The team at Integrity have worked with Waitrose for over 25 years to ensure the customer journey at every store provides an excellent customer experience. We have managed two previous rebrands, so as a trusted partner, when Waitrose decided to update their identity, they turned to us to deliver their vision across every element of signage and customer journey.
The launch day of 4th September 2018 sees John Lewis and Waitrose unveil their new brand identity which brings their Partners to the fore, and expresses what’s different about their business.
The most prominent physical representation of this new identity is the store signage and for this Waitrose turned to us to bring their new brand vision to life. We have been working closely with Waitrose’s design agency Pentagram and their signage contractors Omega, since April - developing the design concepts, undertaking detailed construction design and prototyping, and getting sites ready for installation.
The design intent for the key signage items - the building logo, totems and projecting signs, pushed the boundaries of construction methods and included using new technologies in sign manufacture to deliver an impactful identity across every type of storefront. The new logo posed particular challenges with the fine stroke width and therefore the use of embedded LED construction.
One of the biggest challenges on any rebrand is how to implement the new look with minimal cost and minimal environmental impact, so our work has focussed heavily on the re-use of existing hardware and reskinning and cladding existing structures rather than wasting old materials and undertaking unnecessary groundworks. All panel signs have been future proofed to ensure changeability to aid maintenance and specifying long-life materials to keep the new identity looking fresh for at least ten years.
Alongside the detailed design, our team of designers and project managers have developed site schemes for the Head Office in Bracknell and stores refurbished ready for launch day, along with meshing the process into the ‘business as usual’ refurbishment programmes across numerous sites to open in the coming weeks and months. Developing the principles for signage application for the new identity, securing planning permissions and working with project teams to ensure successful installation, Integrity has once again proven to be an invaluable cog in the rebrand engine.
This project represents the latest and most exciting step in our long-standing relationship with Waitrose. We can’t wait to see how the impact from this change helps the Waitrose brand go from strength to strength, and we’re excited to be playing a big part in the journey as we continue to deliver excellent customer journeys for Waitrose and their Partners across their store portfolio and their non-trading estate.
