Heritage Heroes, Part I

CONVERSION – SPECIALTY STORE, SALES AREA
UNDER 10,000 SQ. FT.

Raymond Ready-to-Wear
Bangalore, India

Submitted by: GENSLER, SAN FRANCISCO
Photography: Praveen Sundaram, Bangalore, India
Photography: Charles Callister, Windsor, Calif.

While Raymond Ready-to-Wear may not be totally familiar to an American audience, its Bangalore, India, flagship conversion dominated the 11th annual VMSD Retail Renovation Competition, communicating the brand’s legacy in a way that captured the judges’ imaginations and made it a distinct standout.

Founded in 1925, Raymond Group is one of India’s largest branded fabric retailers and one of the world’s leading producers of suiting fabric. Challenged with representing the brand’s heritage and dedication to craftsmanship, Gensler (San Francisco), Bangalore-based Future Research Design Co. Pvt. Ltd. (FRDC), as well as the retailer’s in-house team, worked together to create a modern flagship that spoke to a wider audience.

Raymond Ready-to-Wear, Bangalore, India / Photography: Praveen Sundaram, Bangalore, India

To do this, while also maintaining the brand’s longtime customers, the multi-level store (previously a restaurant) was organized into areas dedicated to its ready-to-wear and made-to-measure offerings. Just past the store’s newly added “glass box” entrance, the first floor houses the Runway and the Style Bar, two areas focused on style inspiration and ease-of-use through instore technology. Upstairs, the made-to-measure area lends the first-class, tailored experience for which the brand is known.

Another primary goal was to present style-forward displays rather than vast amounts of on-floor stock. “We tried to create a system where only one of every color choice was on the floor, as opposed to having many sizes on the rack,” says Alison Carr, senior associate and retail design director, Gensler. “[India] is quite chaotic, so the beauty of this store is that it’s really simple with a clean presentation.”

Making a wide range of options available without cluttered displays, customers can request specific items through use of the space’s in-store technology, with items delivered directly to dressing rooms via sliding wardrobes.

Raymond Ready-to-Wear, Bangalore, India / Photography: Praveen Sundaram, Bangalore, India

To blend old and new, antique sailor’s trunks and sewing machines were used as nostalgic props, alongside harmonious material choices. “We used metal in a big way, with a straight-line design which is not usually used for a classic brand,” Nagendra Pratap Singh, director – head retail design, Raymond Ltd. “We plugged all these elements together, whether it’s leather craftsmanship or metal finishes which look handcrafted, to balance heritage and contemporary.”

Appreciating the store’s attention to detail, competition judge Meredith Seeds, director of interior design, FRCH Design Worldwide (Cincinnati), said, “I’m always really pleased when the retailer celebrates the product in an artful way.”

To enter VMSD’s 2017 Retail Renovation Competition, stay tuned for the announcement of the call for entries, early next year.