GOOD DESIGN BY A MANUFACTURER OR RETAILER

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1 n e GOOD DESIGN BY A MANUFACTURER a OR RETAILER ESTABLISHES CUSTOMER CONFIDENCE. GOOD DESIGN IS ABOUT DETAIL, AND PAYING ATTENTION TO edetail MAKES FOR A BETTER PRODUCT AND MORE SATISFIED CUSTOMERS. ALICE EDLAND g 27

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3 po w e r ALICE EDLAND THE POWER TO ENGAGE Within the retail sector, design can evoke a strong sense of consumer confidence and ownership, empowering shoppers to take the plunge and make a purchase. It has the ability to stamp a distinct mark in the minds of buyers and convince them to return time and again to a particular store or brand. It makes a strong statement about the Kohler Co. s marketing savvy and skill that its headquarters are ensconced in Kohler, Wis. one of the nation s first planned communities and home to Kohler s American Club, a AAA five-diamond resort that includes the Kohler Waters Spa and Golf Course. Perhaps best known for its bathroom and kitchen fixtures, Kohler brands also include several lines of furniture and home accessories, as well as an additional golf resort destination in St. Andrews, Scotland. Perspective spoke with Alice Edland, Kohler s Group Vice President for Hospitality and Real Estate, about how Kohler design and these Kohler experiences work together to translate into sales for the company. 29

4 Design has the capacity to instill a sense of empowerment and confidence to convince consumers to buy. How does design influence the buying habits of customers? Good design by a manufacturer or retailer establishes customer confidence. Good design is about detail, and paying attention to detail makes for a better product and more satisfied customers. When a product or service is designed well, it gives the buyer confidence that it will work well and meet their needs. The Kohler Waters Spa was created as part of the company s American Club five-diamond resort in order to improve the guest experience and give potential customers an innovative way to experience Kohler products. How can design contribute to the branding of a particular product or company, and what are the effects of this on consumers? The Kohler Co. has used a lot of leading designers, especially in our furniture design. Barbara Barry designed for us at one time, and now we have Jacques Garcia and Thomas Pheasant, among others. Using leading designers, along with our expertise in manufacturing, gives us confidence that the items will work well and look terrific, which adds strength to the Kohler brand. Rather than developing one particular look, Kohler 30

5 offers a range of designs for a variety of tastes. Our Baker furniture has traditional lines, and our Thomas Pheasant accessories are quite distinctive. Customers may not instantly realize they re Kohler, but if they re familiar with the designers, they re likely not surprised to learn Kohler is working with them. What motivates a business executive to make a substantial investment like a spa to increase product awareness and, therefore, influence a purchase? Kohler s mission statement says we are to increase the level of gracious living for our customers. Under that umbrella, we manufacture products for homes, and we also provide services and experiences for our customers. Since 1985, we have had a 36,000-square-foot, three-level Design Center where customers can walk through and look at our products. I ve been with Kohler for about 25 years, and every time I walk through the Design Center, I walk out and feel inspired to do something at home. Looking is inspiring, but we ve found that experiencing adds a whole level of understanding a product and what it s like to be in an environment where those products are used. Blackwolf Run Clubhouse at The American Club Resort, home of Kohler s Waters Spa and Golf Course. The waters spa was created, in part, to give guests an activity in the winter, when golfing is not an option. NeoCon Notes Since its inception 75 years ago, NeoCon has been a hotbed for commercial interior designers looking to better serve their clients. With the following retail-oriented events on tap, it s clear that this year is no exception: Designing Financial Facilities. Recent study findings, combined with the rapid evolution of banking technology, make the changing face of financial institutions a hot topic in many circles. In this seminar, Paul Kegel, IIDA, President of Kegel & Associates Inc., discusses the possibilities of interior design within the modern bank arena. June 12. Store Planning. Learn meaningful ways to develop a store image through merchandise, store layouts, lighting strategies and diverse display materials. June 14. The Evolution of Infinity. Architect Rem D. Koolhaas makes his Student Series Keynote Presentation on his pioneering approach to branding that combines architecture and fashion. Hear how his United Nude company turns out shoes, cars and furnishings with designs that echo famous architectural monuments. June

6 to our resort, and the spa provided a fun and interesting opportunity for them to experience our products. We provided some spa services in Sports Core, our heath and racquet club, before the spa opened in 2000, but we built the separate spa within the hotel grounds so we could concentrate on using more Kohler products and provide more services incorporating water. Spa guests can spend time in a sok tub with color therapy and unique water features, such as effervescent bubbles or a special shower, and then have a massage. We ve worked to integrate different water products that clients could incorporate into their homes. Have you had the results you hoped for since the spa opened? We know the During afterhours at Kohler s Design Center, customers can try products such as tubs and showers. The Design Center staff found when it first opened that people came in and whole different way of marketing products than just looking at them. Kohler Waters Spa does influence product awareness and purchasing, but wanted to try the products, The spa business was the question is, to what particularly the tubs and actually more driven by a extent? Our spa reception showers. They do allow desire to improve the guest desk has a notebook that customers to do that after- experience at our hotel, provides details about all hours, but now, customers rather than by marketing. the spa elements, including also can walk down the Golf is terrific in the paint colors, tiles and other street, and in 20 minutes, Summer, but in the Winter, things in the environment, be in a robe and a lovely we needed some indoor because guests always ask, chair in a lounge area get- activities, and the spa What s that yellow paint in ting ready to have a soak seemed like a natural my room? We don t make treatment in a tub at the option. We also knew that the paint, but we can tell Kohler Waters Spa at The potential Kohler home them. That sort of interest American Club. That s a products customers came indicates that when people 32

7 come here, they are very or different purposes in the and become a customer at lifestyle brand. It s not just attuned to the environment, Kohler marketing strategy? some point. The spa also about plumbing or furni- and they want to know They re similar in that both works a little differently ture, but a lifestyle. We where they can go to pur- expose customers to prod- within our marketing provide products and an chase its components. It s ucts and provide something strategy because it is first enjoyable way to experi- not often that someone fun and interesting to do. and foremost a part of the ence the products. Our comes to a spa and asks Customers may learn about resort experience. Guests golf courses are world- about the paint, but here, the spa from displays at the may be there for a busi- renowned, and unlike the clients are in an envi- Design Center, but it is not ness meeting, and their many others, they feature ronment where they re a particularly common exposure to Kohler prod- state-of-the-art Kohler clearly thinking about occurrence that customers ucts is incidental. bathrooms. It has been their home experience. immediately walk down fun to take the company- Maybe we should form the street to the resort. What successes have been owned land and build some sort of partnership However, if someone is at attributed to the strategy of beautiful golf courses and with a paint company! the Design Center investing in an experience resorts. We continue to close to 200,000 people for consumers? For Kohler, find ways to cross-market Do the Design Center and per year visit they may our biggest success is and expose people to spa facilities serve similar become aware of the spa establishing ourselves as a our products. Kohler s 36,000-squarefoot, three-level Design Center. The company also boasts a brand-new showroom at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. 33