The brief: Automotive fit out for Nissan and MG brands

The Hendy Group is a family-run business with over 20 car dealerships across the South of England. The Crawley branch, housed in a single building, is divided into two car showrooms. Originally designed for Ford and MG, the space needed changing to accommodate Nissan in place of Ford. In addition to introducing Nissan, they took the opportunity to modernise the existing MG showroom while also integrating The Hendy Group’s brand identity into the design.

The client understood their goals for the car showroom, but they needed help bringing it to life. Following a successful past collaboration, The Hendy Group engaged us to manage the full automotive fitout solution. Their main aim was to improve the customer experience; however, they also wanted to provide staff with better facilities to heighten morale and foster a productive work environment.

Client: Hendy group

Sector: Automative fit-out

Size (sq ft): 20,000

Service: Design and build

Duration: 16 weeks

Location: Crawley, Sussex

The challenge: Renovating two live car showrooms to brand guidelines while staying operational

All car brands have their own branding styles and guidelines. Any dealership must pass an audit to ensure brand consistency throughout. The space needed to work as a whole to provide a more professional image and offer an improved workspace layout. However, there were also separate considerations to make sure both Nissan and MG brands adhered to the guidelines.

So when designing this automotive fit out project, we had to stick to strict pre-approved standards while also adding a personal stamp to meet The Hendy Group’s goals. Knowing this, we carefully planned the design to have different zones, materials, and colours from one half of the building to the other – two projects in one! It was also crucial for the branch to remain operational throughout the renovation. Therefore, we collaborated closely with the client to minimise downtime and arranged temporary porta cabins for staff to work from.

The solution: Complete on-brand car showroom facelift

The AXIS House design team planned a contemporary and attractive refurbishment throughout – a complete facelift of the interior details, technology, and external features. First of all, the project involved a large strip out of all ceiling, lighting, floor tiles, toilets, partitioning walls, and removing all flooring before installing the new designs.

Despite effective planning, unexpected issues inevitably arose – in this case, we found some of the walls were not in a suitable condition for a smooth, high-quality finish, meaning our team needed to carry out extra preparations.

The design and delivery of the entire automotive fit out solution included:

●      Light fittings throughout including illuminated signage
●      Installing commercial entrance matting to reduce slips
●      New glass-fronted sales offices to support customers
●      Refurbished customer-facing toilets to a high standard
●      Added power points throughout for better efficiency
●      New air con units in the office and canteen areas
●      Tiled flooring – creating zones for different uses
●      Glass partition with stainless steel handrail
●      Striking feature walls and brand signage
●      Ceiling designs (personal to each brand)
●      Improved staff canteen and welfare facilities
Seamlessly integrating modern technology and design features makes this car showroom more effective at enticing customers to buy. Display screens are positioned throughout the building to show promotional advertising and capture the attention of customers.

The most eye-catching part of the interior design comes from architectural elements. The angled branded partition wall for Nissan and slanted feature glazing draw your eyes to the main feature of the building – the cars themselves!

The pièce de résistance was wrapping the building’s external facade with a specialist film in Nissan’s signature brand colours. Paired with signage on the glass, this creates an excellent first impression when customers arrive at the car showroom.

"I’ve got no negative feedback or constructive criticism at all. The AXH team couldn’t have been more helpful and accommodating. It was really good. The team worked cohesively and conscientiously. The level of courtesy and professionalism shown throughout was excellent and the whole setup from start to finish was superb."
General Manager, Hendy Crawley

The result: Improved customer experience and employee well-being

The new look Crawley branch ensures everyone has as positive an experience as possible – be that customers or staff. At AXIS House, we are committed to delivering exceptional workplace design that achieves our client’s goals.

General manager at The Hendry Crawley branch, said: “Customers are impressed coming on site as we’re able to deliver a far more welcoming and professional environment, and that gives colleagues a better sense of pride in their work too. The quality of the showroom shows a level of commitment from the business in terms of its customer experience. That’s great for staff and a good reflection on our brand.”