Neiman Marcus (Dallas) has always preferred small-scale display to overpowering presentation.
"We're in the business of selling product that has a tremendous amount of detail," says Ignaz Gorischek, vp of visual planning and presentation, "so it makes sense that we would then support product in a more subliminal, tasteful manner."
Recently, the fashion retailer has introduced in-store technology, in support of its brand and some of its merchandise, in the same low-key, high-style way.
Neiman Marcus needed a way for cosmetic companies to make brand statements at the counter. Corporate policy forbids using something as obtrusive as the typical 12-inch TV screen with video deck. "The problem had to be solved with something taking up minimal counter space," Gorischek says. His answer was to design a cosmetics video mirror engineered and manufactured by Impart Inc., the Seattle-based producer of digital signage and video display systems.
These countertop mirrors currently use a single video source, which shows a message on a 4-in. LCD screen and has a speaker built in for sound. Cosmetics vendors purchase and own the mirrors, allowing them to show their various brand videos in an attractive, discreet manner (only in Neiman Marcus stores). There are also plans to make the video mirror, for which Neiman Marcus has a patent pending, interactive and with multiple channels. "We're finding this mirror to be an icebreaker," says Gorischek, "because customers watch the video and then start conversations with the associates." Adding a built-in camera to the piece, which has also been discussed, would allow cosmetic designers/artists to do a personal video appearance and make-up consultation with people at the counter, using their mirrors as a source of communication.
Neiman Marcus has even entered the world of in-store interactive technology for items it isn't selling. The retailer recently introduced a high-tech video art stand into three stores to promote its well-known private art collection. With over 4000 works in the Neiman Marcus collection, the retailer needed a way to capture and educate the consumer about these pieces. Strategically located in front of the feature art pieces that are always a part of Neiman's stores, the 3-by-4-inch monitor on a monopoint stainless-steel stand shows a continuous loop of a particular artist's work.
"Art has been part of the Neiman Marcus philosophy since 1951, when the first piece was purchased," says Gorischek. "Even though we may have only purchased one piece of an artist's work, we can show multiple images from the artist on that screen, as well as quotes, a biography and historical facts."
But the retailer didn't stop with a single channel source. It next introduced an interactive video art stand, in which customers can touch the screen and pick from three different channels to gain more information. The stands (also designed and developed by Gorischek and made by Impart) are found in anywhere from 8 to 14 places in all the newer stores. Like the previous version, the interactive stand features a channel entitled "Art on View," which gives more information about particular artists and their works.
Another channel, "Conversations with Stanley Marcus," features the company's late president and chairman of the board discussing the importance of art in one's life. The third channel, "The Art Collection of Neiman Marcus," includes some of the retailer's most noteworthy pieces across the country. "Many of our customers travel," says Gorischek, "so if they're art collectors, they might see a piece they want to visit in person next time they travel to that particular city."
Gorischek acknowledges that customers today are time-pressed, so it's a challenge to keep them in a store. "My philosophy is to provide an educational sort of entertainment in the stores that makes consumers stay longer than expected and leave seeing more than just the merchandise," he says. "Each clip is three minutes long, so if we extend their stays in the environment even 10 minutes longer, we've done a great job."
This wasn't the first time Neiman Marcus had been tinkering with low-key interactive technology. When its Palm Beach, Fla., location opened in November 2000, the retailer embedded miniature video screens into merchandise, creating an interactive window. These screens, some as small as 1-by-1 1/2-inches, were put into items like a Steuben crystal decanter, a wallet and a handbag. Customers could walk up to the window, touch "hot spots" to activate a film on men's and women's fashion or the art collection, and become more educated on Neiman Marcus.
"This interactive window was set up for several months following the store opening," says Gorischek, "and allowed the customer to engage in the brand 24 hours a day. Again, we took technology and scaled it down into an inobtrusive format."
Currently, the retailer is working on a video vitrine, set to debut in its Coral Gables, Fla., store. The freestanding floor vitrine is two-feet square, and uses a projector and reflectors to project a moving image on the pad or floor of the vitrine. "By designing custom videos, you can then interface product with the vitrine," explains Gorischek. "It's an interesting use of 2- and 3-D comparison technology."
Eventually, these concepts will be rolled out in all store locations, and added to remodels. "We're always looking for new ideas to use technology in a non-obtrusive way," says Gorischek, "but it has to be secondary to what the product is about."
Client Design Team: Neiman Marcus, Dallas - Ignaz Gorischek, vp, visual planning and presentation; Julie Kronick, corporate art curator; Joseph Cimini, creative director.
Design Teams: Impart Inc., Seattle - Steven Corey, general manager (interactive video art stand and cosmetics video mirror); Droese-Raney Architecture Inc., Dallas - Lance Raney (interactive window).
Supplier: Impart Inc., Seattle (audio/video).
Steven Vaughan Photography, Dallas.
