Case Study: House of Fraser
Philips MASTERColour Elite lamps installed in House of Fraser stores
Location: London, UK
Customer
House of Fraser
Location
Croydon’s Centrale shopping mall, Oxford Street Flagship store, London William Street
Distributor
The Lightbulb Company
Philips Products
30W and 70W MASTERColour CDM Elite
Background
House of Fraser, one of the UK’s favourite department stores, has a long reputation in offering the world’s most famous brands. As choice and competition on the high street increases, it is crucial that retail displays and visual merchandising continue to attract consumers.
The Challenge
“Lighting must help us create the right ambience in store”, explains Mike Clare, Head of Engineering at House of Fraser. “One of our prime considerations is that our lighting gives a true representation of daylight, something of particular importance for our fashion collections.” Clothes must not only look vibrant and attractive on display but must also meet customers’ expectations when they return home. Goods returned to store impact on overall turnover and factors influencing this are important.
The Solution
A mix of MASTERColour CDM Elite 35 and 70 Watt lamps was used in three prime House of Fraser locations: Croydon’s Centrale shopping mall, the flagship store on London’s Oxford Street, and the City store in King William Street, also in the capital. Installation was carried out in just two weeks to minimise any disruption to busy trading hours. Crucial to the speed and efficiency of this changeover was the delivery of some 5,000 lamps supplied in full and on time by House of Fraser’s main distributor,The Lightbulb Company. Such has been the success of these three stores that the re-lamping and switch over to MASTERColour CDM Elite will be rolled out across an additional 20 stores during 2008.
Benefits
One of the key benefits of MASTERColour Elite is its unique combination of unbeatable light quality and consistent lifetime performance. MASTERColour CDM Elite lamps have a lumen maintenance of 80% in comparison with conventional lamps of only 50%. Reliability of lamp performance also offers the opportunity to predetermine end of life allowing the potential for a group replacement strategy at times when no inconvenience is caused. As Peter Doherty, General Manager, of House of Fraser Oxford Street explains, “We need to know that our stores will look attractive and inviting at all times so that our customers have a consistent shopping experience each time they visit. MASTERColour CDM Elite lamps give us that assurance as their quality and reliability are exceptional.”
Since adopting MASTERColour CDM Elite House of Fraser has seen a reduction in goods being returned. As Peter Horrix, Director of Store Development, sums up, “We’re really pleased with the visible change that MASTERColour CDM Elite has brought to our business but more importantly so are our customers – and that has to be the key indicator of its success.”