The art of offline retail: curate store space to enhance customer experience

Since the pandemic has dissipated, offline events have been shifting back towards offering engaging experiences. Being aware of this, brands are transforming their physical stores into more immersive and engaging spaces, creating unique and shareable moments for consumers. Let's explore some notable cases in Shanghai that might inspire you.

GENTLE MONSTER: artistic installments

GENTLE MONSTER, a Korean eyewear brand established in 2011, has curated a multi-brand space that boldly pushes the boundaries between fashion and art. Located in the recently reopened HAUS NOWHERE SHANGHAI, the space blends styles from various brands to create a unique and unconventional atmosphere.

GENTLE MONSTER blends various installations to express its unique aesthetic. Two large head installations stand at the center of the second floor, their hair gently swaying in an elegant and soothing motion, tightly intertwined and pulling each other, creating a highly dynamic emotional impact. Image: WeChat Account @GENTILE MONSTER

As part of GENTLE MONSTER concept space, this display is cleverly divided by different colors and materials, offering an unpredictable spatial experience that allows visitors' emotions to evolve as they move through different areas. Image: WeChat Account @GENTILE MONSTER

The limited-time collaboration space between Maison Margiela, the French luxury fashion brand, and Gentle Monster combines the unique styles of both brands, presenting a fresh take on futurism. Machines and humans coexist in the same space, with the subtle movements of both entities blurring the boundaries between them. Image: WeChat Account @GENTILE MONSTER

TAMBURINS, a fragrance brand founded by South Korea's GENTLE MONSTER Group in 2017, has a new space on the first floor of HAUS NOWHERE SHANGHAI. It aims to create a multi-sensory experience with diverse visual elements, conveying rich and unique emotions. Image: WeChat Account @GENTILE MONSTER

ARCTERYX: museum experience

On January 20th, ARCTERYX opened the 'ARCTERYX Museum,' the world's largest ecologically-themed experiential store on Nanjing West Road in Shanghai. Inspired by Coastal Mountains in Vancouver (where the brand is from), the store's design features simulated mountain soil, cliffs, and jungle vines to showcase the practical functionality of ARCTERYX's outdoor clothing and gear. It's the world's first ARCTERYX store named after a 'museum,' with four floors of different themed areas where visitors can experience the sensory allure of hiking adventures and learn about ARCTERYX's brand history. The store also has an ARCTERYX ReGEAR clothing repair area where customers can maintain their worn-out clothing for free.

The bird’s eye view and interior display of ARCTERYX museum located in Shanghai. Images: Weibo @ARCTERYX 始祖鸟

FREITAG: be part of a local sustainable community

In March 2023, the Swiss bag and accessory brand FREITAG opened a newflagship store in Shanghai. FREITAG has always been committed to minimizing carbon dioxide emissions and making a positive impact on the surrounding community. Therefore, in designing and constructing its new store, they made efforts to preserve or reuse the original building's materials as much as possible. When new materials were needed, they were sourced from within a radius of about 100 kilometres. As part of the community, FREITAG aims to create a liveable space. For example, they transformed the roof terrace into a green space open to the neighborhood for public activities.

FREITAG's first direct store in China made its debut in a residential community, located at No. 30, Lane 319, Jiaozhou Road, Jing'an District. The area is densely populated, surrounded by lively residential buildings. Images: FREITAG

The discarded rubble was collected on-site and used to make 'recycled bricks' for laying new floors. Images: FREITAG

The scaffolding that covered the entire building was repurposed after the renovation: the fence panels were cut on-site and reused as part of the building's facade. Images: FREITAG

The remaining waste from the building's facade was recycled, with some used to create the invitations for the opening day. Images: FREITAG

Truck tarpaulin, measuring up to 14 meters long, was used to make benches. Images: FREITAG

The building, featuring yellow railings serves as FREITAG's space. FREITAG has grown lush vegetation, offering a public space open for surrounding residents. Images: FREITAG

Wrapping up

The need for face-to-face communication with customers underscores the importance of offline presence in brand building and business activities. Whether it's GENTLE MONSTER attracting consumers with wildly creative installations, ARCTERYX showcasing brand culture assets in a museum-like store, or FREITAG's flagship store coexisting with local sustainable communities, the curation of these retail stores translates abstract brand concepts into tangible and sensory experiences, enhancing consumer perception of the brand.