Shikatani Lacroix

OfficeMax’s first Business Solutions Center, which opened March 29 in downtown Milwaukee, goes beyond just office supplies with in-store expert advice, personalized services, and specialized products.

OfficeMax launched this revolutionary new 5000 sq. ft. retail environment, designed by Shikatani Lacroix, with the goal to improve customer experience. The Center focuses on expert service and caters to the needs of small business owners with a diverse selection of business solutions such as space planning, customized printing, and IT, Web, and marketing services.

“Our OfficeMax Business Solutions Center advances our transformation as a seamless multi-channel supplier of workplace products, services and solutions,” said Ravi Saligram, President and CEO of OfficeMax, in an official company release. “With the launch of our new store, we are pleased to introduce a relationship-based retail service center focused on partnering with businesses to help them grow.”

National Geographic has voted Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market the world’s best food market, according to a story on CBC News. Shikatani Lacroix designed a cohesive wayfinding program for the St. Lawrence Market that was installed last year. The signage system has drastically reduced the amount of queries from puzzled patrons who are now able to easily navigate through this impressive market.

Galaxy Cinemas Pergola Commons features eight screens and 1,600 seats including Guelph’s first UltraAVX™ auditorium.

UltraAVX™ auditoriums offer a fully immersive cinema experience complete with reserved seats, wall-to-wall screens, surround sound and upgraded seats. In addition to traditional concession items, this new location also offers Cineplex Entertainment’s proprietary hot food offering, Outtakes. Shikatani Lacroix is responsible for the design and rollout of Cineplex’s Galaxy and UltraAVX cinemas and the brand identity, environmental design and branding of its Outtakes concession stand.

Galaxy Cinemas Pergola Commons is the second Cineplex location in Guelph.

Shikatani Lacroix has rolled out a second Second Cup cafe in Kuwait with the recent opening of its Avenues Mall location. SL has been working with the Canadian coffee company on its international expansion since 2007; rolling out inlines and kiosks across the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Northern Africa and the United States. Other international cafes that opened last year include Lebanon, Romania and Azerbaijan, with more Middle East and U.S. sites planned for 2013.

Colour plays a defining role in the design of Second Cup’s international cafes. Reds are the prominent colour palette for its Middle East locations, whereas blue is the predominant colour in the new Florida cafes to reflect their proximity to the ocean.

The latest Cineplex VIP theatre to roll out the red carpet opened last Friday in Brossard, Quebec.

The four-screen, 480-seat cinema is housed in a separate building adjacent to the existing 16-screen Cineplex Odeon Brossard multiplex.

The new VIP brand boasts front-row leather recliners, stadium seating with extra legroom, high-back leather seats with movable tray tables, and a licensed VIP lounge. The theatres offer reserved seating and an expanded menu with food and drink delivered right to your seat.

This is Shikatani Lacroix Design’s fifth Cineplex VIP theatre, out of seven in total across Canada. SLD rolled out VIP theatres in Windermere, Alberta, Coquitlam, B.C., McGillivray, Winnipeg, and Westmount in London, Ontario, which all opened to enthusiastic reviews this year.

Our new hardware has arrived. Hub Magazine awarded Shikatani Lacroix a silver medal for our Poptopia work for Cineplex Entertainment. According to Hub Magazine‘s write-up in its November/December 2012 awards issue, Poptopia is a “creative reinvention of a traditional venue and product.”

“Everyone enjoys a bag of popcorn at the cinema. That was the thinking behind the introduction of a gourmet flavored popcorn concession for Cineplex Entertainment.

A new brand, Poptopia, was named and created from scratch, complete with logo and packaging collateral: popcorn bags, stickers and canisters. The bags and tins are premium products that can also be purchased as gifts. Bright, youthful colors convey the fun and energetic personality of the brand, communicated through each consumer touch point — from the glass-enclosed popcorn drawer fronts to the color-coded stickers that illustrate each flavor category.

To add a personal touch, the concession stand includes a glass window that allows consumers to watch the popcorn being hand-mixed. This vibrant concept creates a ‘popcorn theater’ by showcasing a popcorn stand in a new and exciting way. The Poptopia concept has been so popular with patrons, Cineplex Entertainment is rolling it out to all of its new theater locations.”

Shikatani Lacroix has been awarded a silver Hub Prize for its retail design of Poptopia, Cineplex Entertainment’s theatre popcorn concession stand. According to one judge, Poptopia is a great example of “creative thinking to increase sales and make an emotional connection to customers. Great logo design and very good execution of [the] idea.” The initiative will be featured along with the other winners in the Nov/Dec issue of Hub Magazine.

The Hub Prize celebrates the many ways in which retailers, brand marketers, agencies, design firms, technology companies, research firms, consultants and others make the retail experience excellent for customers, both online and in-store. By recognizing outstanding performance across every kind of retail, The Hub Prize competition promotes innovation and excellence in the shopping experience.

This is Shikatani Lacroix’s second Hub Prize. We won bronze last year for our work with TD Canada Trust.

Shikatani Lacroix has designed three Cineplex Entertainment VIP theatres in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. These luxury theatres are outfitted with the latest cinema and digital sound technology. The front row of each auditorium features leather recliners so that you can lie back with your feet up and enjoy the show.

These new VIP theatres offer the ultimate movie going experience. You can choose exactly where you want to sit as all seats are reserved. Each VIP Cinema auditorium features stadium seating with extra leg room and luxurious high-back leather seats that are fitted with movable tray tables. When you take your seat in the VIP auditorium, a “Cast Member” will take your food and beverage order from an expanded menu that includes traditional concession items in addition to a wide range of appetizers. Your order is then delivered to your seat via Cineplex’s VIP in-seat service. Before or after the movie, a licensed lounge is also be available to all VIP Cinema guests.

Shikatani Lacroix will be rolling out additional Cineplex VIP theatres across Canada later this year.

The Toronto Blue Jays’ Jays Care Foundationopened its Central YMCA Youth Zone in Toronto last week to great fanfare with a special guest appearance by Toronto Blue Jay Ricky Romero. Shikatani Lacroix developed the brand strategy and environmental design of the Youth Zone, which includes a lounge, computer lab, rotating rock climbing wall, and various other active games for kids.

The Toronto Blue Jays unveiled its new branding today. The announcement was made at centre field of the Rogers Centre where players donned their new uniforms, and the new Jays Shops at the Rogers Centre and Sears, designed by Shikatani Lacroix, were revealed.

SL updated both the Toronto Eaton Centre and Rogers Centre locations by incorporating the Blue Jays’ new official branding into the Jays Shop retail environments. Signage, wall graphics, carpeting, and scrim graphics are emblazoned with the Blue Jays’ new logo, creating a more modern and dynamic space.