Two-speed store

Two floors, two worlds, two speeds: the whole Castorama store in La Défense just outside Paris, is geared up for all this. La Défense, is the business district around the Grande Arche. The office tower in the shape of a triumphal arch completes the visual axis on the Champs Élysées with its huge Arc de Triomphe in the centre of Paris. 
A DIY store in a business district, located in a shopping mall with fashion chains as neighbours - and that works? Well, it has worked since its opening in 2008 because the DIY store operator is totally focused on the needs of its customer - or rather its clientele.
"We have two floors and two worlds", store manager Benoit Vincelet explains the 10 000 m² sales area concept. The objective of both worlds is to make shopping as easy as possible for the customers. That's why the product displays and modules implemented in this Castorama flagship store are state-of-the-art.
The ground floor is equipped exclusively for the needs of the 180 000 office workers employed in La Défense, who prefer to do their shopping in the lunch break or maybe even after work, and what's more, they even shop in DIY stores. Lamps are some of the typical products, so there's a particularly large shelving unit directly at the main entrance on the ground floor, just for this product group. Storage systems or household goods and cleaning products and for some time now, the clientele has also embraced smart home products, all of which are typical products in this department. However, a comprehensive range of power tools can also be found here.
The work schedules of the 160 employees are organised especially with these "customers with little time on their hands", as Vincelet says, in mind. Logically the main sales revenue period is lunchtime from 12 until about 2pm and late afternoon, after office hours. For these peak periods, the sales area must be manned, so that revenue can be made. "It's like in the restaurant business", says Benoit Vincelet.

The first floor, reached via a moving walkway, has a completely different atmosphere. This is all about inspiring the clientele. "This is the slow store", explains store manager Vincelet. This is where the customers come when they're planning a big project and have more time to spend. Or to use a…