EuroShop Retail Design Award 2018 review

Of bicycles, wines and other lovely things
EuroShop RetailDesign Award: expert jury distinguishes original store concepts

Cologne/Shanghai, 27 April 2018   Last Thursday evening, EHI and Messe Düsseldorf presented the EuroShop RetailDesign Awards for the eleventh time. The awards ceremony took place as part of the fourth running of the Chinese C-star trade fair in Shanghai and presented the three best store concepts. This year, the jury was won over by entries from Spain, Italy and Poland: De Vinos y Viandas in Valladolid, La Rinascente in Rome and Vèlo7 in Poznan.

To come out a winner from among 85 entries, a store concept had to present a well-honed mix of store architecture, colours, materials, lighting and visual merchandising. The clear communication of the product range as well as direct means of appealing to customers were particularly important criteria for the jury of experts.
 

De Vinos y Viandas, Valladolid/Spain
Of wines and delicacies – that’s the name of this wine shop in Valladolid in the north of Spain. With an interior that gives the impression of an optical illusion, De Vinos y Viandas is home to an imaginative rendition of the world of wine as conceived by two architectural studios. Zooco, located in Madrid, and Sandander got their inspiration for the wine shop from traditional wine cellars, but they brought this motif to life with an entirely modern and unique interpretation. The circle became the architects’ guiding theme – half-circle elements can be found throughout the wine shop’s interior. The sales counter, the tasting and display areas form the shop’s flexible focal point. The seemingly infinite shelving along the walls is home to over 1,000 bottles stored one by one, on their sides. The shop’s back wall is mirrored, intensifying the experience of the space. A contrast to the warm wooden elements, a black stone floor was chosen, which ideally reinforces the interplay of colours, shapes and reflections.
 

La Rinascente, Rome/Italy
Located between Rome’s Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps, this winner is the result of eleven years of planning on the part of the Rinascente department store chain. The Italian retailer opened its new 14,000-sqm flagship store on Via del Tritone. Each of its eight floors was designed by a different architect. The store design combines modern, light elements with rich colours and fresh patterns. Vivid yellow meets a black-and-white tile pattern, and history interfaces with the present day on the ground floor, where the Aqua Virgo can be found. This aqueduct was inaugurated by Caesar Augustus in the year 19 BC and continues to be restored on a regular basis in order to provide fountains in the vicinity with water – one of which is the nearby Trevi Foundation. The department store’s large inner courtyard houses a small building with the nickname Plazetto – this roughly translates to a “palace within a palace” – dating back to the beginning of the last century. The terrace offers visitors a panorama view of the rooftops of Rome.

 

Vèlo7, Poznan/Poland
Located in the Polish metropolis of Poznan, Vèlo7 is anything but a normal bicycle shop. A multifunctional space for bike lovers has been created here where advice, sales and repair services are all on offer. What is more, customers have the opportunity to directly test a variety of the high-quality bikes. The special feature is that the shop’s floor plan is modelled on the structure of a bicycle frame, and the dynamic manner in which the individual rooms are partitioned has the feel of a cycling track. “Vèlo7” comes from an eponymous group of bike enthusiasts who wish to express their passion through a specialty shop and provide a home away from home for all kindred spirits.
 

 

About EHI
EHI is a research, training and consultancy institute for the retail industry and its partners. It has some 80 employees. The international EHI network encompasses some 800 member companies from the retail business and the consumer goods and capital goods industries. EHI was founded in 1951. The Managing Director is Michael Gerling. GS1 Germany, a joint subsidiary of EHI (50%) and Markenverband (the Brand Association, 50%), coordinates the assignment of Global Trading Item Number (GTIN, formerly EAN) in Germany. In cooperation with EHI, Messe Düsseldorf organises EuroShop, the world’s leading capital goods fair for the retail business, and EuroCIS, where the latest products, solutions and trends in IT and security technology are presented as well as C-star for the Asian retail market.