Western Grocer Serving the industry since 1916
By Robin Brunet
A balancing act: that’s one way to describe the care it takes to refresh a major brick and mortar retail brand. Deviate too far from the norm, and you risk losing customers in droves.
Clint Mahlman, president and COO of London Drugs, understands this intimately, and that’s why he’s so pleased with the reaction to the second Winnipeg London Drugs store that opened in November, which is also the second venue to launch with a human-centered design concept.
The concept, which Mahlman’s colleagues also refer to as a “DaVinci design,” follows four principles: assistance, personalization, community, and discovery. What this translates into at the CF Polo Park shopping centre London Drugs is heightened and improved familiarity.
This is definitely a London Drugs, with its famous logo and aisles of unique goods among popular items intact. But in the same breath, it’s a new and sublime shopping experience. Mahlman explains, “For example, the electronics department and beauty products are far closer to the pharmacy services than in other stores, since there is a growing crossover of products in all three categories: wristwatches that measure heart rates; dermatological products suitable for post-surgery circumstances, and so forth.
“Locating these departments closer together makes it easier to shop and cross-consult with the professional of each department.”
The cosmetic changes of the DaVinci design are similarly sublime. “Everything is brighter and whiter and less cluttered, but we’ve offset the risk of imparting a clinical appearance by deploying wood treatments throughout,” Mahlman says.
One of London Drugs’ most popular shopping areas – the center of the store that showcases seasonal items – has been officially named The Square and exhibits what Mahlman describes as “a more boutique-like approach to how the seasonal items are displayed, to reinforce this being reminiscent of an old village square market.”
The Polo Park store features several unique features thanks to its location in the mall: it occupies space that was previously a Zellers and is 29,895 square feet, compared to London Drugs’ usual top-end size of about 25,000 square feet. “Also, a skylight that runs almost the length of the store adds to the fresh appearance of the aisles,” Mahlman says.
Although it’s too early to disclose figures that would verify the success of the DaVinci Design concept, Mahlman says, “Sales in our Polo Park store have far exceeded our expectations. That was the case when we launched our first human-centered design concept store in the Brentwood Mall in Burnaby, B.C. last May, and it enhances our confidence as we plan to apply the concept to a third store in downtown Vancouver, on Hastings Street.”
The balance of old and new London Drug elements as showcased in the Polo Park store is masterful, but the venerable retail chain is equally adept in how it determines if its refresh ideas are on the mark or off-base, before undertaking a full-blown renovation.
“What we do is install test fixtures in some stores and see what the reaction is,” Mahlman explains. “Some elements of our DaVinci Design were tested as far back as 2021. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes we fail, but the failures help in us being able to zero in on customer preferences.”
With CF Polo Park being London Drugs’ 80th store in Western Canada, Mahlman is excited about future opportunities for the brand and its innovative design concept. He concludes, “There’s a social, learning, and sensorial aspect to the retail shopping experience that AI and online cannot approach, and our goal is to make the most of these elements. We look forward to our next phase of growth.”
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