With nearly 300 stores across Canada and the United States, Garage and Dynamite face the ongoing challenge of adapting merchandising strategies to a wide range of store formats—while ensuring a consistent visual identity. Since 2015, Sandy Faubert, Visual Project and Print Production Manager, has been working with IWD to bring greater speed, flexibility, and efficiency to the visual planning process. Here's a look at the digital transformation that’s had a lasting impact on the team.
We started in 2015 and were fully operational by 2016.
We were impressed by how intuitive the platform was. It allowed us to easily manipulate products, whether folding, hanging, or repositioning them. The ability to duplicate 3D store layouts and transfer structures between different concepts was a major time-saver.
To prepare visual plans, we used to physically visit two separate stores. It was a time-consuming process that required a lot of coordination and had to be done outside of store hours.
IWD changed that. We gained flexibility, autonomy, and significant efficiency in our planning process.
We’ve saved approximately 10 to 15 hours each month just on conceptualizing store layouts across both modeling and preparation work.
But more importantly, we’ve gained flexibility. We can now work on our concepts whenever it suits us, without depending on store access. This has greatly improved work-life balance for our team (no more late nights or weekends), reduced disruption in stores, and allowed us to respond quickly to evolving business needs like layout changes or sales events.
In the beginning, we weren’t fully satisfied with the 3D models provided. The rendering lacked realism and the turnaround time didn’t meet our needs.
To address this, we trained team members internally to handle 3D modeling. We’ve since optimized our workflow, combining 2D and 3D elements as needed and building a library of reusable models. We also learned to apply photo-based textures, such as denim, which helped us create more realistic visuals.
While we’ve had the occasional platform issue, the IWD team has always been responsive and quick to find solutions.
IWD has made us more agile, improved our execution, and allowed us to test different concepts at the right time without ever disrupting store operations. It’s one of the best decisions our visual team has ever made.