In March 2024, I headed to Paris for a retail inspiration tour for my own benefit. In the following weeks, I wrote a series of store reviews about those stores which left the strongest mark. (If you are interested, please search my LinkedIn history with “Paris store review” as a search criteria.)
Here, I wish to document the post I wrote about the store which left the biggest mark on me: Lacoste arena on the Champs Elysées.
Though my first impression from the outside was impacted by some construction work, the use of full height glazing allowed me to peek in and be caught by what has clearly been designed to be the “wow factor”: a beautiful escalating staircase display (re)-introducing the brand’s identity, positioning and offer.
This installation catches the customers’ eyes from the outside, draws them in and then also very intuitively drives the flow upstairs to the product display areas. This first impression thus not only creates interest, it also serves a very practical purpose. As a store designer, I couldn’t help but think: “wow, top marks for the entrance… but will the rest of the store deliver to this same level?”
And let me tell you: it does!
I even felt my excitement and interest grow as I followed the very natural flow created by the different product areas, displays and experiential zones. Although the building is not an easy one to navigate, the store layout has been extremely well managed so that the customer journey feels totally intuitive, ensuring customers see the entire offer while still allowing them to make choices and providing lots of surprises along the way. It thus perfectly balances efficiency and experience!
The product organisation is also very well managed through the use of individual corners each providing a singular atmosphere… but which all fit within the overall story created for this specific store. This helps to create a totally unified and very strong branded look & feel.
Experiential elements such as personalisation areas, photo ops and games are integrated at key moments in the customer journey thus supporting the products versus distracting from them! This, for me, is an excellent example of experience done right (versus “experience for the sake of experience” which sadly a lot of retailers still seem to struggle with…)
Both the product displays and experiential elements are themselves supported with very strong VM, great signage (including references to the brand’s rich heritage) and a very efficient lighting scheme (also integrating natural light). Let’s also not forget to mention the amazing staff presence, interaction and support!
This store, in my eyes, is clearly a lesson in retail design done right: where brand-relevant functional and experiential design factors are adequately balanced and support each other, in term creating a memorable holistic store experience!
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