Vermont’s Management Toured Its First Multi-Brand Store Before It Was Built

Vermont has represented premium fashion brands on the Czech, Hungarian, and Slovak markets since 1999. It has opened over 100 single-brand stores in that time and continues to grow. It’s now launching a luxury multi-brand store, the first under the Vermont brand. 

The Problem

Although Vermont already has years of experience building and operating single-brand stores, its new store with five brands from Italian fashion houses presented a significant challenge. The wholly unique store concept, which is more like a luxurious club located within the Westfield Chodov shopping center, was new for the company’s management and for the personnel that will serve future customers. Because of the high-quality of the apparel and the exceptional level of customer service, Vermont wanted to be sure the store’s layout was designed to satisfy the staff and so individual design elements met expectations.

Vermont thus decided to build a miniature mock-up of the store with an area of 100m2. Despite this answering some of the basic questions they had about where to put furniture, the location of free-standing dressing rooms, and the amount of greenery, it was still just a miniature model that had its limits. The company’s management still didn’t know how sales would go in the store, nor how they and customers will feel inside.

The Solution

Corporate Management Was Able to Tour the Store in Virtual Reality

Vermont received answers to its questions only after it had the entire store including facilities for employees and entrances transposed into virtual reality. Key executives and specialists could see a virtual version of the store in 1:1 scale in Virtuplex’s 600m2 hall and could then actually see the impression the store gives.

Virtuplex’s VR headsets and backpacks allowed them to walk around furniture and evaluate the materials used, which included brass, leather, and wood. They tested the width of the aisles, the quality of the lighting, and the views. They examined the sight lines personnel had from different areas of the store and how to avoid forgetting about a customer in the back. In the end, the positions of certain pieces of furniture were changed and specific elements they weren’t sure of were removed.

By taking the store into virtual reality, Vermont executives could be certain of building a space that will serve its purpose to the letter.

The Challenge for Us

“With Vermont, we had to emphasize the realism of the scene. We went into great detail with the lighting, fine-tuning the warmth and angles the light in virtual reality shines on a specific shelf with apparel. It was important for the materials and their textures as well. We adjusted them based on images provided and the furniture that will be placed into the store.

Martin Albrecht, Business Development & Partnership

The Virtual Library of Elements Simplifies the Construction of Every Subsequent Store

Virtuplex acquired 3D data from the Italian architects, which then underwent the key optimization of the 3D model’s geometry so it could be transferred into virtual reality. The advantage of the software is that data entered is saved in the so-called library of elements, which is made up of pieces of furniture that the architect and client can use together in real time. This makes the construction of every subsequent store much easier and less costly. Vermont will leverage this benefit, as it plans to use the services of Virtuplex for every multi-brand store it will open.