CASE STUDY

Uniqlo & Kendu

THE CHALLENGE

Innovation & elegance in the Catalan Capital

UNIQLO, Fast Retailing Co’s LifeWear brand, has more than 1,800 shops in 18 countries. At the end of 2017, the Japanese fashion brand choose Barcelona as the site to launch its first store in Spain in a beautiful 19^th Century palace. The Catalan capital is a fashion lover’s dream come true and was the ideal location to launch UNIQLO into the Spanish market. Making its debut on the Paseo de Gracia, one of the city’s most important shopping streets, UNIQLO faced stiff competition from international fashion brands in such close vicinity. The store needed to clearly demonstrate the brand values and point of difference to ensure that both locals and tourists would step inside. Every detail of the design was aimed at communicating a new way of appareling.

The Solution

In a nod to the city’s architectural history, UNIQLO chose an Art Nouveau palace as their store’s site. The building’s 18,620 sq. ft. are distributed over 4 floors and feature floor to ceiling stained glass windows. Combining these bourgeois elements with the modern lines of the brand created a truly unique shopping space. For a touch of Tokyo, large-format lightboxes stretching over 13 feet were installed on the ceiling with only opaque white textiles for a more minimalist aesthetic. A variety of lightboxes, featuring seasonal imagery, were recessed into the store walls to create a cleaner look.

The UNIQLO flagship is a showcase of modernity and minimalism, innovation and elegance which reinforces the brand essence and image. The simple combination of neutral ceiling light with brightly colored clothing sections easily guides the customer through the spacious store. By embracing the local culture and historical background of the Catalan capital, UNIQLO has begun building a strong and trusting relationship with its customers both local and transient.