On Location: Coach in Chicago, Singapore, and Tokyo

COACH, THE ICONIC New York-based fashion house, is making waves across the world with its latest jaw-dropping retail concept. Coach Play is a series of hyper-localized, experiential stores that offer a playful approach to store design for the brand. These pop-up stores, which last from six months to three years, aim to redefine the physical retail experience for Gen Z consumers who demand more from shopping experiences.

“We’re really thinking about how we can redefine our stores for the Gen Z audience. We want to make our environments more tactile, immersive and engaging for all the senses,” explains Rachel Harding, Director of Visual Experience at Coach.

CHICAGO

Each Coach Play store is unique to its location, incorporating elements of the local community and hospitality. The Chicago store embraces the concept of exploration, featuring different design languages in various explorable areas, highlighted by a sunset color palette, baseball artwork and fixtures taken from a film set.

ABOVE: Coach Play Chicago was the first location for the new concept, which encourages customization and interactivity.

“We used a lot of local signage and artifacts in the Chicago store, picking up furniture from vintage stores in the area,” Harding reveals. “We created a co-creation and personalization space where customers can make their own products, which is massively popular in Chicago.”

SINGAPORE

The Singapore store, a standout project for Coach, showcases a mix of vintage, hospitality and digital immersive experiences in a traditional shophouse. It comprises various rooms that offer different encounters with the Coach brand – from a ’70s Americana cafe with a New York-inspired menu to a section where customers can shop for real Coach vintage pieces.

THIS PAGE: A blend of vintage aesthetics, digital touchpoints and F&B define Coach Play’s Singapore locale.

“In Singapore, we partnered with local coffee brand Brawn & Brains and created a digital immersive experience room, which engages customers through sound and CGI visuals, showcasing the craftsmanship behind Coach products in a completely new way,” Harding says. “It’s a layer cake of unexpected experiences.”

TOKYO

In Harajuku, Tokyo, Coach Play is located on a bustling crosswalk, so it had no choice but to command attention: With its pink and pastel palette, distinctive Coach brick, bespoke neons and lightbulb-framed claw crane in the window, it does that and more.

“Harajuku is the mecca of cute,” says Harding. “We lent into that with this store, creating an impactful façade, drawing on local customs and utilizing a lot of pink!”

ABOVE: Coach Play in Tokyo’s Harajuku district features an attention-grabbing pastel interior and façade.

Throughout all Coach Play stores, the brand pays careful attention to locally relevant elements while still retaining its recognizable New York design architecture. Alongside bespoke graphics, gifting and event branding, Coach has also curated locally relevant music playlists, catering to Gen Z’s music tastes to enhance the sonic experience.

Tapping into Gen Z consciousness is no easy feat. But with Coach Play, Coach is embracing community, customization and cutting-edge design to grab and hold their attention. As a result, customers are already staying in store longer. This is what setting a new standard in retail and capturing the hearts of the next generation of fashion lovers looks like.