Retail Flagships
Steve Thomas-Emberson believes that the out-of-town shopping centre Bluewater in Kent set a precedent for creating the right retail environment for a flagship system to thrive.
the extra publicity and kudos of being a flagship retailer in a high profile destination development, as well as the increased trade, this is what has happened at Bluewater.”
Let us cut to the chase, what are the
financial ramifications to the retailer? The first obvious element is the additional cost for a bespoke shop front with items such as signage. The tenants are encouraged to bring individuality to each new development, so they tend to bring in designers and new design schemes specifically for these units, which mean new fixtures and prototyping. Some retailers will treat every unit as a separate concept, some will throw money at materials and finishes, and some will be on a strict budget. How then does this all start? By the very nature of buildings and environment the developer’s retail architect sets the ball rolling while the developer sorts out the tenant mix, locations, customer mix and general vision of the centre as a whole. From this a mood board, together with inspirational text, is communicated to the prospective tenants. At the same time technical diagrams are being produced on a site by site basis, which covers the interface with the surrounding environment the developer’s retail architects have designed. Some of the best “Retail Design Guidelines” are now being created for airports around the world and it is here that the most important of elements comes into play as David Redington explains. “The guidelines we produced for Mumbai airport are very much orientated towards Sense of Place, Indian heritage and quite inspirational in tone. The contents start with an overview of the scheme, vision, plans, customer routes and demographic breakdown. Then there is an explanation of the design process, what the vendor has to
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do to get approval and how many stages there are in the whole process. After this the detail becomes very site specific by section such as in‐line retail or island. This may sound like a very long process but it makes it far easier in the long run especially as it often forms part of a tenancy contract”
As with Bluewater and the other new super out of town sites, the work doesn’t stop with the guidelines, there is design help with tenant submissions and an overview of how the whole development is shaping up from the developers perspective. The big plus in all this creative work is the ability to make retail look and feel different from the customer’s point of view, and that is critical to retailing success.
Written by Steve Thomas‐Emberson Contact
The Design Solution T: +44 (0)207 908 5200
www.thedesignsolution.co.uk
www.a1retailmagazine.com
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