Optus unveils its new immersive flagship store at Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne.

Redefining telco retail to include a broader range of products and services, Optus, in collaboration with Greater Group, offers customers a fully interactive experience that touches multiple aspects of their everyday lives, including work, home, health, and recreation – made possible by science-backed planning, design, and execution.

Industry

Technology & Telco

Company Location

Australia

Company Size

10,000+

Project Requirements

Design & Build

At the forefront of Australia’s integrated telco industry

Optus is one of the country’s leading providers of phones, mobile and satellite communications, as well as business, entertainment, internet and information technology services. With its mobile network reaching 98.5 percent of Australians, Optus serves over 10 million customers daily. To take its customer experience to the next level, Optus had a vision to become “more than a Telco” wherein its flagship store in Melbourne would “become a cultural destination that completely challenges the traditional retail telco model.”

The company’s core objectives for the flagship store were to:

  • Become an industry leader in Smart appliances by providing an expanded product range with live demonstrations and expert staff in store as well as home installation and consulting services.
  • Continue to expand their entertainment, sport, and content offerings by creating meaningful experiences between their services, network, devices and sponsorships.
  • Continue to promote the Optus Living Network through a series of digital services and products that help the Optus customer get more out of their devices and life.
  • Become a destination store for phone and tech accessories, wearable and smart devices.
  • Constantly evolve and improve their core product and service offering.

Having partnered with Greater Group on its Optus Hurstville space, Optus looked to the global retail design and build agency, to create the ideal setting for introducing customers to its expanded line of home connectivity, business solutions, audio devices, handsets, and accessories.

Fusing Melbourne vibes with modern-day tech.

“Evolution” was at the heart of the Optus Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne concept.
In bringing the telco company’s vision for its flagship store to life, Greater Group’s multi-level design strategy was to create a sequenced journey linking the “more than a telco” brand of Optus with the cultural vibe of Melbourne.

The space would draw parallels between the city’s vibrant laneways and the company’s product ranges, as well as provide venues for performances and other cultural activities to connect with customers and drive engagement. These activities, along with several other opportunities for increasing dwell time and basket size were to be strategically positioned along the sequenced journey throughout the store. Product displays would be developed with flexibility and experience in mind. The journey would allow customers to use and experience the products and services firsthand, as well as to identify with the brand’s values of inclusivity, connectivity, and sustainability. This elevates the space from being a traditional telco retail space to becoming an experience-centric retail destination with a focus on live devices and customer interaction – a retail innovation.

“The new super-store experience will shine a spotlight on the best that Optus Sport, SubHub and the Living Network have to offer.”

– Matt Williams, Managing Director – Marketing and Revenue, Optus

The flagship from start to finish.

Greater Group placed particular emphasis on presenting new Optus products within smart spaces, while dispersing the standard product range across the store. These products were displayed alongside the expanded line of accessories in a way that demonstrates how customers can integrate their devices with these exciting new offerings.

EQUALIZE

DIRECT

MERCHANDISE

EXPERIENCE

Equalise

The store was then divided into six specialty zones, specifically: Gaming; Garage and Outdoor; Health and Fitness; Home Offices; Home Security; and Lounge and Living Spaces. Each zone features vignettes or mockups of spaces such as the living room or home office which serve as live demonstration areas for Optus tech, and which are also linked to the Optus Living Network. In these zones, products were classified according to how they would be used in real-life scenarios.

Direct

Greater Group’s Accessory strategy integrates flexible displays focusing on live devices. Related accessories were presented together with these devices as product ecosystems in order to increase basket size. The ecosystems were positioned in each specialty zone along the store’s laneway system which is traced in light on the ceiling. The strategy also incorporates a General Accessory area with endless isle-browsing kiosks, a customisation bar, and hero accessories. All product displays and central wall bays can be moved or repositioned to allow future re-invention of the space – as well as to accommodate store-hosted special events and promotions. A series of flexible event spaces that would be used for special occasions, promotions, product launches, and seasonal interactive displays were likewise integrated into the overall design. This flexibility of these fixtures and floor plan allows these zones to transform and adapt to meet the various business needs of the space. Other notable highlights of the flagship store include the E-Sport Sponsorship area dedicated to sporting events and gaming launches.

Merchandise

The store was then divided into six specialty zones, specifically: Gaming; Garage and Outdoor; Health and Fitness; Home Offices; Home Security; and Lounge and Living Spaces. Each zone features vignettes or mockups of spaces such as the living room or home office which serve as live demonstration areas for Optus tech, and which are also linked to the Optus Living Network. In these zones, products were classified according to how they would be used in real-life scenarios.

Experience

The new immersive flagship store presents a whole new way of educating customers on new products and services from Optus; as well as nurturing customer relationships within the context of a distinctive location. For more information on any stage of the planning, design, and execution for the store, get in touch with Greater Group, today.

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