Spread across 3,500 sq.ft. in Hyderabad, Allen Solly’s new flagship, designed by Bengaluru-based retail design agency 4D, is the heritage British brand’s debut into a modern retail design concept. The design ID is also aimed at lessening non-merchandise elements and increasing merchandise density.
Allen Solly, a part of Madura Fashion & Lifestyle portfolio, is a brand that transformed the dressing of the corporate Indian with the introduction of ‘Friday dressing’, a casual approach to formal dressing. The brand reimagined their positioning and endeavored to implement the same across its different customer touch points. The core points to be considered in the environment design were to keep the Allen Solly ‘STAG’ as the center of the brand universe. The brand’s personality was defined to have design sensibilities of modern British with essence of tradition. The brand’s purpose was defined to ‘bring happiness by experimenting fearlessly.”
This was interpreted into the store’s design concept with some key visual cues inspired from British traditions interpreted in modern design language right from the store front. The store front design is derived from British architecture layered with a modern touch with blue metal frames with lights integrated in them.
The store environment is created in a casual but sophisticated design language inspired from the architectural cues from London in a material palette of warm wood, white bricks, blue paneling and neutral greys.
The store front has two concepts of window presentation – the mannequin cluster and the merchandising elevation system. The former allows the presentation of a look in a mannequin cluster on podium and the latter is a vertical and flexible beam system that allows elevated display of product stories.
The perimeter features strong visual breaks that are prominently located to create story telling within the merchandising fixtures. These breaks are designed and rendered in the language of British architecture interpreted in clean modern lines. This is achieved with painted MDF panels installations.
Different zones for men and women, such as semi-formals, casuals and the denims are treated differently in-terms of fixtures presentation. The perimeter fixtures are made of a clean grid system with the differentiation of the zones made clear with the finish of the break panels. The semi-formals and casuals have the brick finish whereas the denims feature a blue stained wood finish. Graphics play an important role in ‘keeping the STAG at the centre of the brand’. The stag is rendered on the feature walls in print in polycarbonate and back lit panels.
The service areas of the store, like the cash counter and the trial rooms lobby are treated to deliver the modern British experience with strong visual cues. Wall paper with the brand mnemonic complemented with framed product stories help create the scene. The cash counter has strong visual presence in the store in terms of location, color and forms. The Allen Solly blue paneling act as a backdrop for the cash counter and the accessories.
The fixtures are basically of two types – the grid type for the perimeter walls and the bean type for the feature walls. The floor fixtures are made of tables, gondolas and browsers that help build looks when staged together at different parts of the store. The stag mnemonics are laser engraved into the fixtures. The legs of the floor fixtures have a ‘hoof’ detail at the bottom that adds a brand proprietary touch to them.
The lighting in the store is a boutique type with a combination of accent and ambient complemented with decorative lighting fixtures that add to the modern British positioning of the brands environment.
The visual merchandising is a combination of mannequins (with and without head) and busts to present the fashion statements of Allen Solly.
The store front design is derived from British architecture layered with a modern touch with blue metal frames with lights integrated in them.
The store environment is created in a casual but sophisticated design language inspired from the architectural cues from London in a material palette of warm wood, white bricks, blue paneling and neutral greys.
The perimeter features strong visual breaks that are prominently located to create story telling where breaks are designed in the language of British architecture interpreted in clean modern lines.
The stag is rendered on the feature walls in print in polycarbonate and back lit panels.
The cash counter and the trial rooms lobby are treated to deliver the modern British experience with strong visual cues.
The stag mnemonics are laser engraved into the fixtures. The legs of the floor fixtures have a ‘hoof’ detail at the bottom that adds a brand proprietary touch to them.
The lighting in the store is a boutique type complemented with decorative lighting fixtures that add to the modern British positioning of the brands environment.
The visual merchandising is a combination of mannequins (with and without head) and busts to present the fashion statements of Allen Solly.
Anil S Kumar, COO, Allen Solly said, “There were precisely three objectives of this new ID – Allen Solly moving towards cleaner and more modern retail design concept without compromising its British heritage brand ethos, more merchandises per square feet and lessening non-merchandise elements like props etc. Our logo, the animal stag, has given the primary importance in the whole layout while the extrenal props have been removed. To increase the density of merchandises, we have moved towards more of hanging display options than the stacked ones.”
Vendor List
Store Design and Visual Merchandising: 4Dimensions Retail Design India Pvt Ltd
Fixtures: Mortize
Lighting: Plus Light, Gadler, Lightzone
Signage and Graphics: Creative Source
Store Build contractor: NS Interiors
Photography: Santosh Photography
