Robert V. Kozinets, John F. Sherry, Jr., Benet DeBerry-Spencel,
Adam Duhachek, Krittinee Nuttavuthisit and Diana Storm

Retailing is growing increasingly complicated. Focusing on the trend towards themed environments, we describe and detail some cutting-edge strategies that retailers have been using to attract the increasingly wary and sophisticated consumers of the new millennium. By emphasizing retail atmospherics, some retailing has turned into a form of entertainment, with shopping becoming "shoppertainment." The flagship brand store is an increasingly popular venue used by marketers to build relationships with consumers. As we move further into an entertainment-dominated experience economy, retailers are transforming flagship brand stores into themed environments. We call this new and entertainment-dominated format the themed retail brand store. The themed retail brand store not only promotes an engaging experience with the brand's essence but also satisfies consumers looking for entertainment alongside their shopping.

In this article, we urge retailers and scholars of shopping to consider themed flagship brand stores in terms of their mythological appeal to consumers. We consider four main categories of themes. First is the landscape theme, which employs associations to, and images of, nature, Earth, animals, and the physical body. Second is the marketscape theme, which employs associations and images of different cultures, man-made places, and buildings. Third is the cyberscape theme, which employs associations and images relating to information and communications technology, and often to virtual community. The final type of theme is the mindscape theme, which draws on abstract ideas and concepts, introspection and fantasy, and which is often spiritual or ritualistic in its inclination.

What makes a retail theme appealing and successful? Our answer focuses attention on the narratives conveyed by a retail environment's physical and symbolic structure. We use the idea of a mythotype to explain themed retailing success. A mythotype is a symbol that is both locally meaningful to a particular audience but also expresses a universal emotional state. Successful contemporary mythotypes possess ten narrative characteristics: openendedness, verisimilitude, virtuality, negentropy, circularity, ellipticality, archetypical dramatis personae, inclusion, omnipresence, and production values. If the retail presentation of a brand contains these ten characteristics, it may enjoy transcultural appeal in multiple locations. Based on a one-year field study of ESPN Zone Chicago, a spectacular themed flagship brandstore in downtown Chicago, we examine these characteristics. We overview and contrast managerial intent with consumer perceptions. We then analyze ESPN Zone Chicago's retail environment according to the ten mythotypic characteristics.

Our findings suggest that ESPN Zone's designers have generally realized the goal of connecting place with brand. However, consumers' frequent comparisons to other, unsuccessful theme restaurants suggest that breaking out of their pre-ordained categories may be difficult. Our analysis also transcends some of these perceptions of ESPN Zone by delving into its spiritual underpinnings in a way that consumers may not appreciate. Examining this retail location through the lens of mythotypes, we find evidence for each of the mythotypic characteristics.

We suggest that the Hollywood mytho-logic of mythotypes exemplified by ESPN Zone Chicago seems likely to transform retailing as the new century unfolds. As it does, what sorts of new sales sorcery might we see in the future? We offer some projections, based on our field research, our classification of different types of themes, and the notion of mythotypes. We speculate that mindscape-related themes, which combine entertainment, therapeutics, and spiritual growth, are at the frontier of retail theming. As we describe it, the "killer app" of retail theatre is ultimately spiritual in nature—that is, it is metaphysically attuned to the nuances of living as a consumer in the material world. This spirituality is populist, informal, nondenominational, inclusive, timeless, meaningful, transcendental, holistic, centering, and embodied in meaningful material interactions. As theorists suggest increasingly integrated models of human experience and as marketers come to understand the everyday experiences of consumers, retail servicescapes will evolve into more primal and satisfying forms, reinvigorating their ceremonial and dramatic qualities. The marketplace will once again become a festival, a border-place full of mystery, cultural exchange, community, and delight.

Yet we also argue that themed flagships will never become universal, because they are likely to be successful only for the retailing of particular kinds of products and services. The major, multi-million dollar themed flagship brand store is most likely to be effective for brands with an intrinsically wide appeal, strong appeal, or local appeal. They must already have, or be constructed to have, a strong experiential element that consumers will find engaging and attractive. Another useful circumstance is a brand empire that is already so widespread, far-flung, recognizable to the mass-market, and powerful that (1) an intrinsic audience for the branded entertainment already exists, and (2) the expense of the themed store can be written off against its long-term promotional power. We assert that retail theming does have wider appeal in conditions where customers are looking to linger, play, seek community, learn, or grow. We envision numerous opportunities for large corporations, as well as many smaller manufacturers and retailers, to engage in a variety of theming practices.