In 2010, Marks & Spencer, the famous British fashion and food retailer wanted to invest the Chinese market. A first store location had been opened in Shanghai with the help of a local agency. Though the store was a success, the collaboration had been difficult.

With ambitions to set-up a store roll-out, M&S was in search of a new, more reliable, partner. As the retailer already had an ongoing solid relationship with the architectural firm Benoy in the UK, it approached the Chinese office based in Shanghai to take on this mission.

The brief received was to test a first collaboration with a site located just on the outskirts of Shanghai. If the collaboration worked, our office would then be tasked to prepare the full local roll-out.

The ambitions at the time were for two store openings in 2010 and an envisioned twenty in 2011, including a new flagship store in Shanghai.

I was hired by Benoy specifically to head this task. I liaised directly with the local expansion manager and the retail design coordinator back in the UK to deliver the first store. Our collaboration ran extremely smoothly and I was thus tasked to prepare the further roll-out. I sourced materials locally to match the British references received. I set up a standard set of drawings as well as a clear workflow as follows for each new location:

• Test fit presentations of a few potential sites for a single new envisioned opening to help the local and British teams decide on the best option.
• Block plan & design report for the selected location for sign off once again by both teams.
• Schematic design package for tendering
• Final drawing package for construction
• Site supervision visits to guarantee the design was fully respected. Often this also required discussing slight adjustments directly on site due to unforeseen constraints.
• Post opening snagging visits once again to guarantee the best design delivery possible.

In the first year, I singlehandedly managed the roll-out preparation process as well as the envisioned two store openings. In the second year, the retailer’s ambitions required me to slowly grow, train and lead a team dedicated specifically to this account. Over time I came to supervise ten members of our approximately 50 staff studio.

In 2011, the M&S account, under my leadership, ended up representing 40% of Benoy Shanghai’s revenue.