By: Chanda Kumar
Last updated : February 02, 2026 3:39 pm
Abhijat Hukoo, Principal and Managing Director of MBH Architects, India, shares how the retail design firm is focused on helping clients hit the industry’s triple bottom line: cost efficiency, top-notch design and construction, and rapid speed to market.
Retail and branded environments succeed not only from strong design, but also in how effectively that design is carried through from concept to execution. With an uncompromising focus on the final product, MBH Architects in India believes in the intersection of design precision and business strategy, bringing a globally proven design approach thoughtfully adapted to the local retail context in India.
Founded in 1989, US-based MBH Architects is a multidisciplinary design firm with offices in California, New York, Denver, Mumbai and Bengaluru, with its work spanning luxury retail, urban planning, restaurants, hospitality, mixed-use, healthcare, workspace, laboratories and housing. In India, MBH focuses largely on the retail and restaurant segments.
Ranked among the top retail architecture firms, MBH has worked with globally renowned brands, including Tesla, Tourneau, Tiffany & Co, Christian Dior, Gucci, Armani and John Varvatos. Retail4Growth caught up with Abhijat Hukoo, Principal and Managing Director of MBH Architects, India to dive into their India projects, the importance of a solid design process, and the biggest challenges and opportunities shaping retail design today.
Can you share insights into MBH’s work in retail design in India and how it has evolved?
When MBH began its retail work in India in 2018, our focus was on supporting international brands entering the market, bringing global design standards to the fast-growing retail landscape and providing on-the-ground delivery for complex, fast-tracked projects. At that stage, much of the effort focused on establishing reliable local supply chains and helping contractors adapt to the specialised materials, detailing, and construction techniques required by global brands.
Over the past several years, the market has matured significantly. Local general contractors and fabricators have developed the capability to execute highly specialised work, including material sourcing and installation, which has allowed us to consistently deliver international-quality environments while also optimising for local conditions, cost, and speed.
How closely do you collaborate with global teams on Indian projects today?
Today, collaboration between our India and global teams is deeply integrated and highly structured. We operate as one team with clearly defined roles. Our India studio leads day-to-day client engagement, consultant coordination, and site execution, bringing critical local knowledge and real-time responsiveness. Our global teams contribute design leadership, brand stewardship, and specialised expertise across sectors. This model allows MBH to combine international best practices with local insight, ensuring that projects in India benefit from global design rigour while being executed with precision, cultural understanding, and operational efficiency on the ground.
How has MBH’s role and scope evolved in India as the retail market has matured?
MBH’s role has expanded well beyond traditional design documentation into a comprehensive, end-to-end service model that supports clients across pre-construction, construction, and post-construction phases. The firm has positioned itself as a long-term strategic partner to clients, offering strategic guidance, technical rigour and delivery confidence. The broader involvement allows us to help clients achieve what we view as the industry’s triple bottom line: cost efficiency, design and construction quality, and speed to market.
What opportunities and challenges do you see within the Indian retail design ecosystem today?
The Indian retail design ecosystem today presents significant opportunities, along with a set of evolving challenges. One of the key areas of focus continues to be the supply chain, particularly the consistency of material quality and the reliability of sourcing for specialised finishes and systems. While this has improved substantially in recent years, it remains an area where careful specification, mock-ups, and close coordination with vendors and contractors are essential.
At the same time, this challenge creates an opportunity. As the market matures, there is growing appreciation for precision in material selection, detailing, and execution, and for viewing design as an end-to-end process rather than a series of isolated stages. When design intent, technical resolution, procurement, and construction are aligned from the outset, the result is higher-quality environments, greater predictability, and stronger long-term value for brands.
How do you see digital tools, particularly AI influence your retail design thinking, strategy, and output? How do you see this evolving in the future?
Digital tools, and AI in particular, are increasingly shaping how we think about design, delivery, and speed to market. Today, AI supports both the design process and the physical outcome, from early-stage visualisation and option testing to detailing, documentation, and coordination with fabrication.
As these tools continue to evolve, we see their greatest potential in creating more intelligent, modular, and repeatable design systems. A “kit of parts” approach, informed by AI, can significantly reduce design iteration cycles while also streamlining fabrication and on-site installation. This has a direct impact on construction efficiency, quality control, and rollout speed.
Looking ahead, AI will further enhance our ability to simulate performance, optimise materials, and align design intent with manufacturing and assembly methods. The result will be faster visualisation, more precise fabrication, and shorter overall store launch timelines, supporting both sustainability goals and the operational demands of rapid retail expansion.
What are your views on nurturing the right talent within this industry?
In retail design, the right talent today requires a strong alignment between technical capability, adaptability, and holistic industry exposure. As the profession becomes increasingly driven by digital tools, we see great value in younger professionals who enter the workforce already proficient in industry-standard platforms and workflows. This digital fluency gives teams a headstart and allows them to operate more efficiently in an environment that is rapidly transitioning to fully integrated, data-rich design and delivery processes.
Equally important is how talent is developed over time. Beyond software skills, we believe in providing well-rounded exposure that allows emerging designers to understand the full lifecycle of a project. This includes direct interaction with clients, coordination with consultants, participation in site visits, and understanding of how design decisions affect cost, constructability, and performance.