It seems a challenging time for National Geographic to go into retailing – let alone a huge three-story space on London’s pricey Regent Street.
But, says John Fahey, president and ceo of the culture and travel brand best known for its magazine and TV channel, “We’d been trying for some time to think about how to take our brand into new places.”
The location makes sense. Regent Street has become an international destination and a honey pot for retailers looking to establish a U.K. foothold. The 19,375-square-foot National Geographic store, in collaboration with Worldwide Retail Store SL (Barcelona, Spain), is the largest store on the street.
“It’s a retail center dedicated to showcasing the National Geographic experience,” says Worldwide Retail ceo Pere Matamales, the man who translated the National Geographic brand from a 121-year-old publishing and TV perennial into a terrestrial retail reality.
Externally, the building has the imitation Georgian demeanor that characterizes Regent Street. Even so, National Geographic has managed to distinguish itself from its neighbors with a startling window display in which four driftwood horses look out at the passing throng. And the entrance to the store is an imposing neo-classical mix of bronze and glass more typical of a museum or a grand public building.
The cashwrap just inside the entrance is fashioned from repurposed antique wooden cabinets. To the right of the entrance is a gallery where shoppers can select from a range of framed pictures taken from National Geographic’s back catalog. And to the left of the entrance, a café is decorated with Oriental-style lanterns and a kiosk where customers can buy back copies of the magazine.
The main attraction of the first floor, though, drawing the eye to the back, is the “global marketplace,” a dark space consisting of products lit by overhead spots, lending each the feeling of a museum piece.
Simple, wheeled, wooden packing cases display a selection of ethnic merchandise, ranging from hand-painted wooden spindles to a lacquered cupboard covered with Hindu deities. It’s hard to avoid the feeling of having stumbled on a Victorian explorer’s homecoming. A large digital screen allows the area to double as a lecture theater.
Directly in front of the global marketplace is a column of light contained within a double-helix, a reference to National Geographic’s DNA project, which gives shoppers the chance to investigate their ethnic origins.
The basement is devoted primarily to National Geographic-branded clothing, displayed on a latticed bamboo framework. There’s also a small, semi-discrete room for children’s merchandise and novelties, such as an antique operating theater light. A red-painted shipping crate, the kind you see stacked up in ports worldwide, displays cold-weather clothing. The crate’s end is a glass-sided chiller room where shoppers can test-drive thermal jackets.
On the top floor is home to merchandise ranging from cameras to travel-agency services. And, since the store is built on the bend at Regent Street’s lower end, this floor also affords majestic views through the period windows.
The month after National Geographic and Worldwide Retail opened in London, it opened a second flagship store, in Singapore.
“These new retail environments are a perfect complement to our media expansion with our local-language magazines and international channels,” Fahey says. “National Geographic will be able to reach people in their communities on a more personal level and inspire them with fresh experiences.” With stores like these, National Geographic is aiming to cross new frontiers.
Project Suppliers
Client
National Geographic Society, London
Design
Worldwide Retail Store Team, Barcelona, Spain
Architect
April, Milan, Italy
General building contractor and fixtures
Styles & Wood, Cheshire, U.K.