There are a number of hidden benefits of a Flagship Store. A Flagship Store creates excitement around a brand, serves as a brand beacon and can be used for brand experiments.
Using a Flagship Store to Create Excitement
Having a Flagship Store is the ultimate brand statement; a place where a company can really show off. A model of the perfect store, where money is no object. In many cases the Flagship is the most prestigious part of the organization. The esteem of a Flagship Store location helps to create excitement around a brand for all stakeholders.
Opening a Flagship Store is a newsworthy event. Since Flagship Stores are bigger and offer greater experiences, brands can leverage their new or upcoming Flagship for local or even national press. An even bigger grand opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony is a great way to thank employees for their hard work, gain interest from potential new customers, and introduce yourself to the community.
A Flagship Store creates a lot of excitement for the company internally. Everyone wants to be part of the big project. This is an opportunity for different departments to collaborate with each other. It takes the team out of their every-day roles.
A Flagship Store is a Brand Beacon
Launching a Flagship Store with all its bells and whistles can make for a bigger project than launching smaller stores within a brand. A bigger budget and increased visibility, means brands may take more time in planning for and launching a Flagship; and that’s a good thing.
If brands have an inconsistent image across locations, the Flagship Store acts as the internal focusing agent, forcing alliance and agreement. Once opened the Flagship Store acts as a living brand guideline or style-book for retail planning in future store locations.
Using a Flagship Store for Brand Experiments
In our post, 4 Steps to a Positive ROI from Digital Signage, we talked about making smart, strategic choices in investments with in-store digital signage. But when you’re making a big investment in your retail stores, whether it be a technology upgrade, or a new product line, you may not want to roll it out to all of your stores right away.
Since a Flagship Store is generally bigger than other stores in the chain, there is more flexibility within it’s walls. Therefore, the Flagship can be a great place to try out new concepts or test new merchandise. The trials done here can really help a brand to evolve.
This post is part of our Flagship Store series. If you missed it, the last part in the series was What is a Flagship Store? Please follow us on Twitter @Realityi to find out when we post the next article in the series. To learn more about Time Warner Cable’s Flagship Store, visit our portfolio.
