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“Almost everything in the Chinese stores has the same brand details as in Europe,” says architect Warner Franz of the Plajer & Franz Studio (Berlin), who developed the concept under Lagerfeld’s direction.
There were some adjustments to certain peculiarities of the Chinese market. For example, dressing rooms are larger and set apart because of the demand for privacy. “The Asian consumer needs a space in which she can withdraw from everything for a short while and be left alone, unseen,” Franz says.
iPads in the dressing room – a popular feature in its European stores – were removed, while the cashwrap, which is frequently replaced by iPads in the West, is demanded in Chinese retail, according to Franz.
“The cash desk as such still requires a certain degree of privacy and therefore is usually located in the back of the store or in a hidden corner,” Franz says. “According to the mentality of the Chinese consumer the payment transaction needs a quiet surrounding that is not visible by everyone who enters the store.”
Finally, designers had to call attention to Lagerfeld himself, with a backlit cameo of his head: “His name is not as well-known to the Chinese consumer as is the iconic image of his person,” Franz says.
Project Suppliers
Retailer
Karl Lagerfeld, Paris
Design
Plajer & Franz Studio, Berlin
General Contractor
Kingsmen Beijing Co. Ltd., Beijing
Ceilings; fixtures; flooring; furniture; lighting;
signage/graphics; wallcoverings and materials
Kingsmen Beijing Co., Ltd., Beijing
Photography: Yijie Zhan, Beijing
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