‘Traditional retail is an untapped market’

A fusion of modern and traditional beckons out to shoppers in festive brightness at RmKV’s new store windows. The saree retailer, a well-known name in the South, has added new window displays to seven of its stores, located across Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore, and Tirunelveli. 

Designed and executed by the agency IMAGINE THAT, the display showcases the 4 different sarees the retail brand has launched as part of its festive launch. The display features Origami art to create a 3D effect with illuminated integrated in it. It also uses a sunburst effect, with props painted in gold and embellished with mirror acrylic inspired by firecrackers.  

The remarkable window display showcases an unparalleled display of craftsmanshipof the sarees, with over 4000 unique colours intricately hand woven into the Zari checks adorning its body. The window display narrates the nuances of the saree and its essence across all the stores. 

Speaking about the project, Dhurgha Niranjankumar, Visual Merchandising Head and Design Consultant at IMAGINE THAT, said, “The brand explores new styles of window displays often. But this time they wanted a completely fresh look and feel with pastel colours that will set a new trend during both festive and wedding seasons.”  

She adds, explaining, “We designed around 3-4 window displays with pink as the main theme. The origami props used are inspired from the geometric pattern the sarees have, with pop-outs drawn from the saree for a co-ordinated look.” 

Explaining the execution further, she says, “Since the brand celebrated their milestone of 100 years, they wanted a more permanent display which would stay for a longer time. Hence, we used WPC (wood plastic composite) boards for longevity. Further, LED lights have been used to ensure the aesthetics of the window display from every angle because even a single shadow can ruin the essence of the entire display.” 

Durgha informs that some of the stores also have a standee as an interactive element to showcase the natural ingredients used to create the dyes for the sarees.  

Further elaborating on the execution and challenges faced during it, Dhurgha says, “We did trial mock-ups before executing the window displays at the stores. It was a tight schedule as we had only 5-6 days after the design was approved to get it executed.But we are very happy to have completedas per schedule.” 

As for the creatives, the fabrications team from Chennai sourced the materials from the local market, designed and shipped them out to all the other stores, informs Dhurgha.  

Further summing up her observations on catering to traditional/regional retailers, Dhurgha says, “Traditional retail is an untapped market in terms of new trends. Many of the traditional retailers have in fact now started shifting from over-the-counter sales to self-shopping, with 30% of the retail space dedicated to the latter.”  

Further sharing her thoughts on traditional retailers’ approach to digital displays, a trend that is increasingly becoming popular, “The transition will take some time for traditional retail brands to switch over to digital displays due to concerns over cost and feasibility of the displays.” 

Project Team- IMAGINE THAT

Ashok Kannan - Founder & Creative Head

Dhurgha - Design Consultant & VM Head

Varshini - VM Lead