Habitat’s flagship store gets £1.5m revamp

Habitat has refurbished its flagship store on London’s Tottenham Court Road, with the aim of driving digital engagement.

The £1.5 million revamp has been led by Habitat creative director Polly Dickens, working with creative manager Graham Copeland.

Habitat says the aim of the redesign has been “to create an immersive brand experience for customers”. The work has also included bringing in new digital access points to drive awareness of the recently upgraded Habitat website.

The renovation of the two-storey store has taken just under a year to complete.

The building has been stripped back to its original architectural framework while a streamlined central glass staircase, bespoke “outline” fixtures and dark wood floors have been installed.

The design team have dropped the concept if traditional “enclosed” window displays, instead using “open vignettes” that let passers-by view the store from street level.

Interactive touchscreens throughout the store link directly to the new habitat.co.uk while a statement video wall will showcase Habitat’s online content.

The store’s ground level features a new textiles section and a new mirrored showcase “pop up” area that will house interior design installations, events and customer workshops.

Statement blue, clutter free cash desks run throughout the store into the basement level which includes a new Habitat Fitted Kitchen studio, cookshop, gallery space, expanded furniture and upholstery section and lighting department.

Habitat managing director Clare Askem says: “We wanted to create a flagship that represents our brand today, demonstrating how significantly we’ve moved Habitat on creatively over the last five years

“There are no gimmicks or distractions here – we’re letting the designs speak for themselves – in terms of quality and price point – in a new store environment where simplicity is key.”

She adds: “I think we’ve really successfully brought together both online and offline strands of the business understanding how our customers are shopping today and we’ve set a benchmark for how we plan to evolve the brand going forward combining offline and online retail.”

All photography by Kalory.co.uk.