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Ippolito Fleitz Group translated the high quality of a cult Chinese liquor into visual sophistication for a Shanghai retail store.
The Chinese cult drink baijiu (a versatile and increasingly popular cocktail spirit with origins to reach mountainous province of Guizhou in South China) is gradually taking over the world.
After already successfully designing several experience stores for the Guiniang Group, the German firm IFG have translated the succinct brand world of the ‘white alcohol’ into an interior design for Nanjing, which combines tradition with a modern lifestyle at the very highest level.
GUIJIU combines this essence in a taste experience that is traditionally celebrated in five steps: see, smell, taste, savour and enjoy.
As a high-quality spirit, GUIJIU is like an urbane and sophisticated friend, whom you would be happy to meet for a drink. Located on the fourth floor of a high-rise building, the brand experience is an oasis of pleasure that captivates visitors as soon as they exit the lift. On entering the brand experience, you are guided toward an impressive round stone table, upon which the story of baijiu is told via a video projection.
The craftsmanship and knowledge that go into the spirit can thus be experienced at first hand. Straight away, an atmosphere is generated that is elegant, saturated and luxurious at the same time. The spatial narration leads over to the hero product, positioned on a golden pedestal: the brand thus rises up from traditional values to an international level.
From there, a catwalk entices visitors to immerse themselves fully in the sensual world of baijiu. While a landscape is created from colourful variations of the iconic GUIJIU bottle on the outer walls, the journey through the tunnel becomes an impressive immersive experience thanks to a digital floor that can be personalised for any occasion. The catwalk design plays with the elements and reminds us above all of water as the primordial source. The ideal selfie spot, certain to enrich any guestbook, especially when the space is rented exclusively.
The aim of the passage is an emotional compression of brand, origins and production process. It leads out into the tasting area, a large space equipped with private niches that introduces visitors to the world that makes GUIJIU so special: the balance between private intimacy, the eccentricity of the effect and the outstanding taste. To fully experience this, you can participate in the entire tasting ritual at a circular bar in the centre. The lounge establishes a relationship with nature through the use of colour and light, and makes you forget the bustle of the outside world. In a special customisation area with dancing ceiling mirrors, a baijiu can be created to suit your own tastes. Finally, the sales rooms provide a route back to everyday life.
This concept translates the extraordinary care that GUIJIU invests in its production process into a world of sophisticated materials. The execution of the interior design is precise, warm and of high quality. The lighting mood reflects the colours of nature and serves as an elegant guide through the brand experience. For GUIJIU’s high-quality creations and its exclusive brand experience, by employing forms, layers and materials, as unique as the taste of a fine baijiu.
Location Nanjing, China
Design Ippolito Fleitz Group
Area 120 sqm
Photos courtesy Sui Sicong
