Normally in these "classic" Fred Meyers, I put the clothing department at the end of my sets. But this time, I really wanted to show the good side of Artisan first, before getting into the... not so good side. And yeah, that's certainly starting to become apparent here.
Eek! Is that Kroger..err...Fred Meyer or is that a Sam's Club that we're looking into? That vast land of emptiness is depressing. That Eagle Hardware and Garden annual report I linked to the other day was talking about how their stores differed from the "gloomy warehouse stores." That's Eagle's wording, but they sure were right, weren't they?! Of course, in this case, we're talking about a gloomy Kroger Meyer, not a Home Depot or Lowe's!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the child mannequins on the upper-right of your picture lost their heads in horror of seeing that decor!
Try seeing it with black ceilings that make the whole store shrouded in shadow. It's even more industrial feeling then... :(
DeleteSome things are best not to imagine! I feel sorry for anyone who has to shop, or work, in such an environment!
DeleteAnonymous: Yeah, it's certainly not the greatest look. The rest of the store does pull it back from warehouse store territory, but this area is just not good.
DeleteHa, I hadn't even noticed how creepy those were!
Retail Retell: Interesting -- I feel like bright white ceilings have a more industrial/warehouse store feeling to me, but that's certainly a matter of personal opinion. My point of reference is Costco, and their stores almost universally have bright white ceilings and tons of skylights. Combined with the polished concrete floors, they have a bright and sterile sort of feel which is what I associate with industrial-looking stores. That certainly doesn't mean I like the dark, depressing ceilings of new-build Krogers, however!
True -- my Sam's Club is the same way. It's just that I'm also used to white ceilings with skylights and polished concrete floors in so many other stores I've been to, haha. I can't say I've personally been in a warehouse store with a black ceiling, but for some reason that's the impression that ceiling gives me. I think maybe I'm picturing a very dark backroom or something similar that was never intended to be open to the public for shopping (because we know how much design effort stores put into those spaces 🙄 ).
ReplyDeleteHmm, interesting -- I get what you're saying! I honestly want to like black ceilings, since it sets this sort of store apart from warehouse stores, but they just don't work great in person.
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