Club Med's upmarket strategy

The Club Med office on the Champs Elysees (France, Paris) is the illustration of their strategy to move upmarket. With the desire to create a "Dream Embassy", the ceiling has 36 screens that broadcast the images of different villages, their projections are reflected in the bright crystal suspensions of the master glassmaker William Saalburg. On the floor, blue deformed resin lines reproduce the appearance of the surface of a pool under the effect of rippling water. A green vegetal wall is designed to represent plants from 5 different continents. This small garden is visible from outside the agency and is beautifully lit at night. The sales areas are scattered islets, roundish and delimited by a curtain of yarns.

Source: Club Med

The Magic of Disney

The Disney Store retail chain unveiled its new store design earlier this year at The Shops at Montebello complex in Montebello, Calif. On Nov. 9, the company will celebrate its latest newly designed Disney store opening in New York's Times Square. The high-tech makeover of the Disney Store includes the first-ever Disney-Pixar CARS-branded RIDEMAKERZ experience, which allows kids to build toy custom cars in the store. The remodel also features multimedia technology, interactive storytelling, Disney Store exclusive merchandise and more. Disney Store unveiled its new state-of-the-art digital billboard in the heart of New York’s Times Square. The 2,000-sq.-ft. billboard is the highest resolution billboard of its size in Times Square, and stands six stories high. The two-story store will be the largest Disney Store in North America and will boast the innovative new concept design bringing the magic of Disney to Manhattan.

Source: Disney

Le Pain Quotidien

What he wanted was so simple: bread, hearty and wholesome, with a firm slice and a good crust. Alain Coumont learned about bread as a small child, standing on a chair every Sunday watching his grandmother bake bread. As a young chef in Brussels, Alain could not find the right bread for his restaurant. Passionate about quality, he returned to his roots and opened a small bakery where he could knead flour, salt and water into the rustic loaves of his childhood. He called his bakery “Le Pain Quotidien".

Source: Le Pain Quoitidien

'One-for-One' Model

The business model for Toms Shoes (US)—giving away one pair of footwear to the needy for every one sold—seems risky in a recession where small companies are loathe to add extra costs, but several start-ups are none-the-less following suit.

Small companies have long been charitable, but few incorporate any form of philanthropy into their business models from inception since it can take several years for a start-up to become profitable, experts say.

Source: Wall Street Journal, Toms' Shoes

DNA & storytelling

Are you looking for ways to reach out to new clients? Maybe it is time to redefine your store's DNA. A clear formulation of your values, dreams and goals is the starting point for a successful store. Because an appealing story will spread itself. And your store? It will live happily ever after.