Rolf Benz commissioned KVB Design in early 2012 with a brief to create a retail design to both reflect their established corporate identity and create a platform for the launch of their new Freistil brand.
The KVB Design team liaised with Rolf Benz to develop a showroom concept, which perfectly mirrored the essence of premium German brand yet created a vibrant new atmosphere in keeping with freistil’s younger audience. The initial showroom occupies 850 sqm. at the Rolf Benz head office facility in Nagold Germany and is accessed through a totally newly constructed reception area.
Showroom Layout
The freistil concept features several distinctly different retail areas, separated by a fashion style central ‘catwalk’ walkway with ceiling rafts above. The central walkway structure forms the key element of the concept design.
The ‘catwalks’ position within the main central area of the showroom assists in creating the perfect customer journey and turns the store visit into a total experience. This structure is designed to allow for the many varied store layouts and different retail footprints. Breaking away from the trends of traditional furniture showrooms the central walkway also offers a totally unique and intuitive look and feel to the showroom; adding a fashion ambience to the furniture ranges.
Together with the new Freistil furniture range the showroom design ensures that the complete product portfolio is portrayed in a new fresh, youthful and invigorating style. The walkway, ceiling raft and individual product areas work together to add the required intimacy.
Lighting
Detailed lighting planning with a distinctive light colour palette and directional spot lighting assists in guiding and moving the visitor into and through the total retail space. Lighting is in-set into the ceiling raft to create a clean, sharp, and futuristic look and feel. Suspended lighting rafts, crafted from galvanised metalwork, add intimacy to the large volume showroom areas. The combined look and feel of the lighting elements offer a contrast of refinement and a more urban look and feel, blending the products into a true multi home environment.
The centre of the showroom features a timber slatted box construction to create a defined room environment; featuring meeting tables, a kitchen and a café style area – whilst retaining a transparent look and feel to overall showroom.
Andreas Lechner, Director of Communications ROLF BENZ AG & Co.KG said:
“Working together with KVB Design on building an innovative and inspiring “home base” for our new brand Freistil, was a very creative and professional process. The team from KVB Design came up with a showroom concept that brought our brand values to life and created the perfect space for our customers to get the full product and brand experience. The final result definitely exceeded our expectations and has proofed us right to work with KVB Design. We are looking forward to working together on future projects.”
Kevin Beard, Managing Director of KVB Design said:
“We are thrilled to work with such a prestigious brand as Rolf Benz. Following a detailed study of both the Rolf Benz and freistil brand values we created a retail environment, which not only supported the product presentation and communicated the brand’s premium position, but also created a new way of furniture retail design.”
KVB Design specializes in international retail design creating showroom environments with proven sale effectiveness, through a deep understanding of the customer and clients’ commercial requirements. Developing new retail concepts for major international brands such as Habitat, Bang & Olufsen, Harman International and Meridian, KVB Design’s ever-expanding network covers Europe, North America, Asia and the Far East. KVB Design offer a comprehensive range of services through retail design, visual merchandising to the design of office space and exhibition stands. Founded in 1995 by Managing/Creative Director Kevin Beard who, after gaining much international experience in retail design for a number of well-known premium brands, identified the need for brands to develop their retail channels whilst embracing the dynamically changing world of consumer goods. KVB Design has an acute understanding of the role of retail within the customers mind and within that of a sales organization. KVB Design develops retail environments with proven sale effectiveness, not ‘retail temples’.
Rolf Benz is one of the best known European brands in upholstered furniture. The company was founded in 1964 in Nagold, Germany and nowadays, it is active in more than 50 markets worldwide. Rolf Benz ensure all of their products are of the highest quality and are incredibly sympathetic to the views of their customers. In spring 2011, the Rolf Benz Nagold showroom was extended to launch the new freistil furniture range, a new range of furniture for the ‘young at heart’ customer.
