Simply as a concept Lush began its life as one of the most innovative and exciting brands ever conceived. In a world of copycats and unsubtle insurgents it’s easy to forget that the idea of tasty toiletries dressed up as fresh fayre, chalk-boards championing cosmetic concoctions and bath-bombs transforming every aquatic adventure all came first from the land of Lush.
If the familiar concept is more akin to a delicatessen of delights then the new flagship store on London’s Regent Street has evolved into a veritable emporium of beauty experiences, transformed into a new world of “Street Food Fantasy”, effervescing forth into a three floor wonderland of indulgence and interaction.
The essence of the brand and the familiar footmarks of the graphic delivery remain intact but with every category now exposed with space and visual drama into its own powerful proposition from the authority of bubble bars to the theatre of its famous face masks.
The store also abounds with interaction with a fully-fledged hair-lab to personally test the latest creams and creations to a plethora of porcelain sinks cleaning, softening and smoothing every sensual surface of the fascinated faces and hands of its curious customers.
The new centrepiece of the store is the second floor fun factory where visitors are encouraged to take time to create and mould their own peculiar perfumed creations and to post their proud endeavours onto the live digital screens communicating to the gathered crowds and then to the world beyond. The fun factory is made not just for individual explorations but as a setting for groups and celebrations.
As a brand exercise it is pitch-perfect for Lush as it exemplifies the key facet of the brand, not simply as a purveyor of packaged potions but as the liberator of beauty into an engaged and interactive world.
All retail stores are either taking their first tentative steps, or running head-long at speed, into the world of brand experiences bringing their products and propositions to life for the customers who frequent them.
Should you be transforming your product into a living and breathing proposition?
What elements of your brand are crying out for creative communication?
Let VM-unleashed help you realise your new horizons…we have experience in helping you define your commercial strategies as well as delivering physical brand experiences.