The new concept store in Willis St Wellington is the second of its kind for Telecom following the opening of the first concept store in Victoria St in Auckland late last year.
This was developed in a strong collaboration between Telecom Retail, Gascoigne Associates (Retail Interior Design) and Designworks (Brand Experience Design) and reflects Telecom’s ongoing programme of transformation which puts customers at the heart of the company’s thinking and decision-making. The retail spaces ‘empower people to try’ and amplifies the joy of ‘user discovery’ by creating a hands-on learning experience where trying turns into buying and brand strategy.
This powerful brand experience is less about Telecom’s products, technology and networks, but more about its customers and New Zealanders doing what inspires them.
The store has been divided into five unique spaces that reflect the different environments in which customers use technology ‘Home-Sweet-Home’, ‘Work and Play’, ‘On the Move’, ‘Let’s Talk’, and ‘Help is Here’.
The ‘Help is Here’ wall area features recycled native New Zealand timber chosen to bring warmth and texture to this service area to make it inviting and non-intimidating. The ‘On The Move’ wall uses a brick print and features messaging along with non-brand images displayed as posters as might be found pasted to walls in an alley. A mixture of memorabilia, framed messaging and selected ‘found’ objects are used to provide warmth and interest to this ‘Home-Sweet-Home’ area. The walls themselves have had decorative timber mouldings applied and then finished in blackboard paint, which allows some casual and easily changed messaging to be added. The store features an eclectic mixture of furniture and an antique-look patchwork rug in front of the fireplace (which houses an LCD screen showing ‘flames’ or digital presentations).
Most of the ‘found’ items, the brick wall, cuckoo clock, the moose head and fireplace are custom made. The wing back chairs are upholstered in printed fabric, designed by Wellington based art student Angela Kilford, winner of Telecom’s fabric design competition.
Flooring is a mixture of black and white tiles for the ‘Work and Play’ area, ‘timber-look’ vinyl plank, which was chosen for its durability while basalt cobblestone was selected to represent the outdoor area.
Retail point-of-sale has also been overhauled with a non-traditional approach. Messaging is integrated into the store environment on touch-screens, blackboards, picture frames, postcards, screensavers and water bottles. The store has few traditional signs or posters but instead uses digital LCD screens. Traditional branding is conspicuously absent; the biggest sign in the window just says ‘Shop’. The counter is partly illuminated by ‘Hello’ sign, lit with L.E.D. for energy efficiency, long lamp-life and to minimise heat. The ceiling itself was painted black to make it disappear and to emphasise the custom-made white A.C.M. (aluminium composite material) lighting grid which is suspended at an angle to the store to break the rectangular shape.
Images by Amy Carter
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