Reflecting on two decades of retail design success

20 years ago, I started Innovare Design…and what a journey it’s been! Feels hard to believe but when you look back at what was trending then, it’s fascinating.

2006 was the early digital era and the start of the social media scene. Google bought YouTube, Twitter launched, and Nintendo released the Wii.

Crocs sales were booming, and wearing a dress over trousers was apparently a thing - what goes around comes around!

Flip phones were popular – loved mine – and Reality TV was starting to trend.

Apple iTunes reached sales of 1 billion songs, and someone called Taylor Swift released her debut album.

As for the retail sector, traditional physical stores dominated but platforms like Shopify and Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) launched, prompting many retailers to think more strategically about their ‘e-commerce’ investment.

I’m super proud of the retail design solutions we’ve delivered for our clients over the past 20 years. Over that time we’ve helped them transform their transactional spaces into more customer-centric environments. And we’ve achieved customer engagement through effective storytelling and brand immersion. 

There have been lots of firsts which called for creativity to solve complex design challenges. Like the first standalone RayBan store in Europe or our award-winning mall kiosk concept for mail grooming brand HOBMan. We’ve helped start up brands flourish - like Lolas Cupcakes - and designed a new department for one of the UK’s best loved retailers - John Lewis Opticians.

For some brands we’ve collaborated on completely new store concepts and supported their rollout. For others we’ve tested and identified more iterative store development programmes.

Flexibility has been our watchword, moulding our expert store design and build knowledge to fit client needs. Every Client, brand, and brief is different, so understanding commercial goals and customer behaviour has always been central to our process.

It’s incredibly rewarding that most of the brands we’ve helped to grow and evolve are still working with us and thriving today. And while their physical stores remain such a crucial part of the shopping journey for customers, we hope to continue supporting them for many years to come.

So, here’s to the next 20 years which promises to be every bit as exciting as the last two decades. Whatever comes we are ready to keep unlocking new potential, innovating, and reshaping the brand spaces people love to visit.