Perfumania, the Successful Roll-out of a new Design

To get the creative juices flowing when designing architecture, it's helpful to draw inspiration from those who have designed before you. This was my intention when I opened the May 2013 issue of Shopping Center Today Magazine. As I flipped through the pages, my eye caught an article on page 78 entitled, Dollars and Scents; Perfumania hopes a new store design will speed its growth. JL Architects is licensed in 35 states, which allows us to have national client relationships. Perfumania, has been a client of ours for over 10 years and as a program manager for JL Architects, this client is one of my charges. Naturally, seeing an article in a national magazine was exciting! 

As mentioned in the article, Perfumania targets high traffic locations in outlet centers and regional malls. The stores average only around 1,200 square feet, but they stock between 2,000-3,000 units of designer and celebrity fragrances, as well as ancillary beauty products. In 2011, the transition began to the new high contrast, streamlined, black and white design scheme. The high gloss and glass fixtures and lighting are exhibited in a way to highlight the merchandise with a high end feel. They are not only moving into new locations, but also updating some of their existing stores with the fresh new look.

JL Architects completed 5 locations with the new design in 2011, in 5 different states! The trend continued in 2012 when I was able to travel to Texas, Ohio, New York and Florida to survey new and existing locations. We completed 5 stores in those states as well as the location at the new Outlets at Traverse Mountain in Lehi, UT. "OTM" as we lovingly refer to it in our office, as well as the location at the Chicago Ridge Mall, which we completed in 2011, are both featured in the article. This year expect to see new locations opening at the Fashion Outlets of Chicago, Tanger Outlets in Charleston, SC, along with renovations at two of their existing stores in the Mall of America in Minneapolis.

Here are some before and after photos of the renovation at the North Star Mall in San Antonio, Texas:

Retail Displays
Before      -------------------------      After

Storefront Designs
Before      -------------------------     After

We look forward to our continued relationship with Perfumania and assisting in the roll out of this new sleek retail design.

The entire feature article is below, click on the images to enlarge or email us for a PDF copy.


- Melanie Hicks, Program Manager