Retro Design SMEG UK
24
Back to the future
In an exclusive interview, Smeg’s John Davies talks to Jack Cheeseman about the retro revival in kitch en appliances, revitalising retailing with the company’s new London store… And a hint at new products launching this year.
E xiting the tube station at Piccadilly
Circus and after a short walk down Regent Street, a distinctively colourful shopfront caught my eye. One window oozed deep red with a matte finish retro-style refrigerator complete with a giant red heart and sprinkled rose petals – a nod to Valentine’s Day – and another window showed
three iconic original Fiat 500 cars in green, white and red – a nod to this company’s Italian heritage. Opened in September 2017, the Smeg retail store in Central London offers a complete showcase of the brand’s products, from SDA including toasters and kettles, to huge, American-style fridge-freezers and range cookers. The aim of the store is to bring the brand to life through experiential retail in one of London’s most design-led and stylish areas, attracting theatregoers and boutique shoppers as well as the city’s many tourists… not to mention visitors at the Michelin-star restaurant next door.
To complement this, the company holds various pizza-making and cheese tasting events in-store using the special kitchen demonstration workshop on the lower level. Meeting up with John Davies, Smeg’s Head of Marketing, inside the store, we spoke about how important this place is to the company and also why retro design kitchen appliances have taken the CE industry by storm.
It’s all in the planning “The whole reason for choosing this place was
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