The beautiful home of wine:
umdasch designs your wine store
The food retail headquarters of umdasch The Store Makers is located in Leibnitz in southern Styria, one of the largest wine-growing regions in Austria. The wine trade is of great importance in this area and attracts guests from near and far to wine stores and delicatessen shops. In addition to large wine departments for numerous supermarkets, the Store Makers also implemented several special projects for renowned wine growers in southern Styria.
Tailor-made concepts
Many wineries have a long history of origin, which makes it all the more important to underline the DNA of the brand with matching colours and materials at the point of sale. Sales rooms are often special places that are an integral part of the brand experience. In our project for Walter Skoff Original, it is the vault in the sales room, which was inspired by the design of a cross vault from the imperial and royal period. In order to present the wines in an ideal way, the umdasch designers came up with a concept that fits harmoniously into the existing building structure and forms the point of contact between architect and customer. Graceful steel frames effectively set the scene for the fine wines, small tables for tastings are grouped precisely around the brick load carriers. When it came to the design of the service counter, including technical equipment, the Store Makers demonstrated their many years of gastronomic expertise. Because as emotional as the furnishings of a wine store have to be for the visitor, they should also be functional and practical and prove useful to the winegrower day after day.
From the salesroom to the archive
At the Sattlerhof winery, the existing sales room was transformed into a functional shop with a wow effect. To match the venerable larch tasting table, the Store Makers made presentation tables and an extension to the cash desk from larch wood. The height-adjustable shelves above for the presentation of individual bottles allow the shelving solution to be adapted to different bottle sizes. The simple design perfectly accentuates the presented bottles and the shelves in different heights give them a refreshing stepped look. Shelf labels with a blackboard look provide customers at Sattlerhof with orientation and an optimal overview of the different types of wine. Moreover, they offer space for additional product information.
In addition to the salesroom, further highlights at Sattlerhof are the wine archive and the "wine safe". The wine boxes and fine wooden crates stored on the shelves are staged by matt-black shelf pillars. These visually divide the shelf wall into several parts, making the room appear larger and providing more structure. The slanted shelves in the vault and the lockable door provide a view of a variety of special wines and wine rarities from all over the world.
Indulgence on the third level
A world of experience for connoisseurs and wine lovers has been created on 350 m² in the Vinofaktur. In the largest regional wine store in Styria, not only fine wines are sold, but also a large selection of regional delicacies. umdasch The Store Makers have redesigned the existing store and turned it into an area for product presentation that invites visitors to linger and browse while reflecting the diverse culinary delights of the region.
The use of natural materials, clear communication elements and generous passage zones underline the high quality and regionality of the goods on offer. With this breadth and depth of product range, it is all the more important to ensure sufficient customer orientation in the store. In this project, this is achieved via the third level – the wall zone between the shelves and the ceiling. Here, areas in the store are thematically labelled, stories are told and information is conveyed.
Wine departments as profiling areas in food retailing
One profiling zone that has gained importance in food retailing in recent years is the wine department. In the wine departments of well-known supermarkets, emotionality and flexibility in the presentation of goods are at the forefront of store design. Especially in large wine departments, it is essential that consumers do not lose their overview. Top frames or boxes on the third level serve as orientation in the shop, can have an informative character and contribute to emotionalisation. Shelf pillars fit in well with the range of products on offer and provide visual shelf subdivisions. The use of wood as a design element as well as the use of wine boxes visually distinguishes wine departments from the rest of a store and ensures a high-quality presentation of goods.
"When it comes to the design of wine shops and wine departments, there is not "the one design". It always needs a coherent overall concept that fits the brand and target group. The umdasch Store Makers will be happy to develop a design concept for you that provides the perfect stage for your merchandise."