TAPI IN STORE AT In-Store at…Tapi
We visited the first store in the new Tapi chain to hear CEO and founder, Martin Harris’ plans to change the way people shop for flooring.
Back in March we reported on Martin Harris’ plans to launch a new nationwide high-street flooring chain. Roll on just two months and the first Tapi store opened in Tooting High Street at the end of May. As Martin is the son of Carpetright founder Lord Harris and a former director of the UK’s largest flooring retailer himself, expectations are high.
Even from the outside of the store, located towards the bottom end of South London’s Tooting High Street, it’s clear to see that this is a totally new concept in flooring retail. The branding is modern with a distinct lack of sales promotion posters in the window. Instead the products on view through the large shop front are able to speak for themselves.
The atmosphere inside is bright and inviting with mid-height displays allowing for a full vista of the interior. “Most shopping environments for flooring are crammed with sample books and rolls everywhere and no prices on display. They are usually dusty and some stores have all their cuts in the doorway so you just have to clamber over them. This makes it hard work for the customer,” says Martin. “We wanted to make the customers’ journey a pleasure so that when they come in they have a light, airy environment with plenty of space to move buggies around and make it easy for them to shop.”
want to sell you. It’s about asking the right questions and really listening.” And again, this is where the store layout really comes into its own to facilitate not only ease of browsing but also ease conversation.
There are two main seating areas, designed for sales staff to sit with customers. The kitchen area with a breakfast bar and stools arranged by a working sink has proven especially popular with customers. And there’s a lounge area with two facing sofas. This collaborative environment is in contrast with many stores where the customer sits facing the back of a computer screen and answers short questions. “We feel that it’s vital you feel at home, at ease and you’re getting good honest advice. That’s our Tapi difference and the Tapi difference is very important to us,” Martin added.
It was also important that the store provided a sensory experience for the customer and this too is communicated through the layout. When customers walk in they are not confronted with lots of technical details. “The only place you’ll see technical stuff is in underlays as people might need to know the tog rating. Even then we make it sensory by laying different samples under the chosen carpet and getting the customer to step on it to feel the difference.”
In fact the whole concept of the store has been designed with the customers’ needs at front of mind. The walls are covered in inspirational quotes such as ‘We’re not happy until you’re delighted’ and this ethos forms the basis of the Tapi brand identity.
“We are not pushy in terms of how we want to serve you. We want to find the floor that’s right for you, not the one that we
And the interaction doesn’t stop there. The team is encouraged to be honest with customers and recommend the best flooring based on lifestyle and needs. For example, Martin says that he wouldn’t advise putting laminates in kitchens or bathrooms because of their tendency to swell. And with this he takes me back to the kitchen zone. Here, he runs a piece of laminate under the tap and then a piece of vinyl to demonstrate the difference in the surfaces’ porosity.
Martin gets really excited about another water test on carpets. “With this particular wool carpet, you can have your
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