Kimberly-Clark Opens Innovation Design Center
This week, Kimberly-Clark Corporation announced the opening of its new Innovation Design Studio, which incorporates the use of a proprietary virtual reality system to help identify innovations, gain key insights and strengthen customer relationships. Located in Neenah , Wis.
"We are one of only a few companies in the world to have an innovation design studio with an integrated virtual reality system, and we believe ours may well be the most technologically advanced system anywhere," says Ramin Eivaz, vice president of North Atlantic Insight, Strategy and Growth for Kimberly-Clark, who led the development of the Innovation Design Studio. "By engaging ourselves and our customers in this virtual world, we can spark better ideas to improve the shopping experience and collaborate on new product concepts and innovations."
Using the Innovation Design Studio and K-C SmartStation, Kimberly-Clark worked with Safeway to help create a new format for the supermarket's baby care aisle that encourages moms to spend more time shopping in this section. Safeway applied the shopper insights gained from the Kimberly-Clark virtual store environment to reformat actual baby aisles in three test stores. Over an eight-week period, the test stores experienced increased category sales for all disposable diapers, disposable training pants, baby wipes and toiletries. Safeway plans to leverage the learnings and benefits of the new aisle format in additional stores in the future.
"We are one of only a few companies in the world to have an innovation design studio with an integrated virtual reality system, and we believe ours may well be the most technologically advanced system anywhere," says Ramin Eivaz, vice president of North Atlantic Insight, Strategy and Growth for Kimberly-Clark, who led the development of the Innovation Design Studio. "By engaging ourselves and our customers in this virtual world, we can spark better ideas to improve the shopping experience and collaborate on new product concepts and innovations."
Using the Innovation Design Studio and K-C SmartStation, Kimberly-Clark worked with Safeway to help create a new format for the supermarket's baby care aisle that encourages moms to spend more time shopping in this section. Safeway applied the shopper insights gained from the Kimberly-Clark virtual store environment to reformat actual baby aisles in three test stores. Over an eight-week period, the test stores experienced increased category sales for all disposable diapers, disposable training pants, baby wipes and toiletries. Safeway plans to leverage the learnings and benefits of the new aisle format in additional stores in the future.