Photos courtesy Shikatani Lacroix
By Peter Saunders
After working closely with the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team on multiple corporate and retail branding initiatives over the years, Toronto-based design firm Shikatani Lacroix recently configured an array of static and digital signage for the new flagship Jays Shop on the first level of Toronto’s Eaton Centre.
Tasked with retail design and brand strategy implementation, the firm built upon its previous experience working with the Jays, having previously designed both their original team shop and a 929-m2 (10,000-sf) flagship store at the Rogers Centre, among other projects. The new satellite location would succeed an earlier ‘shop within a shop’ at the Eaton Centre’s now-defunct Sears department store. As a stand-alone environment, it could better capitalize on the shopping mall’s heavy traffic and high-profile status as a tourist destination, as sales of sports memorabilia have become strong among visitors to the city, well beyond the stadium. The local opportunity for retail growth has been particularly strong since the Jays are Canada’s only Major League Baseball (MLB) team.
“The Jays are an iconic and instantly recognizable Canadian brand, not just a Toronto one,” says Richard Dirstein, executive vice-president (EVP) of design and innovation for Shikatani Lacroix. “In the last three to four years, they’ve outsold the New York Yankees in terms of paraphernalia and merchandise.”
“Shikatani Lacroix understands the Jays’ brand and how to communicate it effectively and creatively across multiple channels,” says Anthony Partipilo, the team’s vice-president (VP) of marketing and merchandising. “We were thrilled to work with them again to design and produce the first stand-alone Jays Shop.”
Designing the journey
Shikatani Lacroix and the Jays jointly developed a strategy to create a retail experience that would not solely focus on traditional licensed merchandise. The goal was to expand sales by showcasing more fashionable items for men and women of all ages. Research showed branded headgear, especially, represented the greatest opportunity for incremental sales growth.
Signage at the entrance celebrates the Jays’ iconic brand and great moments in the team’s history.
“The Jays’ leadership identified ways to leverage their brand through a wider range of consumer touch points,” says Jean-Pierre Lacroix, president of Shikatani Lacroix and a member of Sign Media Canada’s editorial advisory board (EAB). “By creating experiences that celebrate the team, we’re supporting a platform that drives sales and revenues throughout the year. This is a shop that immerses the consumer in all things baseball.”
“They wanted to break out of the typical demographic and bring in more women, along with both younger and older crowds,” says Marcos Terenzio, Shikatani Lacroix’s director of digital creative experiences.
With the theme ‘celebrate the fan,’ the store would take customers on a journey into the past, present and future of the team. Branded experiences within the store would focus on the history of the Jays and their contributions to MLB, in addition to allowing customers to interact with merchandising technology, which would encourage medium-length dwell times.
“There’s clothing at the front of the store, but we don’t show everything off at once,” Dirstein says. “There’s a path you follow.”
Toronto-based general contractor Prodigy Retail Construction built the new space, using merchandising systems—including showcase cabinetry for team memorabilia—manufactured by Alliance Store Fixtures in Vaughan, Ont., which is best-known for installations in jewellery stores. The signs were built by Zip Signs in Burlington, Ont., and all printed graphics were prepared by Toronto-based Cameron Advertising.
