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Message Retail Brand & Strategy Service Model Converse, maker of those iconic Chuck Taylor sneakers, was developing its first branded, stand-alone retail store. But before designing what the ideal outlet would look like, the company wanted to make sure its atmosphere would feel right. It hired IDEO to help create a brand strategy and service model for its flagship and subsequent stores. The goal was to provide Converse with a vision for dimensionalizing their brand at retail. The primary challenge was to articulate a strategy that would reinforce everything that people love about the brand and maintain its phenomenal, deeply personal appeal. After talking with longtime fans — and exploring memorable moments in other stores they frequent — the team developed a brand strategy that celebrated what Converse is all about: self-expression.  Building on the brand’s links to music, art, fashion, and sport, the retail spaces reflect the creative spirit.  The Converse shops—open, permission-based environments that encourage creativity, customization, and local flavor—truly embody the brand’s spirit and have thrilled “Chucks” fans. The new strategy and experience was detailed enough to scale across many sites, yet adaptable enough to allow individual stores to reflect the identities of their specific locations. Each Converse shop has a unique vibe, but the brand’s retail strategy always plays out across five key retail touch points: • People - Converse uses unconventional recruiting, such as passing out flyers on the street, to find artists, musicians, and other creative types who’d make great retail staff. Employees are given nontraditional job titles (shopkeeper, product programmer, maestro, etc.) and wear their names on a piece of duct tape instead of a formal nametag. • Place - Converse gives stores “local flavor” by instilling a sense of place: everything from products sold to the site’s decoration bear the city’s name and imagery. This gives the environment an authentic, honest, and organic feel, with a bit of thrift store spirit. • Product - To underscore the passions of their independent-minded consumers, the stores include a selection of third-party goods, such as notebooks made from recycled vinyl. Some stores feature a transparent stock room/pick up window where folks who already know their size can help themselves. • Programming - Each store is a platform for local “event,” such as a “shoe cemetery” (where customers can hang up their old Chucks). Personalization. Custom shoe-making stations encourage shoppers to design their own one-of-a-kind pair of Chuck Taylors using Converse’s shoe-printing technology. Converse opened its first stand-alone retail store in October 2010 on Newbury Street in Boston. This was a natural location for the brand, which a century earlier began as a rubber manufacturer in nearby Malden, Massachusetts. The 4,000-square-foot space caters to the creative-minded urban consumer: The first floor features Converse apparel and accessories for men and women. The second floor offers the largest selection of Converse footwear in the United States, including Chuck Taylor All-Star, Jack Purcell, Star Chevron, One Star, Converse by John Varvatos, and special-edition models. Since then, Converse has opened a second retail store in New York, and various Converse partners outside the United States have implemented its concepts. The stores have earned praise for their authenticity and creativity: “Converse customization will act as a catalyst for creativity in an intimate environment allowing customers to select exclusive product including T-shirts, shoes and canvas bags, along with graphics and colors, to create their very own masterpiece of personal expression.”  —The Shoe Game “With so many brands drawing on their heritage as modern inspiration, the Converse store is a refreshing take on the concept; successfully acknowledging its roots and playing to them without force-feeding its customers a glorified version of its past.” —Coolhunting.com http://www.ideo.com/work/retail-brand-and-strategy-service-model