Mill's Pride sales were tapering when stores carried large amounts of inventory. As a result, the company was looking to redesign the product to increase sales. The significant constraints resided in the inability to modify the product already in stores. We researched the purchasing process, interviewed customers at The Home Depot, and observed the process customers followed when selecting cabinets for their homes or their client's home in the case of contractors.
We found that consumers buy cabinets at retail for remodeling and renovation projects, either replacing an existing and deteriorated cabinet or as a remodel project to improve their environments. In addition, consumers were satisfied with the finishes and materials offered (white, oak, and maple) in the store. However, selecting the boxes to create the product you need at retail might be confusing. There are too many possible combinations that can disorient consumers.
Basic product configurations
Isn't there at least a sink in ever kitchen?
Could basic activities that occur around the sink be grouped? Is there an opportunit for Mill's Pride too?
Instead of looking at cabinets as independent boxes identified b width start focusing on the activities around them?
Opportunities and Direction
Identif ing the right opportunities for Mill's Pride resulted from evaluating the customer requirements (The Home Depot) the consumer and the product offered s a result we identified six areas where we could leverage the product a ributes to develop profitable solutions Sell the benefits of the T Price the product accordingl Create experiences for consumers b rethinking how the product is offered enhancing product communication and softening the product feel
The purchase experience
What if we could shape the purchasing experience towards offering consumers a visualization of the product in their environments?
When mapping all possible item configurations, we identified units that work better than others in terms of use of space, functional architecture, aesthetics, and balance. In addition, balancing the user needs with inventory levels created desirable and profitable product configurations.
'Product In-A-Box' groups product items by functional areas offered in different sizes. Functional Areas in the Kitchen defined the ActivityBased Centers concept. The resulting grouping would be offered in incremental footage sections to fit the kitchen requirements.
Understanding users' different needs and behaviors in the kitchen, we found five common activities all consumers share. The primary tasks of Cleaning, Cooking, Food Preparation, Storage, and Entertaining were accomplished by all consumers.
We first identified the basic functional aspect related to the activity, i.e., Cleaning occurs around the sink, and then the related peripheral activities: i.e., trash disposal, dishwasher, dish rack, storage of cleaning products, and utensils. We created cabinet configurations to accommodate the tasks with the user and functionality in mind.
