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Retail Therapy EWI invests in retail expertise and plans for the future PDF Print E-mail
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Written by Anna Huddleston   
Thursday, January 01 2009 00:00

Alan LaFreniere, president of Interior Works division, a division of EWI.
Alan LaFreniere, president of Interior Works division, a division of EWI.
When EWI Worldwide, a global live communications company, rebranded in 2007, the introduction of the retail division was an organic move. According to Matt Hubbard, vice president of marketing, it was a natural response to the growing demand from existing clients for extending their programs into retail venues, and a perfect finishing element to the company’s portfolio of expertise. A year later, EWI invested in a heavy-hitting team of retail industry veterans and marketing research specialists. And now the economy takes a hit. As exhibitors across the board slash budgets and square footage, it would seem like in the midst of overall uncertainly, if not flat-out panic, the thoughts of new retail spaces are not on their minds. Or are they? The EWI team believes that the current conditions bring a unique opportunity for growth and is capitalizing on it too.

“We are finding that clients are reaching out to us and saying ‘we need to change what we’ve been doing’,” said Alan LaFreniere, president of Interior Works division, who brings over 35 years of experience creating retail environments and marketing programs for Fortune 500 companies around the world. “When things are going full speed, they [clients] don’t have time to look at new approaches to doing business. And now everybody is looking to reduce costs and to have presence in more impactful ways.”

Matt Hubbard, Vice President, Marketing, EWI.
Matt Hubbard, Vice President, Marketing, EWI.
From the marketing standpoint, Hubbard also notices the change as clients start perceiving the company not just as a service provider, but also as a consultant who is there to help them maximize their resources. And with the new capabilities, Hubbard believes the focus now shifts to helping them see the big picture.

“We now have a wider view because of the face-to-face realm that gives us the ability to offer other options that they might not have considered,” he said. “Maybe it makes more sense to reinvest those dollars, into, for example, three proprietary events, a media focus program, and enhancing the message through a retail outlet. It allows us to really offer insightful solutions.”
Moving into retail is hardly a new concept: Several design firms have expanded into that market, especially after 9/11, with varying degrees of success. What makes EWI think that they can excel at it? LaFreniere believes it’s all about helping their clients “move the needle in the marketplace.”

“A lot of companies can design and manufacture attractive fixtures and in-store solutions,” he said. “But making a difference in the marketplace is key. We now bring a unique proposition to the market place because we can serve them across different marketing venues,” LaFreniere said. “That was one of the strong attractions and reasons why my team joined EWI. We can manage their brand message across venues and make it consistent.”

Carhartt relied on EWI to present its new line of women's clothing.
Carhartt relied on EWI to present its new line of women's clothing.
The company sees a lot of synergies between “in-store” and “in-booth.” According to Hubbard, “it  all comes down to knowing your customers, creating an experience that meets their needs across multiple touch points and delivering the right message, in the right place at the right time.  This is what we consider ‘live communications’ to be all about.”

But in the era of ROI, the clients want more than a great concept – they want measurable data. As part of the Interior Works division, the company hired a VP of market research and invests into industry research, technology issues and customer behaviors.

“We wanted to make sure that we brought value-added components to our relations with customers,” LeFreniere said. “We know that they don’t have time to understand retail issues and what customer likes and dislikes about environments. We can provide that thought leadership.”

For individual customer programs, the company can now employ an arsenal of market research methods ranging from store intercepts and focus groups to monitoring social networks and blog watching.

Time Warner Cable (TWC), a 1,000-square-foot retail space in Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Time Warner Cable (TWC), a 1,000-square-foot retail space in Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Another value-added component is the economic advantage of manufacturing and managing properties from one hub. “It makes us very competitive on low-volume works to massive, multi-million dollar projects, as we can do both very economically,” LaFreniere said. “And we don’t have to bring anybody up to speed.” The company has several manufacturing facilities across North America, a large presence in China and also global supply chain of partners.

With the new division in place and going strong, Hubbard believes as a true live communications company, EWI is able to solve any marketing challenges its clients face and that the partnerships built during these tough times will be even stronger when things get better.  As LaFreniere put it, “The solution is to do the right thing for the client.”