Design of venue locations is as important as the look of the product itself, and knowing that celebrated international brands from time to time revamp the store design of its major retail stores (Nike, Converse, Burger King and Levi’s to name a few). D-ash Design, a New York-based environmental design firm, has created new interiors in dark browns and bright creams for new flagship venues of international chocolate-maker Godiva, which is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year.
According to www.dexigner.com, starting this spring, a number of the brand’s venues to be refreshed with the interiors which pay tribute to Godvia’s Belgian heritage—the brand’s stores in Atlanta (spring 2011) and NYC (summer 2011) as well as recently opened flagships in Amerkez (Turkey), Xintiandi (Shanghai, Shanghai’s Pudong region) and in an IFC mall in Hong Kong will have a new look. The first store with the new design, where ‘chocolate is the star,’ is the venue in the Istanbul’s Nisanti district. The brand will continue the renovation movement after these shops will be ‘updated’ and will introduce the new design to more stores.
The revamped flagships, each having their own personality, feature a Godiva café as well as an interactive 360-degree ‘Chocolate Island ‘and a two-storey vertical display case with the offerings. To highlight the chocolate nature of the brand, the basic tones of the interiors are brown (from light to rich brown) and include Art Nouveau elements.
«Our objective was to make the consumer feel totally surrounded, in a sense, not just by chocolate itself but by all the emotions that chocolate conjures-pleasure, indulgence, comfort,» stated David Ashen, the Principal at d-ash. «Everywhere you turn there’s a different way to enjoy Godiva, a different type of chocolate encounter.»