I loved this post. I too appreciate their design so much. My wife recently picked up a baker’s dozen and when she got home I was more excited about the packaging than I was for the food. She obviously thought I was nuts, but the detail they even put on the boxes amaze me.

When I visit, I feel right at home, the atmosphere just makes you want to spend time there.

I think the brand will remain strong for years to come, it seems their design changes just enough to keep it interesting, not to mention the food is excellent. It would be another argument if the product sucked.

For design Therapy I would suggest filling your car up with gas, pick a direction, grab a camera and drive till you run out. Stop at every unique place you can, and document the trip with your camera, video camera. Talk to new people. buy the time you end up some where, you’ll see what you were looking for.

Gosh. Now. I’VE made the mistake. The Au Bon Pain units are a separate company, again. After the success with the rebranding, the senior management decided that Panera was going to be the better concept. Plus, (I’m sure this was the thinking) no one except us snooty East Coasters can pronounce French words anyway.

This all explains why we have both Au Bon Pain and Panera around here. (Although the Panera locations are newer.)

Ohhhh, I was at an Au Bon Pain in Chicago about 10 years ago. It was a big deal, because it was a huge field trip my French class took, so we had to eat at “Au Bon Pain.” It was pretty good.

Then, while in St. Louis 2 years ago, I experienced St. Louis Bread Co. My mind was blown. Good to get the history. Kyle, you should’ve seen their design work LAST year. That was the hotness.

because it was a huge field trip my French class took, so we had to eat at “Au Bon Pain.”

Hah. That’s funny. Au Bon Pain, the store, is about as French as Piccadilly Circus.

I wonder if Kyle’s Panera is a newer store concept. The local Panera’s here in NJ look nothing like those photos.

Steven, I can’t speak for your local shops, but I’ve rarely seen anything local that is as well designed as the mentioned franchises. Well … I guess it all depends on your perception of good design. If it is authenticity then I think local bakeries and coffee shops compete very well. If you are talking about use of lighting, color, typography, photography of products, uniforms, packaging, interior design … then the Paneras and Starbucks win 9 times out of 10 in my experience. The chain stores have to create the atmosphere that already exists in the local shop.

Steven, I hadn’t thought about this until you mentioned the idea of regionalism for national chains, but GAP is planning to do exactly this. I think I heard the story on Market Place. Since GAP isn’t doing so well, and they are losing market share to small boutique shops, they are planning a major redesign of their stores. They talked about making GAP not appear so big and national. I didn’t hear much about the specifics, but they talked about not making them so bright and airy. I’m not sure if they will try to make stores look different depending on the region, but they are going to try to look more boutique. It will be interesting to see what they do.

GAP better do something. They’re suffering from a severe identity crisis. I’m not even sure who their target audience is anymore. Ten/twelve years ago they used to sell somewhat conservative style clothes that seemed to cater to the suburban preppy/yuppie crowd, which their classic navy blue and white logo reflects. Heck, that logo screams Ivy League chic!

Old Navy now has the budget line and Banana Republic seems to cater to upper-middle class casual dress working professionals. Where does the GAP fit in? Who are they trying to target?

I guess by redesigning their shops to reflect a more intimate boutique atmosphere, they are trying to attract a higher-end crowd, but the clothing styles I think miss the mark.

Like you said, it will be interesting to see what they do — and if it works.

It’s been a while since I was in a Panera, but their aesthetic bugs me, actually. It’s not poorly executed and their food is certainly tasty, but they have that ‘everything has been designified to harmoniously give you a Branded Experience’ look that gives me the willies. Everything, to my recollection, is designed to look like it’s been crafted and artfully done, but it hasn’t. Everything there has a cheeky little quirky touch to it and my brain screams “too much!” (I prefer Starbucks’ atmosphere.)

I think Bennett hit it on the head: it’s looser authenticity vs. controlled consistency, for the most part. And everyone’s got a preference. However, I’d argue that authenticity is not the whole thing. Some local places have a form-follows-function appeal to them that I like: the coffee shop evolves because of customer and employee habits and that creates it own consistency. But there are some skeezy local places I avoid because they have an unpleasant atmosphere or do a poor job of aping chain stores; authenticity doesn’t equal goodness.

Full disclosure: I admit to a pretty rampant streak of localism and small business orthodoxy lately, because I live in a community with a higher-than-average amount of that and I’m a bit sensitive to that stuff now.

I’ve been to The Great Indoors. Not a good buying experience. They seemed like a less expensive version of Home Depot Expo. Lots of similar merchandise with a slightly lower price point. But, like Expo, the customer service was dreadful. I enjoy a nice branded experience, and I especially like getting a lot under one roof (yes, that’s the suburban almost-dad in me talking), but bad customer service is the death of any brand.

Speaking of customer service as part of the branding experience, so many large chains just don’t get it. Home Depot especially. Growing up I worked at a local hardware store that was known for its customer service. Customer service isn’t only about helping people find and use products, it’s about being able to easily and quickly return or exchange an item if it doesn’t work properly.

I’ve stood in those exchange return lines at Home Depot. They treat you as if you’re trying to rip them off and make the exchange/return as grueling of an experience as possible.

I undertand that there are some bad seeds out there that will try and take advantage of you, but you have to simply let them go. Don’t ruin the experience for every customer because you will lose some of the good ones.

Speaking of Target, their customer service is awesome!

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