Booty at Ripley's Cargo Hold

Ripley's Aquariums is a division of Ripley Entertainment Inc., an Orlando, Florida-based company that owns and operates tourist attractions — including 27 Ripley's Believe It or Not! museums and six Guinness World of Records attractions — in 12 countries. There are currently two Ripley's Aquariums. One is in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the other, a Merchandising Achievement Award finalist in this year's Store Design category, is in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It is called Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. Each of the aquariums cost $50 million to build, and the company has plans to build as many as eight more at locations around the world.

In 1996, when the company was still planning the first aquarium in Myrtle Beach, CEO Bob Masterson began searching for firms to design the gift shops that would be part of the aquariums. "We were looking for someone that had been doing interesting retail projects," said Masterson. His search led him to JGA Inc., a Southfield, Michigan-based design firm (and designer of numerous Gifts & Dec Merchandising Achievement Award winners, including last year's Silver Award-winning gift shop at the American Museum of Natural History in New York) with several years of experience designing retail spaces for tourist attractions.

JGA creates gift shops that maintain a separate identity from the main attraction while contributing to a visitor's overall experience. "A zone of retail space allows customers to transition more smoothly out of the attraction," said Michael Crosson, CEO of JGA. The gift shop, in effect, becomes the end of the ride for visitors. "It gives them a softer landing," explained Crosson.

In its designs, JGA also utilizes specific themes from the institutions where the gift shops are located in order to create a seamless transition and support the mission of the venue. "People are looking for two things in this kind of gift shop. First, they are looking for meaningful, unique gifts. And second, they want authenticity. The institution's authority lends authenticity to the merchandise it sells," said Crosson.

One of the design elements at each of the Ripley's aquariums is a sunken ship in the shark tank exhibit. The designers at JGA saw that feature as something they could use as a theme for the retail space in Myrtle Beach. There, the first Cargo Hold Gift Shop opened in June 1997.

In 1997, Ripley's also secured the site for the Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg, and JGA was involved from the very beginning in the construction and design of the aquarium's retail space. Over a three-year period, designers were able to consult with architects and contractors on the construction of the Gatlinburg Cargo Hold Gift Shop, which, at 3,815 square feet, is almost 20 percent larger than the original Cargo Hold in Myrtle Beach.

The shop's internal entrance has the appearance of being an extension of the aquarium, blending easily with the other exhibits at the venue. The interior storefront of the Cargo Hold Gift Shop features three yellow specimen tanks like those used in aquarium exhibits, displaying fine crystals and gifts.

In keeping with the theme, the gift shop was designed with signage, fixtures, and finishes that are nautical in character, as well as elements that create the appearance of a sunken vessel. Rust-colored paint and wood tones suffuse the space with an antique feel, while faux-metal rivets, portholes, and oil drums reinforce the seafaring look. Crates marked "Fragile" hang from the ceiling with giant octopi draped over them. The high ceilings contribute to the spacious, nautical character, and provide room for a mezzanine of catwalks with "rusted" railings and bolts displaying further thematic elements. The walls feature design embellishments that emulate the ribbing of a hull, and industrial light fixtures highlight the cargo hold theme. A backdrop of bubbling glass tubes not only replicates aquarium structures, but also gives a distinct underwater feel to the gift shop. Throughout most of the store, designers utilized recycled barn wood flooring for an antique appearance. Metallic-looking vinyl flooring differentiates the children's department at the center of the store.

The Cargo Hold's merchandising fixtures also contribute to the nautical theme, with features such as the yellow specimen tanks, porthole display windows that house pole systems to show crystal and giftware, and oil drums with specialty graphic emblems that hold plush merchandise. Finally, near the cash wrap, a custom-made buoy magnet fixture displays aquarium souvenirs.

A longer-term goal of the Cargo Hold in Gatlinburg, which opened on December 15, 2000, was to serve as a unique local gift store offering residents and previous visitors a variety of distinctive merchandise. To that end, the shop was also designed with an external entrance, which, according to Michael Crosson of JGA, helps drive outside sales. In order to have the broadest possible appeal, aquatic-themed inventory in a wide range of categories is available to buyers. Merchandise includes high-end gift items like Swarovski and Lalique crystal, as well as apparel, music, housewares, plush, and aquarium souvenirs. "The tie that binds everything together is marine life," said Bob Masterson.

Masterson also reported that the Cargo Hold Gift Shop in Gatlinburg is welcoming a better-than-anticipated number of visitors. While it is too soon to tell what the total first-year sales figures will be, he estimated that the gift shop grosses about $1,200 per square foot.

Masterson also added that he has "high praise" for the work that JGA has done with the Cargo Hold Gift Shops, and looks forward to working with them on future projects.