The store is backed by Mondrian-inspired features

The storefront references the works of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, whose art features strong, dark lines and rectangular blocks of colour. Customers experience more of a sense of the bold colours of Mondrian, through the use of carpets with bright spots, swirls, prints and patterns and vibrant sofas that appear throughout the store to create a warm and welcoming, yet energetic vibe. Explore L'Aurora in Guangzhou (CN).

The story of The Little Bookworm

This children's bookshop wanted to create an enchanting experience that invites children to fall in love with reading. The space is a magical one where children can experience adventure, mystery, creativity, and use their imagination. Discover The Little Bookworm in Chongqing (CN).

10 Corso Como landed in Shanghai with a multifunctional space

10 Corso Como Shanghai opened last year with an array of highly-selected womenswear, menswear and homewares. Their merchandise approach has always been a mix of a very tight edit and catered towards the highly design-centric customerone, more a 'concept store' than a department store. Within the space there is a restaurant, a bar inside and a gallery which will showcase a regularly revolving array of her favourite artists' works. Explore 10 Corso Como in Shanghai (CN).

Refreshing the Starbucks brand

In its march to develop in China, Starbucks revamped its traditional store to better fit the Chinese culture. This design concept aims to delight customers with an elevated Starbucks Experience. Visit this Starbucks at the Kerry Center in Beijing (CN).

Uniqlo shines on stage

The flagship features an atrium that goes from the ground to the top floor with “flying mannequins” that go up and down like superman. Visit Uniqlo in Shanghai (CN).

Nike pop-up showroom

The installation as a whole creates a strong, serene, yet warm space that allows the products to be the centerpiece. Discover Nike showroom in Beijing.

Saint Laurent in Shanghai

All black and white marble, mirrored glass with gold frames, and striking 30s-inspired furnishings. Discover the Saint Laurent shop.

H3 Experience Center

This design exercise attempts to portray H3 as “The Wood Specialist” and set a strong and memorable store identity with maximum visual impact. Explore H3 Experience Center in Kunming (CN).

Glass tower of Apple's Pudong store

Inspired by the Fifth Avenue glass cube, this store is reminiscent of the Fifth Avenue store in New York City, Apple’s most prominent retail spot. Visit Apple's store in Shanghai, Pudong.

Martin Margiela's flagship store in Beijing

The new Martin Margiela Beijing flagship opened last year. This multi-floor boutique, in a true Margiela style, sells the complete range from its apparel, accessories, and home collections. Loving the wood and concrete laboratory style and the fun addition of the aluminum slide bringing you from the second to first floor in a very unusual way. Discover Martin Margiela in Beijing...

Bookstore and playroom design

China is rapidly becoming an international hot spot with a budding middle class yearning for western luxuries and comforts. Beijing kids are treated to this trend of indulgence with Kids Republic, a children’s bookstore that transports its pint-sized customers into a delightful fairytale world full of color and fantasy – complete with massive story telling screens and play areas. It’s heaven for little imaginations in the heart of one of the biggest cities in the world. 36-year-old Japanese architect Keiichiro Sako’s design for children’s bookstore Kid’s Republic gives full play to the innocence, fun and inquisitiveness of the young, conjuring up images of childhood that are sure to enchant anyone walking through the doors. Twelve bands of color weave their way around the activity room to create a rainbow-like décor for a space used for storytelling and anime screenings.

Source: Kid’s Republic Bookstore

BAPE Flagship in Shangai

If you visit the trendy San Lit Tun Village pedestrian mall in Beijing (China) you will notice as of end 2010 the city’s first BAPE flagship store, designed by famed architect Masamichi Katayama of WONDERWALL. At the structure’s sunken plaza, shoppers can peer through the all glass façade to see A Bathing Ape store signage. Greeting those entering from one other entrance is the the lighted logo “Go! APE”. Once inside, the store offers the complete array of A Bathing Ape product lines for men, women, kids, and the new URSUS line.

Source: BAPE

Harman Audio

Harman opened its first Chinese flagship store in Shanghai last October. The store was crafted to be dynamic, original and beautiful, while simultaneously delivering a unique experience to customers.
The façade of the Harman flagship store is illuminated with backlit Harman signage, enticing customers into the clean, open space. Single-cut brand logos behind a glazed façade enhance the doorway.
Harman Live—the central experience area–is dedicated to product demonstrations in a multi-screen, staged environment that offers customers the opportunity to sit and participate in in-depth tutorials or stand and watch for a snapshot demonstration. Raised rear seating offers an amphitheater-style vantage point.
The AKG Interactive Library allows customers to interact with the product privately and comfortably. Glazed screens mimic a booth-type environment, while still creating transparency and sightlines into and throughout the area. The lightweight frame structure defines the AKG zone, making it approachable from all sides.
The Dedicated Sound Rooms feature live audio demonstrations form the core of the harman kardon sound experience, strategically positioned to create uncontaminated audio excellence. Customers have the opportunity to compare a 2.1 sound to a 5.1 full surround-sound experience at the push of a button.
Heritage, depth, and unparalleled dedication to the science of sound, characteristics that have made Harman International the leading American manufacturer of audio equipment.

Source: Harman Audio

Inside Shanghai's first Apple Store

Apple has opened last summer its first Apple Store in Shanghai (China). Some facts about this incredible store, much inspired by their Fifth Avenue Store in New York City.

The cylinder (40 feet high) contains the largest curved glass panels in the world. There are more hands-on gadgets to play with than any other Apple Store. It's got one of the largest Genius Bars. It's one of the largest Apple Stores.

Once you're inside, the design and layout is similar to other Apple Stores, maple wood colored tables, brushed aluminum walls and giant flourescent advertisements of Apple products.

Source: Apple

Which are the most attractive retail formats in 2010?

The Paris office of the global consulting firm, OC&C, has just published the results of a consumer study (in French) which was conducted in six countries (France, Germany, UK, the Netherlands, the US and China) in June-July 2010. 14000 consumers ranked 289 retail formats (50 in France) according to seven criteria, i.e. low prices, product quality, breadth of assortment, products which suit me, services, store organization, appearance & comfort and product-quality ratio.

Overall Amazon is the winner worldwide, n°1 in the US, UK and Germany.

In France, Picard ranks first, followed by Ikea, Sephora, Decathlon and Amazon.

By retail sector, the winners are Picard in food retail, venteprivee.com in fashion, Amazon in entertainment, Leroy-Merlin in DIY, Fnac in consumer electronics, Galeries Lafayette in department stores, Sephora in cosmetics & perfumes, Decathlon in sporting goods and Ikea in furniture & interior design.

Regarding the “store organization, appearance & comfort” criteria, Nature & Découvertes is N°1, Maisons du Mode N°2 and Sephora N°3.

The study reveals that these winning retail concepts have a significant competitive advantage.

Source: OC&C