Ecco describes its brand with craggy images: the rocky coast of southern Denmark (where it was founded), the granite hills of New Hampshire (where its U.S. operation is headquartered), the materials and drawings of a shoe under construction.

Actually, Ecco is all about the smooth lines and soft surfaces of comfort. And as it expands its global retail presence, it’s eager to translate its story – a shoe designed and made to conform to the foot, rather than the other way around – with a complementary store design.

It debuted its new Arena concept in Burlington, Mass., this year. Using focal points and comfort zones, the concept employs a gallery approach to direct attention to product.

“Arena is evolving and can be easily updated to showcase seasonal collections,” says Deborah Eppler, Ecco USA’s visual merchandising manager. “The retail environment in Ecco stores will convey the brand message, and showcase Ecco’s Danish heritage and philosophy. In addition to Ecco stores, Arena fixtures for use in multi-brand stores clearly connect consumers with the Ecco brand.”

Customer comfort zones feature Scandinavian-designed seats, a wool area rug and service centers that include peds and shoe horns. Comfort zone placement serves to direct traffic throughout the store. The hardwood floors allow consumers to experience Ecco comfort on a variety of surfaces.

Shelving is designed to be flexible, and can be easily repositioned to tell seasonal stories. Light shelves with illuminated graphics highlight feature products.

Ecco plans to outfit eight stores in 2007 with this branding environment.

Client: ECCO USA, Londonderry, N.H.

Design: M2, Rydobruk, Sweden; ECCO Retail Intl., Tonder, Denmark

Architect: RGLA Solutions Inc., Schiller Park, Ill.

General Contractor: De Jager Construction Inc., Wyoming, Mich.

Fixtures: M2, Rudobruk, Sweden

Flooring: Floor Tech, Canton, Mass.

Audio/Visual: DMX, Seattle

Props and Decoratives: Cahill Displays, Boston

Signage/Graphics: ECCO Retail, Tonder, Denmark; Vision Integrated Graphics, Chicago

Façade Sign: National Sign, Berlin, Conn.

Photography: Larry Dunn Photography, Manchester, N.H.