Elf for Ulta Inline Prestige Cosmetics Retail Display

The retail landscape continuously evolves, and staying ahead of trends can be a formidable challenge for any brand.

Darko, in partnership with e.l.f. Beauty, has accepted this challenge and driven significant improvements in retail display presentation, customer engagement and operational efficiencies.

Our innovative solutions have boosted the brands footprint, from 4' to 12' feet over the years and gained the brand a +24% growth in favorability perception with shoppers calling it 'eye-catching merchandising, easy to find and easy to shop.'

A major shift was the new strategy for a 'top shelf showcase', a play space designed to highlight new and 'now' items and 'hero' product lines.

PROJECT DETAILS

... YOU KNOW, THE JUICY STUFF

Homage to heritage with
an eye on trends

The Retail Challenge

In the contemporary, highly competitive market of cosmetics, carving out a space for your brand feels like embarking on an epic mission. The challenge was clear: to stand out, captivate, and guide shoppers into a new realm of product discovery.

The Approach

Darko's approach required the creation of a retail world that balances ease of navigation, compelling engagement, and cost-effectiveness, so we opened the playbook and started to build out design system to thrive in-store.

The Darko Solve

Darko's solution is Illuminated Ingenuity, which pushed the boundaries of retail experience by incorporating a smart and innovative shelf lighting technology. This technology increased the visibility of products but featured a custom and energy efficient power supply. Furthermore, we wanted to introduce a 'Top Shelf Showcase' – a dedicated platform utilizing our advanced lighting system to draw attention to new, limited edition or premium products. This strategy not only highlights key products but also promotes an element of discovery, further enriching the customer's in-store experience.

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Now comes the fun stuff

Beauty is in the details

Striking showcases significantly elevate the visibility of the products

The interplay of lighting and a rich spectrum of colors skillfully directs shoppers through distinct segments

The innovative design concept that initiated a transformative boost in in-store impact

Straightforward merchandise caddies improve the overall shopping experience and simplify graphic updates

Innovative and energy efficient lighting solution

Engaging and inspiring through design and technology.

Now comes the fun stuff

Innovating for the Innovators

At our Cleveland headquarters, we develop intricate Planograms (POGs), simulating real-time environments to test and refine strategies for in-store success. This iterative approach enhances the end-user experience and delivers custom solutions aligning with our clients' objectives.

The In-Store Impact

6 Years
Ready Retail YOY Performance
1,357
Displays
159,000
New Points of Distribution

The Ulta Fall 2023 redesign has to be one of my favorite collaborations yet. Not only was it redesigned in record time, we did it with consistent brand navigation learnings, non-negotiable fixture and in-store execution efficiencies and optimizations in costs as top priorities.

E.l.f. beauty

AVP Visual Merchandising

Portfolio