This ambitious project, spearheaded by local architect Elsa Urquijo, will enable closer contact with the Zara Home collections. The products will take front stage, complemented at all times by digital devices to facilitate access to the brand’s online range.
The hallmark characteristics of this new format, which will make its global début at this flagship store in March, include the introduction of traditional building materials designed with the help of local artisans, embedded with all the latest technology in a fully environmentally-friendly setting.
Those construction materials notably include lime, which boasts top sustainability credentials and forms the basis of Galicia’s vernacular architecture, and chalk marble. They are combined with fabrics made from natural fibres – silk and linen – which inject warmth and light.
The store has been divided up into the rooms of a home, in a manner that swaddles the shopper. The ultimate goal is to achieve maximum simplicity so as to make space for the designs and facilitate a customer journey that is comfortable and pleasant. All of the products are displayed through a system based on vertical cases so that they are readily accessible and easy to touch and feel. The furniture also leverages traditional Galician materials – granite, slate and FSC- and PEFC-certified wood -, framed by the criteria that characterise the vernacular architecture: simplicity, strength and functionality.
The Zara Home flagship store in A Coruña, which spans 1,000 square metres, will house the new SS21 collection, replete with timeless designs in which organic shapes and natural materials and textures dominate.
The store will be divided into rooms. On the ground floor visitors will encounter the Living Room, with a selection of furniture, cushions, rugs and other decorative items, the Kitchen, with kitchenware and utensils, crockery and other tableware, and home fragrances, including scented candles and diffusers. On the upper floor, shoppers will find the Bedroom, and everything they need in bedding, and Bathroom, for towels, robes and other sets.
The Zara Home collections
Along their journey through the store, Zara Home customers will also discover the brand’s capsule collections, designed to meet their household needs, an area to which the chain has been paying meticulous attention in recent collections.
For example, right now shoppers can find products designed for the pets in their lives, including soft beds with tartan cushions, trendy food and water bowls, a selection of collars and leashes and other accessories such as fur brushes and sprays and pet toys.
It is also worth highlighting the special line of clothing and footwear care products, which includes exclusive foldable wooden clothes lines, a wood and metal ironing board, storage boxes, baskets, ironing water, detergent and a selection of tools and products for caring for leather.
Another of the collections that has proven highly popular was the art and stationary collection, which included paints, notebooks, pencils and other traditional desk accessories. Popular too is the more recently launched music collection: record players, speakers and earphones, as well as a collection of vinyl records for music fans to enjoy at home.
For the coming weeks, Zara Home has planned a series of capsule collections designed for enjoying life outside during the summer, in private gardens, parks and the countryside in general.
Technology as enabler of eco-efficiency
To accompany this new shopping experience, a new and highly efficient lighting system has been created to make the store journey comfortable and pleasant, while sustainable. The new lighting will also help the chain create differentiated environments and atmospheres tailored to the needs of the various rooms and capsule collections.
The LED light fittings have been designed and made exclusively for Zara Home using new technology that reduces consumption significantly while delivering average chromatic reproduction of over CRI 95; the fittings also last four times longer compared to standard technology. All of the fixtures meet the WELL certification requirements issued by the International WELL Building Institute, which assesses lighting along comfort, well-being and health criteria.
The next-generation HVAC system similarly guarantees powerful energy efficiency readings, with seasonal energy efficiency ratios (SEER) of between 7.5 and 10. Its sophisticated temperature controls adjust the thermostats automatically as a function of footfall and natural light.
Embodying the next step in the eco-efficient store plan the Group has already deployed worldwide (delivering relative savings in water and energy of 20% and 40%, respectively), this store will be connected up to Inditex’s centralised energy and water consumption control and management system known as Inergy. The establishment will also use renewable energy only and its ticketless receipt system will be the norm.
Online/offline integration
- Interactive screen: in a bid to provide the best possible shopping experience, the new store will feature an interactive screen so that customers can check the availability of any item, bring up detailed information with coordinating images and decoration ideas and even add items to a virtual shopping basket that will automatically be moved to the customer’s app via QR code so they can complete their purchases with ease. Moreover, if the desired product is available in-store, they can bring their order home on the spot, without having to wait for delivery. Thanks to RFID technology, the screen will recognise items just by waving it nearby.
- “Store Mode”: in line with the Group’s commitment to offering a fully integrated shopping experience, this flagship store will offer the ‘Store Mode’ service, whereby customers can use the brand app to consult store stocks in real time for online shopping and immediate collection (30 minutes).
