PROJECT STRATEGY
The New Floor Design for M&M’s World Times Square NYC was designed using 15,500 square feet of all custom-color Centiva, chosen to match the iconic M&M colors–800 square feet minimum per color. The strategy was to create a new, bright, and colorful environment that enhances M&M’s overall brand of “Colorful Chocolate Fun.” The design was created to give the feeling of movement and to help “guide” the guest through the store. The challenge was in being cognizant of the materials that were to be used. M&M is a high-traffic area so the use of durable, long lasting, and safe products were of the upmost importance for this “retail-tainment” environment. The stair treads and bull nosing were from Roppe, with Mapei adhesive; the walk-off mats from Mats Inc.; the schluter strips from Daltile; and the floor sealing from NeverStrip.
UNIQUE INSTALLATION CHALLENGE STRATEGY
It was about logistics. A lot of logistics. The project was accomplished at night, in phases, so as not to shut down entire floors and disrupt the flow of business as M&M is open 9 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. The deadline was an imposing challenge–the project had to be completed by Thanksgiving, the kick-off for the holiday season. To see people lined up around the corner every morning at 9 a.m. really brought this home.
M&M closed off sections of their sales floor for 48 hours at a time and all work was done midnight to 9 in the morning. Our expert flooring team coordinated with store management in rearranging and moving M&M’s extensive displays in order to accommodate the project. Loading and unloading equipment and materials was another challenge as the store is in the middle of busy Times Square. Floor prep, which involved grinding, began weeks before the installation to get a jump on the project, save time, and meet the tight deadline. The floor installation itself involved cutting around numerous columns throughout the store. Although, the 3rd floor was finished in one night, the 1st and 2nd floors took a week each with the NeverStrip sealing applied in phases as well.
