Page 31 - Demo

ZURHEIDE DUSSELDORF EVENTS From the EuroShop expo site it’s a short trip to Dusseldorf’s city centre and arguably one of the world’s best supermarket and restaurant precincts. Opened in March 2018, Zurheide Feine Kost’s 10,000sqm flagship store will impress even the most jaded of the food and grocery industry, boasting an impressive supermarket offering of 60,000 products in addition to high end specialty bars and restaurants. Housed in the two-level store are a ham bar, smoothie bar, mozzarella bar, vegetarian restaurant, pasta bar, hot bar, patisserie, sushi bar, gourmet bistro, champagne club, coffee lounge, beef bar, grill point and Michelin star restaurant, Setzkasten, along with traditional supermarket precincts such as a butcher’s counter, seafood counter, deli, bakery and frozen foods, among others. Each section of the store is carefully curated and high end. This is the type of store well-heeled Dusseldorf residents frequent on a monthly basis to stock up on premium cheeses, wines and other food products, while out-of-city visitors call by to sample the delicacies at restaurants. In the frozen section, coffin freezers feature glass sides as well as tops, with sleek lighting making the cabinets glow. In the middle of the chilled section resides a circular chair with a small tree sprouting from the centre. The store uses digital price tags throughout to allow for real-time price updates and boasts concessions for brands including Lindt, Ferrero, Haribo, and Kinder among others. It’s said the newly opened Coles Local in Melbourne’s St Kilda is modelled on this store, and it’s not difficult to see why, with some similarities between the two when it comes to fresh, such as the pineapple vending machine at the store entrance beside the bustling smoothie bar and next to an impressive fresh fruit and veg section. One of the newest concepts seen at EuroShop was on show here at Zurheide in fruit and veg, using specialist lights and refrigeration conditions to replicate growing conditions and create mini farms in-store to ensure greens such as lettuce and herbs are the freshest they can be. Fixtures used in-store are sleek and minimalist, featuring natural wood materials with shelving levels reaching head height in the centre of the store, reserving floor-to-ceiling fixtures and shelving for concessions and the store walls. Digital is used throughout the store, but subtly. A few displays feature screens explaining the provenance of products such as vinegars, with projected floor signage for wayfinding at the landing point on the second floor, and digital signage in some of the specialty bars. Point of sale displays are generally of the permanent nature, with just a small number of temporary quarter- pallet and floor displays in the grocery focused ections. The restaurants within Zurheide are small and intimate, focusing on allowing diners to get up close and personal with both the chef and produce. At the grill point, diners are invited to select their own meat from the cabinet before having it cooked for them, and at the champagne club, a cellar houses a variety of temperature regulated wines to select from, nestled beside premium displays filled with European wines and champagnes of differing price ranges. Lighting throughout the store is well used and deliberate, highlighting products, backlighting hero items and uplighting displays and product cabinets. Setzkasten, the Michelin starred restaurant, seats up to 58 guests, with 10 seats at an executive table in the kitchen, while the patisserie serves 140 products with seven confectioners producing an array of fresh chocolates, pastries and ice-cream daily. In addition to the nine gastronomy points, other special touches across the store are marble cake stands, a functional oil press, walk-in beverage fridge, and impressive visual merchandising that heroes the products on show. About Carla Bridge Carla is General Manager of Shop! ANZ, formerly known as POPAI. The industry body for retail, shopper and in-store marketing, Shop! is the only global, not-for-profit industry association exclusively operating as the focal point for retail marketing and shopper experience excellence in 45 countries worldwide. For more information, contact Carla on 02 9281 2630 or shop@shopassociation.org.au, or visit www.shopassociation.org.au. APR, 2020 RETAIL WORLD 29