Totalsports, Cape Town

Local retailer Totalsports’ (part of the Foschini retail group) new store in Cape Town captures this with a single floor-level branch, featuring a ‘white box’ and a modular store-fit.

Designed by London consultancy BDA London and among the largest of the retailer’s 170 stores, the 6,000 sq ft shop is a pre-roll-out trial.

The store aims to attract South Africa’s affluent and fashion-conscious middle-class shoppers. It does so with a straightforward proposition that couples highly coloured merchandise with a low-key backdrop.

Practically, this translates as a concrete floor, lighting on overhead gantries and an exterior with a window that features a broad, coloured surround. The window has been designed to permit a high degree of flexibility, allowing rapid visual merchandising changes. In common with the store’s interior, the window is, in effect a white box with coloured graphics and stock. 

There is a 50-50 gender split regarding space and layout, yet 80% of sales come from male customers. Longer term, the aim is to correct this imbalance and persuade a greater proportion of female shoppers to dig deep. It is also worth noting that footwear accounts for 50% of all sales, but occupies much less than 50% of the available floorspace. Totalsports sells branded merchandise including Nike, Puma and Adidas, but the retailer is seeking to expand its private label offering – Fusion.

The Totalsports pilot shows what is possible on a relatively low design and fit-out budget. Careful allocation of resources on the monochrome and coloured graphics, as well as a store that lets the merchandise speak for itself, combine to excellent effect.