pay for their items straight after their session. The store also offers a store-to-door service – if customers are unable to find an item in their size or colour, a staff member can order the right product from either another store or online, then have it delivered straight to their home. While the Witchery team worked on the store refurbishment for 12 months, the final design was informed by changes to consumer behaviour during the pandemic, according to Witchery’s managing director Simon Schofield. “The role of the store had changed anyway, but Covid has jumped us forward a year in advance. We have to put the customer first in how they want to shop and we have to stop differentiating between in-store and online sales,” Schofield told Inside Retail. “That ease of coming in and making your transaction – whatever it is – is critical. We wanted to make sure that there’s no detriment to the service of someone who wants to be styled top and toe, then wants to process that sale and leave, but doesn’t want to queue up behind four people with their online returns. It doesn’t make anyone’s transaction any less important. We wanted to create a store that could service both at the same time.” Physical retail in the time of Covid According to Schofield, one of the challenges of redesigning the store was dealing with a much smaller footprint. The Bondi store was previously nearly 300 square metres, almost double the size of what it is now, due to the fact that Witchery used to offer men’s and kidswear several years ago. But as Schofield said, there’s no need for stores to be “giant ballrooms” anymore, now that e-commerce plays a much more significant role in the business. Like many retailers since Covid, Witchery has also rationalised its store network, shrinking its network from more than 170 stores to just over 100. As Schofield explained, previously, “you could throw a stone from one [store] to the other” in some areas. “We have fewer stores, but more beautiful stores, where you can have an experience. If you’re going to encourage someone to leave the house, put down the phone and come into a physical environment, then you need to make that special and that’s what we hope we’ve done,” he said.  Since Covid hit, some retailers have shifted their attention to suburban and regional areas, while others continue to invest in their physical stores in the CBD.  “We’ve always had a good spread across [the CBD and suburbs] and it’s been interesting trying to understand that balance. We’re seeing CBD start to bounce back and I think to walk away from that would be madness this early on,” he said.  “Suburban stores will be stronger than they have been [previously], as we all evolve in this hybrid way of working part of the time in the office and home. I think it will balance itself out, but I wouldn’t want to walk away from our presence in the CBD. We’re judging everything on such a short space of time, we need to wait until things settle.” Product evolution Witchery’s previous store design was more androgynous, a legacy of when the brand offered ranges for both men and women, said head of visual merchandising Bree Quartermaine. Now, the store features a modern blush and millennial pink colour palette, glamorous terrazzo finishes, large digital signage, softer, ambient lighting, and the product is the hero of the store. This also reflects the evolution of Witchery’s product design over the past 12 months.  “There’s a gap in the market in regards to the high-end Australian design and high street. Why can’t we bridge that gap? We’ve got an amazing value product, but why can’t we give that same service proposition?” she said. Witchery’s latest autumn/winter collection features on-trend styles such as leather shirts, sequined mini dresses, ‘shackets’ and details such as voluminous sleeves and folk-style embellishments. “The product has evolved over the last 12 months to be more trend-led and more fashion-forward,” Schofield said. “We wanted to go back to our heritage of being straight from the runway, with a Witchery twist on top. We wanted an environment to match that as the product evolved.”