Farewell to the white box - New Store Europe

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ShopReports C&A, Cologne
WINFRIED LAMBERTZ
Farewell to the white box
The clothing company C&A has developed a new store design for its large
branches and has implemented it for the first time in its long-established shop
in Cologne’s Schildergasse. The main characteristics are the segmentation
in so-called style worlds and a new, trendy colour concept.
w Since it first opened its doors on 13 September 1913 the
C&A branch in Cologne’s Schildergasse has undergone countless
alterations and modernisations. The latest comprehensive conversion,
which was completed only recently, constitutes a new
milestone in the almost 100-year existence of not only the shop,
but also its managing company, C&A Mode KG in Düsseldorf. The
Cologne flagship store is indeed a pilot for a seminal new shopfitting
concept which the fashion group wants to use in all future
modernisations of its large outlets in Germany.
On a sales area of some 13,000 sqm, spread across seven levels,
the store on Germany’s most frequented shopping mile boasts
C&A’s largest range of ladies’, men’s and children’s clothing. After
the eleven-week conversion, the private labels continue to set the
tone on the spacious sales floors, only no longer in the form of
brand shops, but as an integral part of a so-called style world,
which in the ladies’ section is subdivided in “Classic” and “Modern”,
and in the gents’ section in “Casual” and “Formal”. The different
“worlds” are accentuated and at the same time segmented
by different graphic areas and presentation concepts. Whereas in
the past the individual groups of merchandise were concentrated
in a single point of sale (for instance: all men’s shirts on the
ground floor), C&A now organises its ranges according to styles.
The customers currently find the classic white or blue shirts in
the vicinity of the suits and the checked shirts in the “Casu-
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p The style world aimed at the young target groups
al” department. The same principle of tearing ranges apart will,
however, in the future only be applied in the larger C&A outlets.
As far as the colour concept is concerned, the revamped shop
marks a real U-turn. At C&A the general appearance of the sales
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The Cube+ connector
Building beautiful furniture made easy.
Time after time.
Photos (3): C&A
C&A, Cologne ShopReports
p Dark shades, also in the ladies’ underwear section
p The “fashion plazas“ act as an additional shop-window inside the shop
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areas has for a long time been dominated by white tones. Now
the interior design presents itself in a combination of dark red
(walls), anthracite (ceilings) and natural wood shades (floors).
Such colour combinations are decidedly in vogue and they now
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ShopReports C&A, Cologne
p A clearly enhanced ambient
also make their entrance at C&A. The result is a darker spatial
effect, which nowadays can also be observed in other fashion
stores such as H&M, for instance. C&A continues to fit the
downlights and mounted spots with 35-watt light sources. The
spotlights on the walls are in part equipped with 70-watt lamps
– at one time that used to be 150 watts. As far as LEDs are
concerned “we haven’t yet found anything that really works on
the sales floor”, says Ralf Richters, head of the C&A Building &
Shopfitting department. The first tests with LED light at C&A are
planned for next year.
On each sales level the customers are welcomed by so-called
fashion plazas, display arrangements which act as addition-
al shop-windows inside the store. “To us the fashion plaza is
a shop-window that one can walk into and where sales are
made”, Hermann Jörg of C&A Mode KG explains. That way there
is always a clear link between the actual shop-window and the
“plaza” displays on the ground floor. In those plazas a functional
modular aluminium system is used, which the retailer can
assemble and set up himself with only a couple of tools. The
system guarantees flexibility, as a new staging can be created
at all times.
On the whole the visual merchandising in the C&A store shows
obvious changes compared to before, as is exemplified by the
new, all-embracing jeans concept for the “Women”, “Men”, “Clock-
OBV_Anzeige_GB_184_5_x_62_5.indd 1 21.01.10 10:37
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Photo: Liganova
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house” and “Kids” areas, for instance. The basis for the new concepts
in the lounge and entrance areas is that of a pallet look,
which can also be found on the wall elements and in the highlight
zones. In the design of the highlight walls in the “Modern” and
“Classic World” areas “individual concepts have been developed,
focusing on modular extension possibilities”, the visual merchandising
specialists of Stuttgart-based Liganova assert.
Part of the new C&A concept is also a comprehensive range of
services, including two cinema corners and play areas for the
children, a workshop for alterations, a baby changing room and
Contact:
www.CundA.de
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New Store Europe Deutschland GmbH • Kasseler Landstr. 5 • 37213 Witzenhausen
Tel + 49 5542 6006 0 • Fax +49 5542 6006 9088 • info-de@newstoreeurope.com
C&A, Cologne ShopReports
p The gents’ style world is subdivided in “Casual“ and “Formal“ p Jeans presentation with expressive visual merchandising
• Grocery & Convenience
• Electronics & Telecom
• Fashion & Footwear
• Books & Media
• Pharmacy & Cosmetics
• Restaurants & Hotel
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luggage lockers. And, finally, internet terminals and WLAN are
available on all floors free of charge.
On the outside C&A sets new accents too. Large, neon-backlit
displays over the entrance area draw the attention of the passers-by
to the building. Changes in air curtain technology made
it possible to increase the height of the entrance area by 60 cm,
which makes it look decidedly larger.
Photo: Liganova