The New-Age Complete Man

Raymond, for decades has been synonymous with elegant men's formal attire crafted to drape'The Complete Man'. The brand's attempt to contemporize itself started a few years ago, to occupy the wardrobe space of the ever evolving customer. With the shift in buying and consumption behavior of the discerning consumer, Raymond expanded its offering to ready-to-wear (RTW) garments. In the endeavour to stay relevant in today's time, Raymond is revamping its retail stores with sharp product propositions and advertising.

The brand recently unveiled its new suave Raymond Ready to Wear Flagship store on 100ft road, Indiranagar in Bangalore that contemporizes "The Complete Man” and offers the complete wardrobe solution.  With this store, Raymond expands the product offering beyond RTW to include Made to Measure in an environment that inspires with curated product displays, hospitality, impeccable service, unique digital shopping and fitting room experience.

"Raymond has always been at the forefront offering quality products and with innovation as the key driver this brand has stayed relevant for past nine decades. Continuing our leadership position in men's fashion space, this new store is yet another pioneering effort where the customers can experience the product through smart and user friendly technological intervention. The store is designed in way where we can more number of designs and looks displayed in lesser retail area unlike a standard EBO”, explains Nagendra Pratap Singh, Director, Raymond.

Conceptualized by Gensler, a reputed design firm of USA and designed by FRDC Bangalore, the store creates its style statement with its  'glass box' exterior with a tinted look that provides a relief on the busy high street. The two-storey glass structure announces the store to the street and showcases curated product displays and seasonal imagery. Brand mnemonic of Raymond Ready to Wear is the highlight of the façade, with brass in a herringbone pattern. The store façade has the first of its kind LED Curtain that creates a'Live' store front that attracts and creates a dialogue with the passersby.

According to Sanjay Agarwal, FRDC, the existing site posed a challenge to visualise the space for the retail experience that the brand desired for. "We took a 360 degree view on the existing built form, structure and the surroundings and created possibilities as to how we can not only connect spaces within the store but also how the exterior can have a dialogue with the street and create a facade which becomes a talking point to street viewers and customers."

Entering the store, shoppers are welcomed by style experts who use attentive technology to showcase looks and assist customers in selecting size, style and fit. The wall system is freestanding and features integrated LED lighting to highlight the quality and construction of the garments. As compared to regular retail stores, this store only displays one piece of each option within a flexible wall system that incorporates seasonal promotional messaging with a variety of hanging and folding options. "The biggest change in this store, is that it displays only piece of one style, which allows us to stock 35% more designs than the conventional setup” shares Nagendra Pratap Singh.

Moving ahead, the store opens to The Runway, which displays complete outfits and inspirations drawn from the apparel design team's seasonal concepts.  The herringbone pattern reappears as a texture at the floor and ceiling and creates a dramatic focal point with a full height video screen featuring the most current runway show. According to FRDC, high density fiberboard was laser etched to produce a herringbone texture that is durable and references the tradition of weaving and craftsmanship in a refreshingly modern manner.

Behind the full height video screen on the ground floor customers enter the fitting room lounge; a private space furnished with classically modern seating and art pieces inspired by tailoring and textiles. Lounge spaces are also found on the first level which houses'Made to Measure'.

As one of the rare feature of the store, customers are assigned a trial room as they select their garments on the selling floor using a proprietary digital interface like a tablet that communicates with backroom associates to deliver their selected garments directly to the fitting room using sliding "wardrobes”.

Explaining the execution to build this first of kind store, adds Nagendra Pratap Singh, "The majority of the designing with technology interventions was custom built in house in association with all Indian vendors with many being start-ups”.

With the aim to enrich the customer experience at Raymond, the store holds no cash desks. Introducing the concept of'Checkout anywhere', customers are presented with their invoice while seated in the lounges enjoying the hospitality of the store.

"The concept of this store has been much appreciated and has won a few accolades nationally. Our B2B partners have expressed their interest to expand this format in other geographies too. The store has emerged as head turner in Bangalore which gives a positive rub-off to the brand”, concludes Nagendra Pratap Singh.