Global retail design and build agency greater group was instrumental in establishing New Balance’s first Lifestyle concept store in Japan. Greater group’s Asia design team boldly translated their creativity and expertise to bring New Balance’s hybrid vision to life. A dramatic departure from the familiar, this Lifestyle concept store is designed to cleverly transform on demand, and appeal to the performance-driven metropolitan consumers of Tokyo. The store, located in the Roppongi district of midtown Tokyo, opened its doors to the public on May 19, 2017.

Project Brief
Greater group was instrumental in establishing New Balance’s first Lifestyle concept store in Japan. A dramatic departure from the familiar, this Lifestyle concept store is designed to cleverly transform on demand, and appeal to the performance-driven metropolitan consumers of Tokyo.

Greater group’s Asia design team boldly translated their creativity and expertise to bring New Balance’s hybrid vision to life. The store, named “New Balance Roppongi 19:06”, features a simple and linear, yet contemporary design, revolving around the Japanese concept of “MA” – the consciousness of the void between two structural parts.

With strategic design considerations, the surrounding lights create a division between the ceiling and walls, constructing a visual expression of MA and a sense of floatation. The strong contrast of wooden walls against the sharp concrete flooring represents raw performance. Innovation is also drawn by the mobility of the wooden podiums, which enable smooth transformation from a daily retail store to an event or product launch space, by simply inserting the floor fixtures (product display blocks) into the walls.

Once again lighting, in alliance with the large screen, empowers a new product to be the focus during product launch events. The store will offer state-of-the-art apparel and footwear, with a range of limited-edition items. Greater group has collaboratively worked with New Balance in delivering 75 global store projects to date. Each project has brought great retail innovation, balanced with a dedicated approach in understanding the Client’s consumers, to heighten every retail experience.

Project Innovation/Need
– The project is culturally focused around the Japanese concept of “MA”, and with its contemporary and innovative design, it is set to appeal to Roppongi’s trendy metropolitan consumers; something in itself was part of the Client’s brief in bringing a retail store in a new light to the market.
– The store is cleverly designed to maximise space and transform from an everyday retail shop by shifting the mobile display unit “building blocks”. Each podium can be inserted into the walls, changing the space into an event or product launch space. All fixtures, including the P.O.S. system can be hidden.

– The flexible lighting is used to create a unique shopping atmosphere. By visually “separating” the ceiling and walls with careful placement of lights, a sense of floatation is formed. This experience is on another level when customers enter the store. Similarly, during a product launch event, the strategic placing of spotted lighting along with the LED screen, ensures the launching product is the centre of attention. 

Design and photography: GREATER GROUP