorts of things; they never stop exploring. And to me the best thing, the proof, is that the store has really motivated and helped customers explore beyond the top 20 list."

For the complete Project File, click here.

WEB EXTRA! One-on-one with the designer: Ken Nisch, chairman, JGA Inc., Southfield, Mich.

Q: What are your first steps in conceptualizing a new project design?
A: One of the first steps is to move past all the history that many retail companies have. Once you go beyond the, "we've tried that and our customers don't like this… it can't be executed in the field… it costs too much money," it provides a position for our team and our client/partner's team to look at the opportunity in a fresh way. For instance, we can respond, "You might be able to afford idea 'X' if we find significant ways to reduce the need for other related operational and marketing costs." After we get everyone open to fresh, open thinking, the ideas really begin to build on themselves.

Q: What retail project would you most love to get your hands on as a designer?
A: One would be a store called Blue States/Red States that would celebrate the uniqueness and differences between the U.S. political parties; creating a bit of controversy and showcasing the "friendly rivalry" that exists. The store would be focused on products, media and collectibles of the democrats and republicans. Another, perhaps a bit less controversial, but that might need a reinvention more than the two political parties, would be Kmart. Whoever is able to reinvent and re-invigorate this category pioneer would be given big kudos.

Q: What challenges will retailers face in the coming five to 10 years?
A: Nurturing talent, seeking innovation and building on differentiation remain the same. However, these challenges will be more competitive as the major players become more dominant in their segments. Conversely, the best and brightest might seek the path to advancement and achievement blocked by the old school; driving entrepreneurs to invent their own businesses and leveraging the experience and market savviness (and learning from mistakes) of the current leaders.

Q: How do you approach a green design project differently?
A: The difference between "certifiable green" and "green" takes you down two very different paths. Logistically jockeying for points versus making decisions based on the spirit of criteria can be quite different. The decision on whether a project is about a general attitude and commitment to "greenness" opposed to purely certification can shift the approach about making better overall decisions versus specific point-gaining decisions. Many materials that may be creatively correct don't have sufficient certification. This is particularly true in areas of both visual merchandising (given the size of the supplier companies, nature of the products, rapid turnover, seasonality), and whether you include these in your scorecard of "greenness."

Q: What was most challenging about developing a new concept for a bookstore?
A: Imagine an industry where the products, the timing, pricing and brand is the same for you and your major competitor; and at the same time, the real estate often puts you in a virtual "stand off," staring at each other across a busy intersection. Our challenge was to find a way to overcome that by changing the rules of the game, putting the focus on readers, lifestyles, and seeing the literary and visual appeal of the books not being mutually exclusive.

Q: What three things do you think are inherent in all great designs?
A: Sense of purpose, sense of the unexpected, and the common sense that can be created by connecting the two.

Q: What is the strangest thing that has ever inspired you?
A: A trip we took with a trendy youth retailer that found us in the back alleys, through the back doors of "retail" businesses in Amsterdam (and I do use the term "retail" quite loosely). The inspiration was definitely evocative, if not provocative.

Q: In today's competitive retail environment, what is your No. 1 piece of advice for retailers seeking to differentiate themselves?
A: Stop thinking about who you want to be through the filter of your competitors and look in the mirror to discover what's unique about yourself.