The first impression of the store Anthropologie was the large wooden door with a hand crafted metal handle that was crafted to resemble a tree vine. Immediately upon entering the store a consumer is hit with light happy music that improves the mood of the store and nicely accompanies the sweet fruity smell of Anthropologies candles which are conveniently placed at the entrance of the store to create this sensation, something Hiss would have noticed as purposeful. The floors feel original as they are made of old creaky wood that reveals its past lives full of scruffs and marks that feel homey and original. One side of the store is covered by huge windows that allows a lot of light to enter the room and make the whole store feel much larger. The window frames appear old and repurposed that resonate in the rustic and industrial feeling the store has. This theme carries into the cabinets that hold different products as well as the recycled canvas that are stretched between pipes in front of clothing hung on industrial style rods. Underhill would be proud as the signs of the store are hand created to promote the idea of the store, with hand crafted canvases and quilts to label changing sections. Tables to display products are vintage and repurposed with coins, keys and carvings in the table that give it a unique and original vibe. The placement of large objects such as beds and stair guards were done very intentionally and thoughtfully as they helped the flow of the room and didn’t work against their size. Overall the store was happy, light, airy and full of pastel colors which made the experience enjoyable.
H&M was a very intense comparison after going into Anthropologie. When first entering the store you are met with extremely bright white lights that when paired with the white walls, floor, ceiling and large mannequins that cover the area the store feels very hospital or school like. A very quickly thrown together mass production. The store itself further expressed the mass production vibe as most of the signs in the store where just simple print off’s with red SALE signs. The store also had photographs of models covering many walls. The photos felt weird and distant as they were black and white and only showing an idealistic models face, no clothing featured or advertised. The whole store felt messy as most of the clothing was just thrown around the area not on hangers or folded on tables, the floors were also messy and not kept up with. The music was very loud and blaring music not unlike music found in a club or at a party.
While these two stores are attempting to appeal to different types of shoppers it was clear that Anthropologie was successful in their goal and H&M was not. The major problem with the latter was the cleanliness and upkeep of the store, this issues has a simple solution of hiring more staff and making one of their main jobs to clean up. The space could also be helped by eliminating much of their advertising as it did not do anything to help there brand and only further cultured the space.
