Royal Enfield, synonymous with a biking legacy in India, is at par with global competition in the realm of bikers. The new Royal Enfield store is a step to moving forward with a diversified customer base and increased retail presence. The art of ‘Pure Motorcycling’ was the gist behind creating the store. It was the core of the design brief. A renewed positioning was devised to establish impactful touch points. With this brief and the creative influx of Lotus Inc., a garage-like space emerged which resembles a motorcycling enthusiast’s home. A throwback into Royal Enfield’s history is served on a new plate. A brand experience is something Royal Enfield is known for. The same was to be showcased at the retail touchpoint to enliven the experience.

A clean space to call it a showroom and a rustic environment to portray a garage; both characters balance out in the store to compel an inviting decor. The customer, from the moment he steps in, has to realise and be a part of the Royal Enfield syndrome at all points of his journey. Lotus Inc. has curated an experience rather than a design. “Taking off from the idea of ‘pure motorcycling’, we envisaged a space where a motorcycling enthusiast would live, work and play — the idea of living in the garage. The space was based around a character and how this person would experience the space, what kind of furniture would he have in his house. Would he put up art? If yes, what kind? Asking these questions and answering them helped us arrive at a lot of ideas for the experience,” says Ambrish Arora of Lotus Inc.

To render the desired ambience, a monchrome palette was chosen with grey as the obvious shade. The exterior as well dresses up in grey to give an idea of a rough look with the Royal Enfield signage highlighting in red back-lit neon. The interiors, a continuation of the facade introduction give an instant vibe of a motorcyclist’s garage which works to meet a dual purpose of his living situation. The most striking feature which a sure shot interpretation of the look and feel intended, comes through the reflector light fixtures. Quite a signature element to have the Royal Enfield identity recognised. A holistic store which showcases bikes, accessories and interaction spaces manifests as a store as well as an experience centre for the brand. The store is zoned according to the motorcycles on display. Each zone brings out the characteristic the bike stands for. The café racer zone talks about the sense of community, the thunderbird zone tells the story of the traveller, the classic zones depicts the vintage legacy and the bullet zone celebrates the brand’s most loved bike. The Bullet is at the heart of the brand and enjoys the longest production run of all time for the brand; true story!

The space presents as a living zone with different living pockets expressing a way of life. A dining like space created is endowed with a community table; the living room area of sorts proposes comfort seating and many other seating spaces are points of customer interaction. It were these points that position the store and thereby the brand in the customer’s mind. The grey rough finished walls are overlaid with bike parts to add to the grunge look. A bike part assembly on one of the walls creates an abstract montage of the bike form. Posters depicting a biking culture, the subtle infusion of the colour red, a chandelier of sorts made out of bike headlights on the community table are all accents of a garage setup which translates to a store.

The richness of the brand has to come through, through the rugged appeal of the space. The vintage paneling with gold moldings on the trial room walls, the gold band (which is derived from the new brand identity for Royal Enfield) running through the store and small details like the embossed brass pegs in the change rooms are little nothings which may go unnoticed but do a great deal in backing the bounty the store stands for. The first look into the store gives a sense of ‘too much on board’. This overt expression of filling the space where the product — the bike — is not the centre of attention might be an attempt of an introductory experience leading to the product or an attempt to create an integrated experience where the product is not meant to be separated from the journey. The customer is the best judge here.

Designed by Lotus Inc.
Design Team: Ambrish Arora, Ankur Choksi, Arun Kullu, Pankhuri Goel, Rohit Sharma and Shiv Singh