STORE OF TOMORROW

A new phygital benchmark

Uk firm The Design Solution (TDS) has partnered with CDFG to unveil the ‘cdf Global Store’ concept, an innovative, digitally driven retail concept in the dazzling new cdf Haikou International Duty Free Shopping Complex. The partners describe cdf Global as an “unprecedented phygital store experience” for travellers.

The cdf Global retail concept is a response to the acceleration of digital convenience operators in the global retail sector from Amazon style to contactless airport stores. Led by ubiquitous platforms such as Weibo and WeChat, this digital acceleration is particularly true in China, where customers are increasingly demanding more phygital and omnichannel shopping experiences.

From design to operations, the cdf Global Concept was created to address these needs and offer a seamless phygital shopping experience in the world’s largest duty free shopping complex. It is an appropriately innovative retail concept for one of travel retail’s most ambitious shopping complexes, according to both parties.

The cdf Global store experience is spread across four different QR rooms, centred around four key categories: Perfumes & Cosmetics, Mother Care, Health and Liquor. The QR code, which has become in itself a symbol of digitalisation, serves as a central theme in the store’s visual identity.

In each of the rooms, vibrant product displays are further enhanced through the use of QR codes, which can be scanned to unlock key product information. Travellers shop by placing items on their digital baskets, confirm their purchases and make payments all on their mobile devices.

All store purchases are then delivered to their chosen local addresses. To boost in-store engagement, shoppers have the option of interacting with store staff via a dedicated lounge area or at any of the information desks.

The four QR rooms offer a fun, engaging and convenient ‘scan and buy’ shopping experience for travellers. They blend dynamic retail environments, speed, ease of use and digital innovation, enhanced by retail theatre and engaging visual merchandising.

The experience begins at the entry way, which attracts shoppers through the use of unmissable floor-to-ceiling digital screens which educate shoppers on the store format and ‘scan and buy’ process. The screens also feature engaging visual media which previews the exciting retail journey that awaits with QR code patterns decorating the floors and ceilings throughout the store.

A dramatic ‘Edit Wall’ is a key feature and offers a gallery-like display of best-sellers across the four rooms and previews some of the novelties ahead. Four colour-coded low level plinths act as beacons to signal the categories and product experiences offered by each room.

“The ubiquitous QR code represents a powerful ‘portal’ that brings retailer, product and customer together, blending the digital with the equally powerful in-store experience“

– The Design Solution Lead Senior Designer Christos Malecos

While the QR code is a unifying motif across all four rooms, each room has a guiding colour to highlight the different categories and convey a sense of ambience and personality.

The first and largest of the QR Rooms is the Perfumes & Cosmetics room. Occupying a vast 290sq m of retail space, this room offers many of the top beauty brands in travel retail. This room is dressed in glistening tones of white and silver, accented by reflective materials.

QR Room 2 is focused on health and showcases a wide range of health and nutrition products. Green is the colour of choice for this room which represents nature, health, rejuvenation and growth.

QR Room 3 is all about Mother Care, a growing niche category in China travel retail. This room is painted in blue to express the calm and serenity of motherhood.

Finally, QR Room 4 is centred around liquor. Painted in a deep orange hue and with dark wood accents, the room evokes the golden amber hues of whiskies, rums and Cognacs and takes inspiration from aged barrels.

“The impact would be invisible to the public, because they’re not appreciating it, but emotionally they sure as hell would get it“

– CDFG General Manager of Store Planning & Development Department Kim Zhang

A white product display ribbon features in all four rooms, creating a bright contrast to each of the four primary colours featured. Feature wall displays create points of interest, encouraging further exploration, customer engagement and product discovery. Travellers transition through the rooms via two dramatic square columns, which echo the QR code design theme.

CDFG General Manager of Store Planning & Development Department Kim Zhang commends the customer-centricity of the concept and how this reflects CDFG’s own commitment to putting customer needs first. She says: “The cdf Haikou International Duty Free Shopping Complex is built on the principle of putting the ‘customer first’ in everything we do and this is reflected in the creation of the cdf Global store.

“CDFG has a powerful understanding of customer needs and behaviours, including their demand for the ease and convenience of a ‘scan and buy’ experience, particularly among young shoppers.

“However, the concept is not simply about speed and convenience as it also provides an original and exciting in-store experience. We are very pleased to be working in partnership with The Design Solution again and we are confident that our customers will be delighted with this exciting and radical retail concept.”

Commenting on the design strategy that underpins the project, TDS Lead Senior Designer Christos Malecos says: “At its heart, the performance-driving beauty of the cdf Global store is that the design blends the smart functionality of QR-code shopping with a vibrant and engaging store design.

“Altough each room has its own colour palette and personality, many of the in-store fixtures and fittings, including ceilings and floors, share predominantly common structures, making for a highly efficient, adaptable and cost-effective build.”

Malecos adds, “CDFG not only had the ambition and commitment to share our unique design vision, they also backed that up with an equal commitment to using high quality materials and craft processes. The result is that the rooms look visually striking and they are also exceptionally high-quality environments creating a premium shopping experience.

When design meets function

“At first glance, QR codes look to be visually chaotic but when you stop and look closely, you can see that they actually have mesmerising patterns. I actually see patterns and motifs that bring to mind the tile designs of ancient Greece and my homeland, Cyprus. And, of course, every QR is actually a truly original artwork,” continues Malecos.

“Our design ethos at TDS is not simply about creating amazing spaces, we also prioritise the client’s need for an effective ROI. The welcome area and the four category rooms each express their own personality transmitting an energy and dynamism that has never been seen before in travel retail. Within this, we evolved materials, fixtures and structural processes that enabled the use of many common elements in the rooms, differentiated mainly by colour.”

This meant that, despite the startling differences in personality expressed by each room, they not only share a design DNA built on the QR code motif but also a cost-effective sharing of a shared ‘box’ of core materials for construction and fitting.

According to Malecos, the cdf Global store is a reflection of the innovation and ambition of the complex. He says, “This new mall is celebrated as the largest individual duty free shopping complex on the planet and CDFG’s vision, ambition and commitment has created a mall that is about much more than sheer scale.

“Their focus on optimising every aspect of the shopper experience is extraordinary and, as designers, we were delighted that this included a passionate commitment to achieving great aesthetics. CDFG has created a new retail adventure that stands with the best in the world and we are very proud that cdf Global stands out as a multi-coloured jewel in such an extraordinary setting.”