THE BRIEF
In 1906, while India was still under the British rule, the ‘Swadeshi’, Made in India, movement was led by great Indian patriots and businessmen like Lokmanya Tilak and Sir Ratanji Jamshedji Tata who helped conceive Bombay Swadeshi Co-Op Stores Co. Ltd. Later to be known as The Bombay Store. Since then, the brand has championed this by offering its customer ‘a piece of India’ sourced directly from Indian artisans and craftsmen in a curated range of Home décor, Tea and wellness, Fashion Accessories, Souvenirs and Gifts and Pashmina.Recently the brand set out to update its brand experience that epitomized an authentic and tasteful old-world charm of India in a modern context.
THE CONCEPT
This is conceived in two distinct experience zones – The Market Place and The Home. The former is inspired from the cultural energy of Indian marketplaces and the later from the exquisite décor in the homes of royalty in India.The storefront present the Market Place rendered with strong visual cues from vendor carts, canopies and small store fronts and is used as a cultural art wall to highlight the brand’s name and elephant mnemonic in a composition of Indian patterns in in-lit filigree work to create a stunning and differentiated effect. The core material palette of the store environment is a combination of earthy stone finishes, rich carved wood, metallic embellishments and printed fabrics. The brand story is told in traditional ‘family ancestors’ like picture frames that present the brand’s history above the merchandising line.Customers are led into The Home area through an archway inspired from a royal home’. The main highlight of this area is a large ornate table displaying the key artifacts of this section embellished with an installation of copper vessels that act as decorative lights over it. The lighting design concept is boutique and flexible to create highlights for the products and the many architectural features in the store.
Overall, the store helps deliver a very memorable and delightful experience of discovery for its customers.