D’Art Design Transforms ZEISS Retail Identity Through Strategic Visual Merchandising

ZEISS partners with D’Art Design to revolutionize retail fixtures and ensure visual consistency across its multi brand outlets in India.

DELHI, INDIA, May 14, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In order to strategically elevate the in store brand experience and reinforce visual consistency across different retail touchpoints based in different locations, ZEISS partnered with D’Art Design, a 360 degree retail marketing and branding agency, for its retail transformation project.

The initiative, titled Project Clarity, was developed with the main focus on addressing key merchandising inconsistencies and limited interactivity at ZEISS’ Multi Brand Outlet (MBO) locations across India. As the eyewear industry is expected to reach 19.6 billion dollars in India by the end of 2023 and will witness sustained growth, ZEISS is focused on evolving its in store strategy in order to appropriately cater to customer demands and expectations along with reflecting retail dynamics and brand values in a better way.

Aligning Retail Fixtures with Brand Philosophy
ZEISS is an eyewear brand that is globally celebrated for its precision engineering and innovation. On the contrary, the brand’s retail footprint in India was facing tough competition in translating its legacy into the physical retail spaces. ZEISS has more than 700 retail touchpoints across India. However, the brand was still facing challenges and restrictions in terms of brand consistency, customer experience, and efficient management due to different designs and different ways of displaying products at every store. Moreover, there were two dominant types of existing counter units that were frequently used in the retail outlets. Both of them had various shortcomings that further impacted customer engagement as well as brand recall.

These legacy counters lacked real time experience tools, including mirrors, further leaving customers confused about how frames look on their faces; had loads of not required information; and failed to effectively communicate the unique selling propositions of ZEISS products. Visual clutter, minimal to zero brand visibility, and outdated product display strategies directly weakened brand messaging, especially in those retail environments where shelf presence is a must.

Recognizing these constraints, the assigned team at D’Art Design undertook a comprehensive retail fixture design exercise that wasn’t just focused on modernizing the displays but instead, aligning them with ZEISS’ core philosophy—clarity.

Three Phase Design Strategy: From Revamp to Reinforcement
D’Art Design structured this retail transformation project into three distinct but independent phases: Counter Type Redesign, Festive Retail Intervention, and Utility Based Branding.

In the first phase, D’Art conceptualized and designed modular fixture solutions that were adapted to stock keeping unit variety, the availability of space, and the interaction levels of customers. These new fixtures—Frame and Lens Display Units, Accessories Display Units, and
Modular Display Units—weren’t just aesthetically pleasing and functional but also brand forward. In addition, they were deployed across varied formats, including floor standing, island units, and wall mounted configurations, to mainly facilitate flexible implementation regardless of the store layout design.

The new retail fixtures made it easy for shoppers to seamlessly interact with the brand. They included key features like prominent logos and central AV screens that further helped attract customer eyeballs, evoke interest, and drive conversions. The areas for displaying products were neat, tidy, and in a better organized manner. This directly enhanced the visibility of ZEISS’ products along with encouraging hands on exploration. In addition, the inclusion of dynamic content created a more engaging, experience driven feel to the stores.

The team leader, handling ZEISS’ retail transformation project at D’Art Design, stated, ‘our main goal was to completely redefine how ZEISS communicates its worth within physical retail, not just through looks but through overall experience. We wanted the executed visual merchandising system to guide the customers and not overwhelm them. And this is exactly what helped us convey the ZEISS story with additional clarity.

Seasonal Interventions for Strategic Visibility
After laying down the foundation of in store infrastructure, it was time to initiate the second phase right before the start of the festive retail season—a key time for customer engagement. D’Art was all ready to make the most out of this opportunity. As a result, the firm conducted retail audits in major metro cities, including Delhi, Noida, Bangalore, and Mumbai, in order to identify visibility gaps and areas of festive event activation.

The marketing agency installed reflective gantries at store entrances to enhance the outdoor appeal, establish brand linkage, and promote recall. Branded window vinyls were executed in places prone to high visibility that were often occupied by the competitors. The existing static pillars were replaced with manual/auto rotating ones in order to ensure visibility from different angles.

In addition, the company introduced illuminated trial mirrors along with freshly designed tabletop displays that automatically brought ZEISS’ products into more intimate interaction zones where interested buyers could naturally engage more. These upgrades did not only support ZEISS’ festive campaigns but also ensured long term relevance and usability.

Utility Based Branding as a Sustained Recall Mechanism
The final phase, utility based branding, was all about organically blending ZEISS brand into the store environment through everyday items. Based on on the ground research and insights, it was noticed that the store operators often utilized tools for various day to day operations. Hence, those tools remain visible throughout the day.

D’Art Design found an opportunity and utilized this insight to develop branded functional items including table mats, entry and exit stickers, stationery organizers, and certification plaques. These products were not directly promotional but were highly functional in nature. Hence, integrating them into the everyday workflow of retail spaces helped ZEISS achieve constant visibility without any extra investment or effort.

The marketing head who was handling this respective project commented, ‘utility based branding wasn’t just a creative choice. Instead, it was a well planned strategy. We researched deeply in order to identify the items that were regularly used by the store operators and which they would not remove easily. We further separated and customized those items that could help us achieve constant visibility without needing any constant update’s.

Designing for Diversity and Scale
Ensuring uniformity in branding along with respecting spatial and functional differences across all the assigned ZEISS retail touchpoints was actually one of the most daunting challenges of this project. The design firm followed an approach that was rooted in modularity and adaptability.

They developed flexible designs that allowed different stores to select the most suitable units for their space without compromising on quality as well as brand integrity. This approach assisted the eyewear brand in maintaining relevance and consistency, irrespective of the retail environment.

Apart from aesthetics, the redesigned fixtures and visual merchandising strategies were focused on facilitating informed decision making, boosting product trials, and positively shaping the customer perception about the eyewear brand in multiple contexts.

A Model for Long Term Retail Evolution
In this competitive retail era where customer expectations evolve at a rapid speed, retail spaces are expected to become more experience driven. To accomplish this, retailers are increasingly looking for solutions related to brand identity design that promote utility and enhance engagement. This collaborative partnership between ZEISS and D’Art Design is proof of how strategic fixture design and placement, when combined with effective merchandising tactics, can act as tools for sustained communications.

Project Clarity was not just a campaign. Instead, it was an infrastructural reinvention. The respective project was all about longevity, which is why store owners welcomed it with an open heart. It helped ZEISS establish a scalable model for future retail innovations in India’s rapidly evolving retail landscape.

About ZEISS
ZEISS is a German eyewear brand that is popular across the entire globe for its optical systems, lens manufacturing, and precision engineering. Founded in 1846, the brand ZEISS specializes in high quality consumer products, including camera lenses, sports optics, vision care, microscopes, metrology solutions, and diagnostic and surgical equipment.

About D’Art Design
D’Art Design is a 360 degree retail marketing and branding agency that is known for providing incredible retail solutions for various national and international brands. The firm has worked with more than 350 clients, including brands from the energy, lifestyle, apparel, FMCG, and consumer electronics sectors, and has delivered more than 60,000 retail touchpoints till the end of December 2024. A few prestigious names from D’Art’s portfolio are Crompton, Hitachi, Patanjali, Top Brass, Red Chief, Studds, Laat Saab, Latin Quarters, and Adidas.

Chiranjivi Rajhans
D'Art Pvt Ltd
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