What do customers expect from their store visit after the pandemic? Marie Ernst von Schwitzke und Partner knows that sustainability and community building were already important customer needs. In addition, there are values such as identity, authenticity and locality, which are now becoming increasingly important, explains the managing director of the Düsseldorf architectural office. On Tuesday at the BTE Congress “Fashion-Emotion 4.0”, she presented how these tendencies are implemented in shopfitting.
surprise
Surprises have fascinated people since childhood and brands can also lure them into their shop space. Atypical sales areas, which at first glance do not necessarily match the image of a brand, and products that are only available locally in this form ensure the surprise effect in retail.
An example of this is a Hermes pop-up space designed in the shape of a laundromat – a concept that’s a bit atypical for a French luxury brand, according to Ernst. There, customers could hand in their Hermes scarves and have them re-dyed, as well as purchase vintage scarves.
The pop-up areas in the London luxury department store Selfridges always provide a surprise. There, the Casablanca brand transformed the ‘Corner Shop’ sales area into an airport.
Local-Regional
Acting locally with a concept and addressing the local community directly is a concept used by the US sports goods retailer Nike. In Seoul, the company has opened a store in a district where the art and fashion scene is thriving. With individual elements, such as modular walls and a green wall for digital content, the store can be used for different situations and as an area for the local scene.
Adidas is also designing more and more locations at the local level. It can be a flagship that caters to the respective community or, like the store in Chengdu, China, to the local history. This is located in a centuries-old building. The sports goods retailer combines modern design elements with original features of the historic building and thus creates a connection between the region and the brand identity.
supergreen
But Nike also brings the topic of sustainability into the physical space in a special way. In Belgrade, the sports brand has built a basketball court made from 20,000 recycled shoes. In addition, Nike also works with the community here and promotes local sports activities.
SecondLife
Instead of giving their products a completely new use, more and more brands, especially in the outdoor area, are offering a repair service that they integrate into their store. Patagonia is one of the pioneers. But the Hamburg outdoor specialist Globetrotter also offers such a service in its main store.
service
The expansion of the range can also be implemented in other services, as the cosmetics retailer Douglas shows in its new concept. In addition to the well-known beauty range, the Hamburg flagship Douglas Pro also offers cosmetic applications such as manicures and beauty treatments. Things get a bit sportier with the Freitag bag label, which offers free bike rentals in its Amsterdam store in addition to its products
Hostess
Customers can also be invited to linger. At the same time, the store becomes a restaurant or cafe, which, with its special ambience, goes beyond the simple cafeteria with coffee and cake. The lifestyle brand Rialto Living offers such a hybrid concept in Palma, Mallorca. Ralph Lauren is integrating an entire restaurant into its Milan flagship, with a menu inspired by the founder’s favorite dishes.
digitalization
The topic of digitization also remains an important topic that is constantly being further developed and goes beyond simple touchpoints. This includes the Burberry flagship in Shenzhen. The store is divided into ten different rooms, which customers can discover with the social media app Wechat like in a jump and run game, says Ernst. Points are collected with which additional benefits can be unlocked. The smartphone also displays and presents information about the products.
personality
On the other hand, there is a very personal and individual store concept that is specially tailored to the brand DNA. The personality of the founder Lorenz Amend flows into every store of the Düsseldorf streetwear brand LFDY, explains the Schwitzke boss. In addition, each store is tailored to the respective city and no one is like the other, continues Ernst, whose company worked on the Amsterdam location.
collaborations
Collaborations are no longer a novelty when it comes to collections. The brands Adidas and Gucci show that the cooperation can also be implemented beyond clothing. For their joint collection, Gucci designer Alessandro Michele took inspiration from the 70s not only for the pieces but also for the stores and created his own sales areas for it, such as the pop-up in Hamburg’s Alsterhaus.
So there are a lot of opportunities for stationary fashion retail. However, it is important that the concept fits the company and is authentic, summarizes Ernst.