A New Retail Concept for Aga Barcelona

This is a project working with the premium electrical goods manufacturer (and seller) Aga Appliances, to reconsider how they design their European showrooms. Despite being very successful, the company is aware of changing consumer habits away from transactional retail, which they recognise could affect their bottom-line. The Harvard economists, Pine and Gilmour, predicted the demise of the high street 20 years ago, arguing that retail based only on ‘purchasing’ would ultimately fail. The high street continues to contract; consumers now expect a retail experience, especially when dealing with high-ticket purchases; they are looking for a unique and memorable experience, where the product is demonstrated to have a positive impact on their lifestyle.
Aga are UK-based but sell internationally; they are embarking on new outlets in Europe, beginning with a prototype store in Barcelona. The company are very interested in working with a university, to take a design research-led approach to their store concepts. The design looks to put user-experience at the heart of the concept, with cooking stations being used to showcase the product. The store-design is also focused on lifestyle and builds the appliances into living scenarios.