As a mass fashion retailer for many decades, it’s somewhat surprising that ZARA has quietly pulled the architecture card to keep its following mesmerised. But then again, a few peers operating in the same consumer segment have already successfully done so, bolstering their profile along the way. Actually, this was clearly demonstrated a little while ago with the brand’s ZARA Man and Zacaffè opening in Madrid, an event we’ve covered in a previous post. The Spanish retailer has just inaugurated a striking flagship store in Nanjing, which is emblematic of this trend, pulling out all the stops to offer an elevated shopping experience. ZARA secured a strategically located 3,450 sqm. (37,136 sq.ft.) unit spread across two levels of standalone building right in between Nanjing Xinbai and Zhongyang Shangchang, two large shopping centres in the Xinjiekou district of the city.
Designed by AIM Architecture, the retail space aims to be an extension of the bustling city of almost ten million inhabitants, and this is symbolically, and also cleverly, captured by store’s ground floor Zacaffè, a coffee parlour which has been separately designed by Paris-based design practice Art Recherche Industrie, and the very first in all of Asia. Situated next to the main entrance, the comprises a service station housed in a cubicle and a seating area comprising elaborate terraced seating crafted from recycled red bricks, which on one side goes upwards in reverse, serving as support for a staircase to the upper floor. Mind you, the seating even extends outside, beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass. It’s not surprising that his spot also acts as a platform for artistic collaborations, brand storytelling, and cultural activations, enabling ZARA to engage with the community in new and evolving ways. Given the aim to connect with the surrounding urban environment, boundaries between retail, public space, and cultural engagement have been cleverly blurred.
As such, the shopping experience becomes something more than merely transactional, appealing to all of the shopper’s senses. The flagship store sees a myriad of different settings tied in by recurring exposed structural columns, matched with polished concrete floors, and a concrete cassette ceiling. Needless to say, new technology has also been integrated in the store design, after all, ZARA is the go-to address of primarily Millennial and Gen Z shoppers who are extremely tech-savvy. An automated clothing transportation system enhances efficiency, quickly processing clothing organisation. Additionally, as the planet’s first ZARA store on the planet, it has vending machines selling T-shirts, and a bookable, professional-grade photo booth called Zara Fit Check can be found on the premises, offering an interactive, high-quality digital experience. The new ZARA flagship store stocks a selection of the brand’s collections for women, men and kids, including the Zara Origins line, and the collab line with South Korean brand ADSB Anderson Bell. © superfuture
ZARA
49 Zhongshan Nan Lu (Xinjiekou)
210005 Nanjing
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
