New look in store for major retailer

9:05am Friday 1st July 2005

A SOUTH Lakeland business has won a prestigious contract to help boost the fortunes of one of the biggest name retailers on the high street.

The Knack Design Consultants Limited lived up to its name by beating off strong competition from two London-based design agency rivals to clinch the deal with Marks and Spencer.

The Kendal-based business is creating two new in-store environments for branded M&S menswear labels Blue Harbour and Collzione.

The new looks will be rolled out at Marks and Spencer's 260 stores across the country, starting with the largest ones.

Husband and wife team Spencer and Diane Hannah said they were delighted to win the work from such a top UK blue chip company.

"Working with the M&S menswear retail team at their new head office in Paddington, London, our task is to make Blue Harbour and Collezione menswear zones more clearly identifiable against the rest of the menswear departments," explained Mr Hannah.

"There will be a whole new range of bespoke shop floor furniture pieces, including behind-glass-showcase areas, feature island units, lifestyle wall display and large format graphics."

A full-scale prototype area covering 3,000 sq ft of floorspace is currently being constructed by Vizona, the German-based bespoke shop fitting arm of Vitra, working to The Knack's specifications.

Mr Hannah said the designs, which are being kept under wraps for the time being, are being developed in time to feature in the first M&S stores this autumn.

"The first store to receive the new designs will probably be Birmingham. Kendal, being part of their small store network, is unlikely to receive the new interior fit-out for a while.

"M&S are making change happen fast but, as it was put to us, making identifiable change work with a retailer the size of M&S is a bit like trying to turn an oil tanker around. We are just very proud to be part of the team making that change happen."

Work on the project began a month ago and the designs should be finished by the end of July.

Mr Hannah said one of the biggest challenges for the business had been working to the tight timescale required by M&S.

On the back of this project, along with a growing order book, the creative consultancy is creating two new jobs at its office in a yard off Stricklandgate. A new senior designer will start work in August, and a junior designer is due to join the business later this month.

The Knack, which offers a range of graphic and interior design services, moved to Kendal from Bolton last year.

Among its most recent projects has been developing a distinctive identity for the Wainwright's Yard development off Kendal's Stricklandgate, and producing a series of interpretative information panels for the River Lune millennium project.