When there’s the option to satisfy retail urges using phones, tablets and computers in the comfort of our homes, during lunch breaks or while commuting, navigating through stores that are often disorganised and lack curation offers little appeal to modern day shoppers. To stay relevant, retailers are finding ever more creative ways to cater to the demands of consumers.
The cosmetics pharmacy HARMAY has recently taken up the challenge with a new store in Hong Kong. The online cosmetics retailer joined the physical retail world first when they opened their ‘bricks and mortar’ store in Shanghai– designed by AIM Architecture, in 2017. Its success has led to the design of a second location with AIM in Hong Kong that delves further into the relationship between its online and offline presence.
Quietly unassuming among the hustle and bustle of the narrow shopping street, upon closer inspection, the store’s steely metallic décor with LED lighting marks it out as something new for the neighbourhood.
Drawing inspiration from old-school chemists, stainless steel drawers line the walls of the Hong Kong apothecary, making the space feel uncluttered, organised and calming. It is not designed to be about shopping activities, as you can do that online; it exists to provide a sensory experience that is all about ‘discovery’.
This smart approach to retail by HARMAY involves visitors being given subtle hints that encourage them to open the drawers and find the hidden product bringing a feeling of nostalgia from our childhood treasure hunting days and making the experience a memorable one. The second floor design meanwhile is more conventional ‘immersing you in the tactile experience of traditional shopping.’
Hong Kong may be a notoriously cramped city but the apothecary offers a semblance of spaciousness on both floors. It is a draw for the ‘curious and engaged consumer’, and the passerby who walks in with an image of what to expect but discovers something else instead.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the AIM Architecture website
-
Our Tech Editor's selection of new and upgraded audio players covers the full spectrum of formatsWhether it’s vinyl, cassette, CD or mp3, or even sound sources you’ve captured yourself, you’ll find a suitable device in this round-up of pocketable and portable audio players
-
This Swedish summer house is a family's serene retreat by the trees and the Baltic seaHorsö, a Swedish summer house by Atelier Alba is a playfully elegant retreat by the Kalmarsund Sea and a natural reserve
-
A new exhibition retraces 50 years of Pierre Paulin’s history around the table‘Les Tables de Pierre Paulin’ shows a lesser-known side of the designer’s creative world, accompanied by a new book tracing his wife’s hospitality around his iconic table designs. ‘A creator is never alone in his creation…’
-
This season, men’s outerwear is defined by bold shapes and seductive texturesThe voluminous silhouettes of the season’s finest men’s outerwear, captured in the Wallpaper* September 2023 Style Issue by Umit Savaci and David St John James
-
Inside the travelling exhibition celebrating 125 years of luggage brand RimowaFrom celebrity suitcases to rare special editions, Rimowa’s ‘Seit 1898’ exhibition catalogues over a century of the German luggage brand, making stops in Tokyo, New York, Shanghai and Cologne
-
Watch this La Jetée-inspired fashion film by Melanie + Ramon, captured on the streets of ParisTaken alongside the Wallpaper* September 2023 cover shoot, this fashion film by Melanie + Ramon draws inspiration from Chris Marker’s experimental 1962 French science-fiction movie La Jetée
-
American designer Willy Chavarria on his lifelong love of DickiesFeatured in the Wallpaper* USA 300, Willy Chavarria is part of America’s new wave of fashion designers. On the launch of his collaboration with Dickies, he talks utilitarian design, authenticity, and buying his first pair of Dickies at Kmart
-
First look at Paul Smith and Mulberry’s colour-soaked bag collaborationBritish stalwarts Paul Smith and Mulberry have united on colourful new bags that riff on the latter’s classic ’Antony‘ messenger style
-
The evolution of RabanneOnce known for its futuristic couture, 1960s-founded fashion house Rabanne is evolving under the creative direction of Julien Dossena, but remains true to its founder’s avant-garde legacy
-
Introducing Wallpaper* September 2023: The Style IssueDiscover the looks of the season, Hedi Slimane’s new Celine store in Paris, Silvia Prada’s saucy take on beauty and more in Wallpaper* September 2023, on sale now
-
The Glossary: Unpacking A/W 2023’s extra-ordinary looksAs seen in the Wallpaper* September 2023 Style Issue, Dal Chodha explores A/W 2023’s defining looks through the writings of Georges Perec, a French author who studied the minute magnificence of everyday life
