Casio Debuts First Concept Store In London

April 2012 will see CASIO, launch their first concept store in London. Occupying two floors, the 933 sq ft store is set within the Covent Garden Piazza and will open to the public on 21st April 2012.

"We're very much looking forward to opening our first premium retail store in one of London's most prestigious retail neighbourhoods. People will get to experience
CASIO's unique technology and designs, expressed in truly innovative ways throughout the store, making their shopping experience a truly memorable one."
Tim Gould, Casio Head of Marketing

Resetting the retail experience and tone for CASIO's premium brands G-SHOCK PREMIUM, BABY-G PREMIUM, EDIFICE, SHEEN and PROTREK, the store will additionally house CASIO's synthesizer products and EXILIM camera range. The store concept aligns the CASIO brand with the ever-increasing premium nature of their products. London based creative agency HarrimanSteel have been appointed to design the store.

"Each premium CASIO watch brand is now defined by physical materials, taken directly from the products themselves. Whilst we are re-appropriating industrial materials to tell the CASIO toughness story, our design concept uses them in much more refined and sophisticated way."
Julian Harriman-Dickinson, Creative Partner, HarrimanSteel

The ground floor is primarily monotone with black and white fixtures and fittings in both high gloss and contrasting matt finishes. All displays are bespoke design solutions and have been made using interactive components that represent the exacting standards of CASIO premium watch brands. Modular display canvases have been designed in various materials specific to the watch brands displayed. The canvases utilise multiple plug-in accessories, such as cubes, illuminated shelves, plinths and watch holders to display and hero the products. Creating a system that is versatile and flexible enough to display any number of products while aesthetically keeping the store fluid.

CASIO's history and Japanese heritage is used within the store to create oversized history panels for consumers to get a snapshot of the key milestones in the CASIO story. The entrance welcomes you to the store in Japanese, opening times and other key information appear in both English and Japanese, subtly reminding people of the company's origins. The lower ground will bring the popular G-SHOCK East store concept to the West end, housing and refining the evolution of the CASIO G-SHOCK store with a distinct industrial feel that has created the blueprint for future CASIO stores and standalone G-SHOCK doors.

"Casio is exactly the type of retailer we want in Covent Garden. It's fun and will bring something totally unique with its high profile ambassadors and brand devotees. Casio will be a perfect fit for the neighbourhood."
Bev Churchill, Covent Garden Brand Director