Chain Store Age - July 2009

Bold fashion graphics, videos and color-changing LEDs make the shopping experience more dynamic and fun at Mandee.

make them more accessible. Damask-covered ottomans, mannequins, decorative lighting pendants and a wall display of the latest shoes enhance the fashion quotient.

The fitting-room area boasts a lavender and black color theme, back-lit mirrors and ottomans. A crystal chandelier adds an upscale, feminine touch.

The cashwrap is sleek, with a sculpted panel creating a wavy look. The halo-like sign is highlighted with color-changing LEDs.

Billowing, stretched fabric, lit from within with more color-changing LEDs, is wrapped around the top of six of the store’s columns.

“The color-changing effects are coordinated so that when the light in back of the cashwrap changes color, the rest of the store does too,” Tricarico noted.

Apart from the LEDs and T5s in the jewelry cases, the bulk of the lighting is provided by 70-watt metal-halide lamps. The industrial feel of the high bay fixtures is broken up by the pendants and chandelier.

“We did a truss system at the runway and cashwrap with some track heads,” Tricarico said, “but it’s all metal halide. We brought the light levels down for general lighting and punched things up, adding drama at some of the special interest areas. During the day, the store is infused with light from the arched win-

dows. At night, it has a nice glow to it.”

Bold lifestyle photos of current Mandee fashions are prominent throughout the store. The oversized graphics, which cascade down the columns and are also featured around the upper half of the perimeter, tell a strong fashion story.

“Mandee does photo shoots of their fashions,” Tricarico said. “The company does a great job of showing their customer what they are selling.”

Mandee plans to roll out the prototype in new locations.

“It is very much the future of our company,” Mandelbaum said. “In March, we will open a store in

Chicago that will be a replica of the Clifton location. We also plan to incorporate elements of the prototype as we renovate our existing locations. Some, in fact, will get complete facelifts.”

As to expanding, the company is “looking at deals all the time,” according to Mandelbaum.

“One of the reasons we survived 60 years is that we’re careful about how we expand,” he continued. “We’ve taken a thoughtful approach to growing, concentrating on markets where we are well known and accepted by customers.”

To see more photos of Mandee, go to chainstoreage.com/photos. ■

mwilson@chainstoreage.com

DESIGN RESOURCES

Design: Tricarico Architecture and Design, Wayne, N.J.

Outside consultants: City Lighting Products, St. Louis (lighting distributors); DMX, Austin, Texas (music); Vaswani, Union, N.J. (fixtures)

General contractor: Greg Sovyrda Construction, Wayne, N.J. Suppliers: Amerlux, Fairfield, N.J. ( lighting); Times Square Lighting, Stony Point, N. Y. (truss system); Carlstahl, Chicago, (wire display system); Interlam, Claudville, Va. (MDF decorative panel); Moss, Lincolnwood, Ill. (stretched fabric); JP Metal America, Montreal, (decorative tables).