ARNO Retail Design Agency – Experienced, Comprehensive and International

The core tasks of a retail design agency

As an integrated service provider, a retail design agency combines multiple disciplines to deliver physical retail environments:

• Spatial design: Planning layouts and store environments that support customer flow and space efficiency.
• Visual merchandising: Structuring product presentation to improve orientation and purchase decisions.
• Brand communication: Translating brand identity into physical touchpoints and in-store storytelling.
• Functional planning: Ensuring usability, practicality, and operational requirements are integrated into the design.
• Implementation: Delivering and coordinating the realization of customer-oriented retail spaces at the point of sale.

ARNO started as an agency designing and producing high-quality retail furniture more than 8 decades ago. Throughout the years, we have gathered a wealth of knowledge and experience as a retail design agency working with numerous international companies from various sectors of industry. From fashion to electronics, we know our way around – and we know how to reach your customers.

Over the years, we have managed to retain our status as an independent retail design agency thanks to our flexibility and the quality of our work – which our clients have come to expect of us. Our staff include experts from every profession which is of use to a design agency, from visual designers and marketing experts to professional carpenters, architects and electricians. Thanks to the combined expertise of this team, our agency is able to reliably create designs for all major types of retail furniture. From zoning and outfitting entire brand stores to modular shop in shop systems to individual POP or POS display solutions for mass production – we know from experience how to shape the customer experience at every step of the way to a purchasing decision. Simultaneously, we know when and how to utilise cutting-edge technology such as digital multimedia elements for added marketing effect.

ARNO agency is not content to simply apply proven methods of retail design – we are an agency constantly looking for new scientific insights into customer behaviour and new trends in advertising, design and manufacture. To this end, our agency can be found at all the major exhibitions, from the DLD tech conference to the Retail Design Expo. Here, we gather valuable information about contemporary brand representation trends – and often, we draw inspiration from the creative designs which can be found here. Naturally, our agency also actively seeks out and promotes promising retail designers with ARDA, the annual ARNO Retail Design Award. Each year, we offer a theme and ask creative newcomers to come up with designs to fit this theme. This allows retail design students or freelancers to gain valuable experience as well as contacts within the industry, while we are able to draw inspiration from a fresh perspective.

Our agency can provide you with all the services needed to fully fit an entire chain of mono-brand retail stores, from zoning and creating a strategic layout to actual installation. This way, we can optimise the visual effect of individual displays, gondolas and marketing stands to mesh perfectly with the very layout of your store. This has both a beneficial impact on sales as well as on customer satisfaction, as the act of shopping is turned into an actual experience. Likewise, we can create shop in shop solutions to represent your brand in its own space within the retail environment. This ensures that the values and attributes conveyed by surrounding brands have no appreciable impact on your own brand identity, essentially carving your own fully controllable retail environment out of a larger mall or multi-brand store.

The wide range of professions among our staff allows our agency to design, produce, ship and even install your retail furniture on time, without incurring the additional costs typically associated with having to manage multiple companies working in tandem.

1. Definition of design objectives: The starting point of any retail design process is the definition of core objectives, such as attracting customer attention, communicating brand identity, and supporting product presentation.
2. Brand communication and differentiation: Retail furniture and displays are designed to convey branding clearly and consistently, even at a glance, and to stand out in multi-brand retail environments.
3. Customer perception and interaction: The design considers how customers perceive, approach, and interact with displays, including the placement of interactive or digital elements where appropriate.
4. Application of retail design theory: Decisions are informed by retail design as a scientific discipline, drawing on customer research and psychological insights to understand purchasing behaviour and spatial perception.
5. Feasibility and functional validation: Design concepts are reviewed for practical feasibility, durability, and suitability for everyday use in retail environments.

How ARNO Applies This Process

At ARNO, this generally accepted retail design process is supported by close collaboration between marketing specialists, visual designers, architects, and manufacturing experts from the earliest project phase.

While marketing and design teams focus on visual impact and customer engagement, technical and manufacturing specialists assess each concept for production feasibility, material suitability, and long-term durability. Design decisions are therefore evaluated not only for their visual and branding effect, but also for their impact on manufacturing efficiency and daily use in the store.

This integrated approach helps ensure that retail furniture and display systems align marketing intent with practical shopfitting requirements.

• Lower production costs: Standardised, modifiable display elements reduce the number of unique components, lowering production costs by approximately 20–30 % through increased manufacturing efficiency.
• Reduced storage costs: Reusable modular units decrease overall inventory volume; modular retail systems can reduce required storage space by around 20–30 % due to improved space utilisation.
• Shorter production lead times: Modular manufacturing principles enable faster production and deployment, with time savings of roughly 20–50 % compared to fully bespoke display solutions.

All designs developed by ARNO retail design agency enter the production phase fully viable, with manufacturing specialists already familiar with every technical and design detail. The construction of individual units is organised and supervised to ensure consistency, quality, and feasibility.

A key characteristic of shop-in-shop systems in particular is their high degree of modular adaptability. Interchangeable display elements and fixtures allow different product types to be presented within the same system. This makes it possible to adjust layouts easily and efficiently to varying retail environments without compromising brand integrity.

As a result, modular shopfitting systems support both operational efficiency and long-term flexibility while helping to control production and maintenance costs across multiple locations.

Once your shopfitting furniture has been manufactured, ARNO retail design agency can organise the entire shipping process for you. We organise storage, picking and shipping your displays to the locations of your choice. And thanks to our highly precise and efficient order picking process, you can be certain to receive exactly the fixtures you ordered, always on time. The benefits are significant:

• Deadlines are always met.
• Even very specific orders can be handled quickly.
• Pieces can be picked and shipped on short notice.
• The risk of being sent mismatched units is eliminated. 

To minimise the impact on your workforce after shipping, ARNO retail design agency can also install your new shopfitting furniture or SiS systems on-site, using our trusted partners worldwide. They are familiar with your regional infrastructure and know all the technical details of the displays, stands and gondolas making up your shop design. Likewise, our agency also provides you with the necessary documentation for installing and handling your products – and we can even train your workforce directly in handling them. This allows your staff to gain hands-on experience, supervised by experts provided by ARNO agency.

ARNO is an integrated service provider for all your retail design and branding needs. Simply contact us with your project or brand briefing and we will provide you with an estimate. We will work with you, either independently or in constant contact with each other, to create the retail environment that will drive your sales. With ARNO retail design agency, you can be sure to get high-quality bespoke furniture at reasonable prices, anywhere in the world.