VVN implemented a complete store equipment project for the new Top! store in Liepāja—from planning and design to the delivery and installation of retail shelving and entrance area solutions. The new store is a modern, energy-efficient retail facility that is convenient for customers, where VVN equipment helps ensure clear product placement, smooth customer flow, and efficient logistics in daily operations.
The new Top! store in Liepāja is part of the retail chain’s long-term development strategy, which envisions creating modern, energy-efficient stores friendly to local communities in various Latvian cities. More than one and a half million euros have been invested in this specific Liepāja facility, approximately fifteen new jobs have been created, and the retail floor space reaches approximately 460 square meters, making this store one of the most modern and spacious Top! stores in the city. The store concept is based on the local retail chain’s philosophy—combining a wide assortment of everyday products with local manufacturers’ production, creating a homely yet functional environment for both quick daily purchases and larger family shopping trips.
VVN supplied and installed retail shelving systems, fruit and vegetable stands, small product displays at checkout counters, warehouse shelves, and other specialized store equipment solutions for this project, adapting them to the specific store’s space configuration and Top! brand requirements. The company’s experience working with food retail chains in the Baltic region allowed consideration of both customer habits and logistics requirements related to fresh product circulation, increased load during peak hours, and the need to ensure intuitive flow from the entrance area to checkout counters during the planning stage. Since the Top! chain pays special attention to local customers’ needs and convenience, VVN’s task was to create equipment solutions that allow the store to simultaneously look modern, be easy to navigate, and provide a sufficiently flexible shelf structure for price promotions and seasonal campaigns.
The project began with a detailed analysis of the building’s space—the logic of customer flow from the parking lot and entrance doors to the main product groups was evaluated, as well as the return path to the checkout counters, to avoid “congestion” in narrower areas and ensure sufficient space for both customer and pallet cart movement. During this stage, VVN specialists together with Top! representatives defined the main zones in the retail hall—fresh fruits and vegetables, confectionery and bakery products, dairy products, beverages, everyday food, frozen products, and non-food goods sectors, assigning each an appropriate shelf type, height, depth, and configuration. Since the store’s retail hall is not huge but relatively compact and efficiently usable, special attention was paid to creating a visually bright space feeling during planning—appropriate shelf height was chosen, lower gondolas were placed in central aisles and higher ones along walls, allowing good visibility throughout the entire hall.
An important part of planning was also integrating the Top! brand identity into the equipment design, so that VVN-supplied shelves, stands, and entrance area elements would organically complement the overall interior rather than dominate it. Color selection took into account both Top! visual guidelines and practical considerations—for example, shelf frames and metal structures were chosen in neutral tones to highlight the products themselves, while some separate zones, such as promotional and seasonal offer islands, were accentuated with more dynamic color and lighting solutions. Already in the design phase, spaces were incorporated for digital price communication and advertising materials, so that in the future the store could easily implement technological solutions for a more convenient shopping experience, which the Top! chain is gradually developing throughout Latvia.
In the retail hall, VVN installed modular retail shelving systems that allow the store to flexibly rearrange assortment according to season, promotions, and demand while maintaining a consistent and customer-friendly structure. Higher wall shelves were installed along the walls for longer-storage product groups, while in the middle of the hall—lower gondolas that improve visibility and help customers orient themselves among main product groups at a glance, while also providing sufficient space for shelf replenishment even during the busiest hours. Special attention was paid to the fruit and vegetable area, where VVN used specialized stands and shelves with the ability to create multiple display levels, ensuring both visual attractiveness of products and appropriate ventilation and access for product flow replenishment.
An important role in customer experience is also played by small product and impulse purchase zones at checkout counters—here VVN installed compact stands and shelves that allow the store to offer candies, beverages, hygiene products, and other small-sized products right where customers wait in line, thereby increasing average purchase amount without increasing occupied space. The new Top! store in Liepāja uses both traditional checkout counters and self-service checkouts, which require very carefully planned flow organization, so VVN implemented a specific equipment configuration in the checkout area with partitions, basket and cart parking spaces, queue direction elements, and security solutions to reduce cross-flows and make the payment process fast and understandable.
Since the Top! chain pays special attention to sustainability and energy efficiency in its new projects, VVN equipment was also chosen with a focus on longevity, easy maintenance, and the ability to change configuration without large investments—the retail shelving systems are designed for intensive load, but at the same time it is easy to adjust shelf height, add additional accessories, or integrate new product groups. Special solutions were also created for branded and private label positioning—for example, additional header shelves, island stands, or thematic display spaces for promotions and loyalty campaigns that Top! actively implements throughout its network.
Behind the retail hall walls are warehouse and goods receiving areas, where VVN installed warehouse shelves, ensuring organized and safe product storage before their placement on shelves. These solutions allow maximum use of warehouse space height while ensuring clear addressing and quick access to goods, which is especially important in food retail, where expiration date control and regular product rotation are of great significance. The warehouse shelf configuration was designed so that the store could simultaneously store sufficient safety stock of frequently purchased items and promotional positions without burdening goods receiving or internal logistics.
In the goods receiving area, it was also taken into account that the store is located in an urban environment with heavy traffic, so the cargo unloading process must be organized compactly and safely, without creating unnecessary obstacles for either delivery transport or customer flow. VVN equipment helps move goods from the ramp to warehouse shelves and further to the retail hall along a pre-developed route, which reduces the risk of damaging goods or creating chaos in aisles during peak hours. Since Top! regularly supplements its assortment and implements various loyalty and promotional campaigns, warehouse equipment was planned with reserve capacity—so that in the future it would be possible to quickly expand storage capacity by adding additional shelf levels or sections.
The opening of the new Top! store in Liepāja with a significant investment volume and the creation of several dozen jobs demonstrates both the retail chain’s and VVN’s ability to implement complex projects that simultaneously combine economic efficiency, urban environment development, and local community needs. Thanks to well-planned store equipment, customers are provided with an easily understandable store structure with clearly defined product zones, comfortable aisles, clearly displayed price signs, and the ability to choose between classic and self-service checkouts, which have become a significant convenience factor for today’s shoppers.
The solutions implemented by VVN in the project allow the Top! team to quickly respond to market changes—change product layout, expand certain categories, highlight private labels, and develop new promotional concepts without investing additional funds in capital reconstruction work, as modular shelf and stand systems are designed precisely for such flexibility. Meanwhile, an organized warehouse area with professional pallet and long-span shelves reduces the risk of errors in order picking, promotes proper expiration date control, and allows more efficient use of available space, which is especially important for urban stores where square meter costs are high.
Liepāja residents, in turn, gain a modern local store that combines wide selection, attractive pricing policy, and well-designed store equipment that allows shopping to be done quickly, conveniently, and without unnecessary stress, even when the store has many visitors. The equipment project implemented by VVN for this Top! store becomes yet another confirmation that professionally designed store and warehouse equipment is not just “metal structures in the background” but a strategic tool for increasing sales volumes, optimizing logistics, and strengthening brand reputation in the Latvian retail market.