YATA is a Modern Japanese lifestyle department store with a core business that includes supermarkets targeting mid to high-end consumers. The name YATA comes from a Japanese phrase yatta, meaning: I made it. Together with the logo of a smiling shopping bag, their core mission is to provide customers with a quality shopping experience in a comfortable one-stop shopping environment, where shoppers can buy their everyday items.
YATA’s primary focus of people is clearly reflected in their store design. Every part of the store serves to facilitate customers’ shopping experience. For example, the new 1,143 sq/m (12,300 sq/ft) Mong Kok supermarket has very spacious corridors and general areas to allow a highly comfortable environment; a crucial element in creating quality shopping experience.
inProjects, one of Asia’s leading project management firms, provided professional project management services to deliver this Mong Kok supermarket. They have monitored all technical aspects of renovations and pre-store opening arrangements for several YATA stores throughout Hong Kong since 2102.
The interior of the Mong Kok store is designed to create a natural zone, which is expressed in the core color scheme of green and brown. The majority of the furniture is wood and where there are concrete columns, they have been painted green to embrace the feeling of ‘greenery’. There is also forest animal décor at the shop front to create a lively and energetic environment. The aim of this design is for shoppers to feel free and easy in a relaxed natural environment, with unlimited supply of freshness and resources.
This store employs the traditional yet representative element of Japanese culture – cleanliness. This is apparent in the store design as all zones have been clearly categorized and all furniture, fridges and product stands are situated in an organized and systematic layout. YATA have also adopted sustainable approaches in their design by using LED lights with long life, compared to incandescent and fluorescent lighting.
In Hong Kong, space and time are very tight resources and a shopping environment considerate of these factors can have a strong impact on a customer’s wishes to visit a store. This new YATA store aims to accommodate customer’s desires by providing an ideal environment; relaxing, spacious and a one-stop shopping location. This store provides all convenient products that a customer may be searching for, ranging from seafood to vegetables, or even pet food. This wide-range of products can all be located in a short time, making the store an efficient place to shop.
Customers are not the only people in YATA’s primary focus; they also value their staff. They believe that frequent communication and close coordination are important, and have integrated this idea into the overall store design. For example this can be seen in the way the counters of different departments show intimacy and unity. There is also a similar design for various food counters to make it easier to communicate their locations with customers. Moreover, supplements or products of similar category will be placed nearby their relevant counter for convenience as this shortens the distance between customers and their ‘targets’.
A new business concept of incorporating a small Baby Town in-store is aimed at today’s multi-tasking mothers who strive to look after their families whilst maintaining a work balance every day. The main function of this Baby Town is to gather necessary items for babies, such as baby food and skin care products, and have it all conveniently located in the one place.
For more information on YATA or inProjects, please visit their websites.