GREAT Space
HOW DO YOU ATTRACT your future customer without losing sight of the past? Successfully addressing this question was one of the goals for the design of the flagship downtown Edmonton location of Henry Singer, a second-generation family retailer of upscale and designer menswear.
“We wanted to modernize without alienating a customer that was used to [a more traditional look],” explains Fred Singer, owner and president of the Henry Singer Fashion Group Ltd. Further, the store needed to “reflect the changing style of our product” and have “the flexibility to be able to transform itself season to season as our mix changed. And while we wanted a sense of the future, we wanted to make sure that we used materials and concepts ... that our existing customer would relate to.” The result is a distinctively modern retail space that focuses on a unique shop-in-shop experience while behind the scenes, appropriate support is given for the business’s administrative functions.
|
|
COMPANY: Henry Singer Fashion Group Ltd., Henry Singer’s retail outlet, main floor, Manulife Place, downtown Edmonton
FUNCTION: One of three upscale menswear stores the company operates, this location replaced the company’s former home one block away. In addition to the retail front, where a receptionist, cashier and sales associates work, this space houses a tailor shop for alterations, the merchandising department for the whole fashion group and administration and support offices including a boardroom, executive offices plus storage space.
DESIGN CHALLENGES: “I think the unique challenge here was that this was many stores and Manulife had never found a suitable use for the space,” notes Singer. To create the floor plan for the new store, space formerly occupied by a restaurant, travel shop and gift shop were combined.
|
|
 |
