greatdreams

store presentation and design no.4, page 100-103
Greatdreams is a children's lifestyle specialty store located in Shenzhen, China. The space, designed by Durrant and his rkd retail/iQ team of Bangkok, is almost 56,000 sq.ft. and carries a wide variety of apparel, accessories, furniture and toys - all the things that make up a child's world. the purpose of this design, that targets the wants and needs of two-to 12-year olds, was to takethis significant catalogue of merchandise that goes across all categories and develop a multi-retail format that would showcase the merchandise. Howie and Landau are very recognizable and much loved cartoon characters in China and very popular with children of all ages. It is these two characters and their adventures that served for the decorative aspects of Greatdreams' design.








The cartoon characters are out in front of the bright red facade ready to greet the young shoppers. They reappears over and over again as the families make their way through the many shops-within-the shop that make up this vast complex. Cut-out silhouettes of Howie and Landau serve as special entrance ways for children and up front - near the entrance - is a carousel-like feature with an orange drum upon which assorted cartoon characters appear.

Radiating out from this are bright yellow metal fixtures filled with assorted games, toys, plush animals and stationery. The shoe area is highlighted by a floor-to-ceiling open wall shoe display and an orange colored recessed ceiling above the interlocking multicolored chairs brings focus to this area. There is a TV monitor to distract children while shoes are being tried on. Throughout, the space is light and bright: lots of white on walls, floors and fixtures accented with strong primary and secondary colors that also help to define the different shop areas.

According to RKurt Durrant, the designer, "Family love and bonding through shared experiences were core values identified early in the process and applied to all aspects of the shop concept. "Since expansion of the retail brand is currently in a "go" mode in China. Greatdreams will be appearing as free standing shops or as a shop-within-a-shop boutique form in selected department stores. All the design elements were directed towards this brand expansion. As Durrant states, "Retail formats were developed across a variety of real estate opportunities and brand positioning exercises. " Thus, the design was developed "to showcase the children's apparel, and home and lifestyle merchandise in an easy to shop experience-oriented, lifestyle specialty store called Greatdreams."