Princess Auto

Princess Auto, headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, set out to build a 100,000 sq/ft flagship store right outside their head office, in a pretty rural part of town. Why? The goal was big. The Princess Auto team set out to create a new standard for hardware shopping experience and entertainment. They sought to truly deliver against the brand promise of providing their guests “Royal Service” the second they pulled into the parking lot. This was not at all meant to be just another big box, but an unforgettable destination. Our team was absolutely thrilled to help make this vision a reality.

The brief was simple to say but a mountain to move: reposition Princess Auto as the place customers come to learn, build, and grow their skills — not just restock their toolbox. That meant more than unparalleled breadth of product on shelves. It meant promising a store cool enough to make the drive, captivating enough to genuinely want to hang out and memorable enough to talk to your friends about what you ate, saw and learned while you were there.

Inside the Princess Auto flagship entrance: a welcome desk, 'Built for you, more to explore' signage and the outdoor department beyond

Here’s what we knew going in: our shopper isn’t hunting for one thing. They want everything from job site to backyard under one roof, without the runaround.

This experience starts as soon as you’ve arrived. Arriving off Panet Road, the store exterior is a showstopper. Custom pylon signage echoing the angle of the store’s massive wood beams, curb appeal you can’t miss from miles away. Shoppers know what kind of store they’re walking into before they’ve parked their truck.

The Princess Auto flagship exterior from the parking lot, with 'Our shop is your shop' on the dark facade and the glass entrance

Inside, the momentum continues. Our team mapped all 100,000 square feet department by department, giving each one a strategic profile built on Princess Auto’s business goals and what real shoppers are actually looking for. We knew we had to create an easy to navigate guest journey with areas of high impact and excitement, and areas of focus and discovery.

The clearest proof of that sits right at the entrance, a zone built entirely around Powerfist, one of Princess Auto’s signature house brands. The goal was big: make sure no shopper walks past without seeing the full product range Powerfist has to offer. Our team built this zone as an aspirational garage and made Powerfist the hero, right where every shopper lands first and set the tone for everything that follows.

CONCEPTUAL RENDERING

The finished Powerfist zone: an aspirational garage with a yellow vintage car, apparel displays and a Powerfist sign overhead

REALIZED STORE EXPERIENCE

Hundreds of Powerfist products, all within reach, built for picking up, testing, browsing at your own pace. Plus, the brand theatre of a ‘67 Chevelle, a punching bag arcade game, a TV running live sports. The only thing missing was a beer fridge! Don’t worry, we put that a little further down the aisle. Not filler - bait. A kind of lure that makes people want to relax and stay a while. A show stopping example of retail theatre with a job to do: turn a house brand into a destination.

A yellow 1967 Chevelle on a lift inside the Powerfist garage display, surrounded by tools and workbenches

Powerfist tools on garage shelving: compressors, a sandblast cabinet, tires and a tool chest, beside a 'Snacks for the job at hand' cooler

A Powerfist punching bag arcade game inside the garage display, beside tool workbenches

Through consumer research, Princess Auto learned air tools were one of their deepest categories. Multiple brands, multiple tiers, built for every skill level. So our team at Fish built a feature area to do this popular product range justice. Here, shoppers can shop before carrying their pick straight into The Shop, a dedicated space for real demos and hands-on learning. The result is a clearly defined, interactive display, organized into good, better, best, where finding the right tool never comes down to guesswork.

CONCEPTUAL RENDERING

The finished Air & Power area: a blue display frame of air tools and compressors with 'Powered by Air' signage

REALIZED STORE EXPERIENCE

User experience and guest journey theater may capture attention, but none of it works without fundamental brand theatre expertise. At 100,000 square feet, clear navigation isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s the whole game.

Our team designed open, uninterrupted sightlines across the entire floor. Orientation is instant and finding what you need never feels like work. From parking lot, to Powerfist garage, to The Shop, to the largest ammo department in Canada, to the Candy Cabin, guests can navigate all 100,000 square feet with ease, and enthusiasm.

The Coffee Corner at Princess Auto: a yellow-glazed room with tables and a coffee bar beside The Shop

The Shop at Princess Auto: customers working at wooden benches in a bright hands-on workshop

The Shop at Princess Auto: people at workbenches under 'Home of Powerfist' and 'Pro-Point' signs

The Surplus department at Princess Auto, with red 'Surplus' and 'Sale' signs over the aisles

The Seasonal department at Princess Auto, with the Farm department sign beyond and water jug displays in the aisle

The Gone Fishing department at Princess Auto, with curved end caps of tackle and a boat-shaped display

The Candy Cabin at Princess Auto: a wood cabin kiosk selling ice cream and slushies

The games and candy area at Princess Auto: arcade machines beside a wall of candy bins

Crowds of shoppers in the aisles at the Princess Auto flagship grand opening

A wide view of the Princess Auto flagship store and its parking lot under a grey sky

With so many unique, interactive and dare we say refreshing zones, customers can experience something different every time they visit. Our collective grand opening in June was certainly not our finish line. This retail strategy wasn’t built just for a good first impression, but a brand experience that endures.

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