Envisioning just the right combination of products to use to organize and design the perfect closet might be easy for people with innate design and spatial reasoning skills. But for most of us, figuring out how the display in the store might look in our homes can be a challenge, and the last thing anyone wants is to get home with boxes of shelving, only to find that nothing fits. This challenge is the impetus behind the latest location of The Container Store in Dallas, which exists mainly to feature a vast variety of closet types, layouts, and options to help consumers envision their future organizational potential.
The 50 different styles housed in the single location range from small pantries to massive walk-in closets, along with a two-car garage that offers suggestions for how to line the sides most efficiently. The focus is completely on design ideas. For example, the company purchased a dedicated inventory of custom-designed, color-coordinated clothing to display in the closets. Rather than being distracted by clothing of various colors or with ugly patterns, shoppers thus can focus on the storage options themselves.
Although nearly every outlet of The Container Store displays about 15 closet options, they also sell a range of associated products. The Dallas location (along with a version in Los Angeles that opened last year) is not there to push paperclips and binders though; it is dedicated to the closet design service provided by the company and displayed in its 50 example layouts. Some closet elements are available for sale, but really the purpose is to help shoppers get inspired and, in an ideal outcome, order both the design services and desired products from the store for later delivery.
The Container Store also is finding that its latest store is attracting a new segment of shoppers, namely, professional builders, architects, and designers who visit the massive location with their clients, asking them to use the available displays to help refine and communicate their preferences.
Discussion Question:
- Which growth strategy is the Container Store using?
Source: Daphne Howland, Retail Dive, August 16, 2019