DNS Industries manufactures shop-in-shop fixtures and brand display programs for host retailers from its 40,000 sq ft facility in Vaughan, Ontario. One brand standard, adapted where required to each host retailer’s fixture rules, produced in batches and shipped store by store across Canada and the United States. Our current appliance display program runs inside four national host retailers from a common drawing package with host-specific variants.
What a shop-in-shop program involves
A shop-in-shop (also called a store-within-a-store, concession or brand zone) is a branded area inside another retailer’s store. The brand owns the look and usually the fixtures; the host retailer owns the floor, the planogram and the rules about what can be bolted down, lit or plugged in. A program is the same brand zone repeated across many host locations, often in more than one host banner.
That makes it different from a single store fit-out in three ways:
- Two sets of rules. The fixtures must meet the brand standard and each host retailer’s fixture guidelines: footprint, height limits, anchoring, electrical, fire rating, signage and delivery windows. Where the hosts differ, separate variants are drawn.
- Freestanding by default. Many host retailers restrict fixing to their walls or floors. Units are designed to stand on their own, carry their own weight and product load, and come out cleanly when the program ends.
- Store-by-store logistics. Hundreds of units may be released over months, in waves, to stores that each have their own receiving rules. Kitting, labelling and install documents are planned with the production schedule.
How DNS runs a host-retailer program
- Brand standard and host rules in one drawing set. We take the brand’s design intent and each host retailer’s fixture guidelines and produce one set of shop drawings with the host-specific variants marked. The brand and, where required, the host sign it off.
- Prototype (first article). We build one unit of each variant for approval, including product loading and any lighting provisions, before the run starts.
- Batch production. Repeated parts are CNC machined, finished and assembled in batches in Vaughan. Metal, glass, stone and graphics are made to our drawings by specialist suppliers we manage and pre-fitted where possible.
- Kitting by store. Each unit ships with its hardware, graphics, install documents and store label, matched to the release schedule.
- Staggered release. We hold finished units and release them to the delivery windows the host retailer gives, by wave and by region.
- Refresh and change-outs. When product lines or graphics change, we produce the new components from the same drawings so they fit units already in the field.
What we build for these programs
- Freestanding brand displays and product walls with adjustable shelving and product-specific holders
- Appliance and electronics displays with provisions for working product, power and lighting
- Demonstration counters, consultation desks and sample bars
- Headers, blades, graphic frames and acrylic sign holders
- Locking showcases for high-value product
- Knock-down units that ship flat for distribution centre programs
Lighting: we build the provisions for LED lighting into the fixture, with LED integration coordinated to the project’s requirements and jurisdiction. Supply, installation and connection are by the client or their electrician unless agreed otherwise.
Program proof
Our appliance display program for a global appliance brand is deployed inside four national big-box and specialty retailers in Canada from one standard, with the host-specific variants handled in the drawings. We have also built a fashion brand’s shop-in-shop inside a menswear department store at Square One, Mississauga, with walnut display tables, display portals and a cash desk built to both the brand’s standard and the host store’s. We also run rollout programs for beauty and cannabis retail brands across North America. Photos and scope are in Our Work and the retail rollout programs page.
Who this is for
- Brand and trade-marketing teams placing product inside national retailers
- Retail design agencies that need a manufacturer to take a concept through host approval and production
- Host retailers standardising vendor fixtures across banners
- US brands that want a North American manufacturer for Canadian host locations, and Canadian brands expanding into US hosts
Frequently asked questions
Do you work directly with the host retailer?
Usually the brand or its agency is our client and we work to the host retailer’s published fixture guidelines. Where the host requires fixture approval, we provide the drawings, material data and load information for that submission.
Can one program cover several host retailers?
Yes. The program is drawn once with host-specific variants for footprint, height, anchoring and electrical. Our current appliance program runs in four host banners from a common drawing package.
How many units can you produce and hold?
Production is planned in batches against the release schedule, and finished units are staged in Vaughan until each delivery window. Send the store list and release plan and we will confirm capacity for the program.
How long does a shop-in-shop program take?
It is project dependent. The first article, the production waves and the host retailer’s approval time all depend on the fixtures, materials and quantity. We give a schedule with the quote, planned back from your release dates. See our lead-time guide.
Do you ship into the United States?
Yes. We ship to US host locations regularly, prepare the customs paperwork with your broker or ours, and quote a delivered price by store that includes freight, brokerage and any duties.
What happens when the program ends?
Freestanding units can be removed without damage to the host store, and we keep the drawings so units can be refreshed, modified or redeployed.
Send the brand standard, host guidelines and store list for a program quote.