Our Process
Working with L.A. Darling
Achieving the right balance between the best retail customer experience and the operational and security needs of your business is an everyday challenge. It’s one where we can help you meet with custom retail fixtures, displays, cases, and counters.
Our team is ready to help you navigate every step of the process from design to delivery and beyond. We work together with you, starting with information you provide, then we go to work on a series of steps.
Here’s what we need from you
Your concept
You have a goal in mind. We begin with a conversation about your concept, starting from an initial drawing, whether it’s a napkin sketch or an engineering drawing. From this common ground, we gain insight into your business and objectives.
Your goals
Your goals depend on the specific purpose or the need you want to address. For example, a cash wrap and a service counter provide places where your team can interact with customers, but each one serves a different purpose.
Clarify what you want the structure, fixture or display to accomplish and any special usage conditions that should be considered. Establish your timeline and delivery objectives.
Your decisions on details
Because we are custom retail fixture manufacturers, your design can be completely tailored to your operation alone. You get to choose materials, configurations, colors, surface materials, dimensions, and many other attributes.
Details for cash wraps, service counters and other structures include:
- Size and shape–right-handed, left-handed, or universal
- Surface material: metal, solid surface, laminate other
- Structure: metal, wood, other
- Belting requirements—with belt or without
- Component structure for additional modules
- Add-on elements (shelves, doors, locking or security sections, etc.)
- Additional mountings required for computers or screens (yes or no)
- Lock options and security (keyed alike, store specific, department specific)
- Branding and color requirements
Display and security case details include:
- Size and shape
- Sliding or swinging doors
- Door materials (glass, acrylic, wire grid, solid sheet metal)
- Locking mechanism and key control system (keyed alike, keyed store specific and/or department specific)
- Case materials
- Add-on components (lighting, additional shelves, etc.)
- Branding and color requirements
We collaborate with you to build something new
We translate your concept into a design
Starting from your concept, our engineering team creates a full plan or refines your initial drawing into a completed design that aligns with our manufacturing processes. You can expect that the design will be ready to move on to the next stage within a few days to a couple of weeks.
We produce a prototype to bring your design to life
Working with the design, we construct a fully functional prototype that reflects your ideal productThe . The prototype is intended to be exactly like the final item—including all surface treatments, finishes, powder coat colors, dimensions, and operation.
Typically, this prototype is in your hands and ready for you to test within about three to four weeks. Based on your evaluation and testing, we’ll repeat the process to provide additional iterations.
We help you visualize the total concept
To supplement the prototyping process, we offer rapid rendering to provide a virtual walkthrough of a whole store installation. Our Cave 3D immersive experience is also available to help you visualize a full store build.
We put the numbers together
Once a satisfactory prototype has been created, we develop a full quotation for your project, including all the key parameters: quantities, timeline, delivery schedule and locations, etc.
Value added/value engineering is also available if requested. With this, our team actively seeks out opportunities to refine the design and reduce costs.
Now it’s back to you for final evaluations and decision making.
When you give us the green light
We have the flexibility to comply with your procurement practices. With your official go ahead, production begins according to your requirement schedule—whether that means equipping a pilot location first or ramping up to full production and distribution to multiple locations.
Projects aren’t a one-and-done thing for us. Each project or design is part of an ongoing relationship. We don’t disappear once the crates are unpacked; instead, you’ll find us following up with support after the installation.
Let’s get started! Just fill in the form below to set up a call with an L.A. Darling representative.