Leading outdoor brand, The North Face® has launched a new flagship store in Palo Alto, California, the latest edition in a global rollout. It is the culmination of a year-long test and learn program on both sides of the Atlantic, which developed a new retail concept for the global brand’s modernised outdoor proposition; “a progressive playground for explorers.”

Drawing on the learnings from The North Face® pilot store in Regent Street, London, launched in October 2015, this 6,500-square-foot next generation store experience takes the brand DNA to the next level, with authentic materials, featured global athletes and curated products. This is coupled with localised community elements and expertise.

Eli Petricka, Marketing Creative Director at The North Face® comments;
“The 6,500 square-foot Palo Alto retail location has been designed for both our local and global community. It brings to life the latest iteration of the new brand concept, the ‘progressive playground’. We are excited by the test and learn findings we’ve invested into this project, results which Green Room have played a huge part in helping us uncover.”

Bringing the outdoors in is fundamental to the progressive playground theme and has been encapsulated via the digital ‘sky windows’ in the ceiling which feature artistic, atmospheric content curated by The North Face® athlete, Renan Ozturk. This outdoor thematic is extended with texture and tactility seeded throughout the new store. At the heart of the space stands a reinvented, salvaged Redwood tree.

Authentic and social imagery has been used extensively. Positioned carefully alongside relevant products it offers contextual reference, coupled with user-relevant stories bringing the imagery to life. The store is merchandised in line with the different end uses of the core consumer, from outdoor, physical activities to the training that it takes to get there and all the moments in between.

Engaging the local community is a key remit of the new Stanford store. This community is evidently alive on chalkboards highlighting events, an Instagram wall and an active social presence, @TheNorthFace_SF.

Hyper-local relevance highlights that the global brand can operate at a more individual level. The geographic location of the store has even been moulded into aspects of the design, from the grid reference customers walk over on the threshold, to the laser-cut graphic of the topography of the local area as artwork. The fitting rooms reference the surrounding location through fixtures and furnishings, alongside inspirational quotes from local athletes.