Inside addition

The Little Shop in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, is a gift store that's been in the same general location of the local hospital's main lobby for 66 years. That's the kind of continuity most stores can only dream of. However, in 2000, plans for new construction and extensive renovation of Johnstown's Memorial Medical Center led administrators to plan a relocation of the gift shop. The Little Shop would have to give up not only its long-established lobby space, but also the coveted street exposure that drew additional customers to the store. "Our challenge was not only to accept change, but to embrace it as an opportunity," says Sally Hill, who co-manages the store with Joanne Eisenberg.

The shop is sponsored by the Auxiliary of Memorial Medical Center. Together with the hospital's facilities vice president, the auxiliary members had to weigh the realities of what space they'd most like to occupy versus what the facility was able to provide. Discussions during the following months led to settling on a 375-square-foot space right in the center of the newly constructed complex.

The new spot is directly opposite the medical center's retail food service area, and both the gift shop and the restaurant are served by a high traffic corridor, curved to create a street-like atmosphere. Meanwhile, eye-catching signage extends out into the hallway to draw customers in for a look at The Little Shop's newly designed interior.

To achieve their goals for the new space — great display areas, good lighting, enhanced traffic flow, and safety for employees — The Little Shop turned to the architectural firm of IKM. The architects, in turn, designed a stylish customer-friendly showcase for The Little Shop's product.

"Shotgun" door placement, with a door at each end of the long, narrow space, helps traffic flow easily through the store by creating an open floor plan. The two doors make entering and leaving an easy task even when the shop is busy. Meanwhile, open space lets customers stand back for an overall view of the displayed merchandise, encouraging unobstructed, unhurried browsing.

A wall of windows facing the corridor helps to attract passersby and keeps the space surprisingly light and airy for an interior location. Much of the sunny effect comes from directional spotlights and down lights that illuminate shelves, while ceiling fixtures shed light on walking and working areas. Glass shelves supported by cables line the windows, providing double exposure for the displayed product from both inside and outside the shop. The lack of obvious support for the shelves makes the silk flower arrangements, plates, prints, plush, angels, clocks, and other gift and home decor merchandise seem to float above the floor at eye level.

Both the window frames and the shop's custom-designed cabinets have a warm, natural oak finish to combat the sterile environment often associated with hospitals. The cabinets also feature lower drawers designed wide and deep enough to accommodate most types of boxes that product is shipped in. This allows The Little Shop to keep "one to show, and one to go," maximizing its very limited amount of space. In addition, a small back office allows for storage of larger boxes, display pieces, and supplies.

A mirrored back wall was created to add a feeling of depth and allow staff members to monitor the whole store while standing at the cash/wrap area. A security camera with 24-hour monitoring was also added to ease safety concerns.

Construction, which began in September 2001, was completed on April 1, 2002, and The Little Shop opened on April 8. Just how successful The Little Shop has been at pleasing its customers is proven by the fact that even without the chance to pull in outsiders, sales not only held their own, but actually grew dramatically over the old location.

Sales increases for October, November, and December of 2002 over the same months the year before added up to 26.8, 7.8, and 37.8 percent, respectively.

Now, that's the kind of addition any storeowner could learn to love.