John Lewis new stores

Case StudyB&Q

b&q are the largest home improvement and garden centre retailer in the uk. owned by kingfisher plc they acquired 31 focus diy stores earlier this year. this was in line with their strategy to expand the current 321 store base.

their plan is to rebrand all of these stores over the course of the next year under the b&q banner and, following a competitive tender, omega were asked to begin this process starting with 2 stores this august with a further 3 to quickly follow.

this month omega have successfully rebranded b&q harrogate and b&q kendal, both ex focus, and are now looking to complete goole & gainsborough in the next few weeks with more sites to follow.

“this rebranding exercise was important for us and we needed a company that was both professional and reliable. omega have fitted the bill perfectly”
andy dearden, retail fit out programme manager

This month Omega have successfully rebranded B&Q Harrogate and B&Q Kendal, both ex Focus, and are now looking to complete Goole & Gainsborough in the next few weeks with more sites to follow.

“This rebranding exercise was important for us and we needed a company that was both professional and reliable. Omega have fitted the bill perfectly”
Andy Dearden, Retail Fit Out Programme Manager

Case StudyAston Villa

aston villa recognise the importance of their brand and undertook to update and replace their signage around and inside the ground.

the brief was simple, “we want villa park to be the first thing you see on the way into the city and the last thing you see on the way out”.

the site had many different architectural styles allowing us to demonstrate the wide variety of our signing skills. this included welcome signs to greet and direct traffic, a modern look for the corporate entrances highlighted by brushed stainless steel, over 250 internal way-finding signs in corporate areas, a new frontage for the villa park store and traditional signage on the holte suite and hotel.

strategically placed totem signs fulfilled the practical function of providing both ‘arrival points’ and ‘wayfinding’ but also provided fans with the perfect backdrop for photographic mementos.

the famous holte pub was brought alive with gold leaf reverse decorated glass fascias illuminated by brass swan neck lamps and wrought iron fingerposts providing external wayfinding. conscious of both environmental and long term maintenance issues, high level signage was designed with 4 metre high flex face crests and 4 large sets of individual halo letters incorporating led illumination.

the project tested our project management team with installation over main roads and very tight deadlines to bring it all together before the start of the football season.

however the final result is a showcase for signage, a triumphant combination of both traditional and contemporary methods.

“with our signage supplier we have made fantastic strides to reinvigorate the aston villa brand making sure our proud name is on display for everyone to see.”
dan meredith, marketing executive
aston villa recognise the importance of their brand and undertook to update and replace their signage around and inside the ground.

the brief was simple, “we want villa park to be the first thing you see on the way into the city and the last thing you see on the way out”.

the site had many different architectural styles allowing us to demonstrate the wide variety of our signing skills. this included welcome signs to greet and direct traffic, a modern look for the corporate entrances highlighted by brushed stainless steel, over 250 internal way-finding signs in corporate areas, a new frontage for the villa park store and traditional signage on the holte suite and hotel.

strategically placed totem signs fulfilled the practical function of providing both ‘arrival points’ and ‘wayfinding’ but also provided fans with the perfect backdrop for photographic mementos.

the famous holte pub was brought alive with gold leaf reverse decorated glass fascias illuminated by brass swan neck lamps and wrought iron fingerposts providing external wayfinding. conscious of both environmental and long term maintenance issues, high level signage was designed with 4 metre high flex face crests and 4 large sets of individual halo letters incorporating led illumination.

the project tested our project management team with installation over main roads and very tight deadlines to bring it all together before the start of the football season.

however the final result is a showcase for signage, a triumphant combination of both traditional and contemporary methods.

“with our signage supplier we have made fantastic strides to reinvigorate the aston villa brand making sure our proud name is on display for everyone to see.”
dan meredith, marketing executive

Case StudyCrown Point

omega were invited to tender for two 10m totem signs and one 7454mm x 5428mm retail park directory sign.

the brief via architectural drawings requested illuminated 10m high totem signs carrying the crown point retail park logo. internally they were to be illuminated with fluorescent lighting to the logos with up lighting to the feature canopy. the signage also carried five free floating bands each to be illuminated with blue led’s. the second sign was to be fully illuminated with fluorescent lights and carry the twenty-eight individual retail advertising boards.

installation was a real challenge as the location of the proposed signage was at the entrance of a trading retail park. consideration therefore had to be given to access for customers during installation and health and safety given the highest priority.

one location presented particular logistical problems as access for the concrete delivery equipment was restricted. this resulted in the use of a 16m delivery boom to enable the concrete to be transported up and over the fence. installation at this location also required omega to manage the road closure of a busy main artery road serving leeds city centre.

during the road closure man lifters were located on the highway and a 80 ton crane was required to enable the enormous sign to be lifted over the obstacles preventing access and then placed in position.

due to size of the signage the electrical installation also required some “thinking outside of the box”. normal factory electrical and panel assembly had to be conducted on site and this led to the need for the construction of a mobile working area. all the technical requirements had to be re-housed on site on a temporary basis and the health and safety aspects of the mobile area be accounted for.

due to the complexities of the signage, design engineering played a key role to ensure that maintenance was as hassle free as possible. the engineering department used the latest software packages to allow complex drawings to be produced and facilitate manufacture. this led to individual panel sizes being installed that complied with the original design brief but also provided reasonable access for maintenance requirements as and when required.

however the result is a spectacular sign which is a real local landmark and provides a great entrance for crown point retail park.

case studyThe Perfume Shop

omega signs installations for the perfume shop.

Case Studyjohn lewis new stores

omega scales new heights with jlp

following the successful install at chester last year omega were awarded 2 new install sites for jlp, one at their new site in exeter and the other at their joint venture site with waitrose in ipswich. both sites had challenging briefs and close teamwork between omega and john lewis was essential throughout.

the exeter install was a large new store, right in the centre of the city and there were access and major planning issues regarding the signage to contend with. not only this but the building was 7 storeys high and jlp wanted vertical sign banners starting from the high west point down the side of the building. working at such a great height was difficult and required a huge cherry picker the like of which had not been seen before at omega. however the results are amazing as the signs are fitted with a combination of halo and edge lit illumination so that they can be seen right across town.

the building also has a large glass curved atrium and as everyone knows mounting a sign on a glass fascia let alone a curved one requires meticulous planning! omega had to work extremely closely with the glazing and steel contractors but the effect is stunning.

the entire process has been a great success and the whole concept has been entered into the retail store of the year awards with winners due to be announced in march 2013. omega were also chosen to be the signage partners for the new flagship ipswich store in which waitrose supermarket and john lewis at home shop to open next door to each other. the main challenge was to ensure the branding for each store was impactful and clearly reflected the core brand values but also that the two brands complemented each other and worked in harmony. this was particularly important at the entrance, which both brands shared, and in the car park where joint totem poles were erected. as you can see from the photos the result is truly impressive and both jlp and waitrose were delighted.

Case StudyJohn Lewis new stores

omega signs are proud to have provided signage for john lewis partnership and waitrose for over 8 years. 2015 was no exception with the new store openings in horsham; birmingham and basingstoke.

summer 2015 – horsham

in june 2015 the joint site of john lewis ‘at home’ and waitrose was opened at horsham. omega signs developed and installed all the external building signage, totems and internal signage including wayfinding and store destination.

autumn 2015 -birmingham

in autumn 2015 john lewis opened its new £35million birmingham shop at the grand central retail development and omega signs installed all the external and major internal signage. omega signs are proud to have provided signage for john lewis partnership and waitrose for over 8 years. 2015 was no exception so, in this edition, we have taken a look at some of the great signage that we have installed in the new store openings that happened across the uk last year.

autumn 2015 – basingstoke

john lewis, located in basing view, was the retailer’s 12th ‘at home’ shop and the largest co-located john lewis and waitrose to date. working closely with contractors omega developed and installed all the external signage as well as all the internal directional signage.

“thank you for all the hard work in getting the signage up and ready at birmingham. it was a tough project to deliver due to building works over-running and i know daran put in a lot of additional hours to finish everything off. however the final look is fantastic.”
lisa wells, standards and signage manager