Banana Republic's New Look
The new look of South Coast Plaza's Banana Republic's women's shop
Banana Republic must be telling its customers to focus, focus, focus with a new look for its women's shop. It was unveiled last week at the South Coast Plaza retail center in Costa Mesa, Calif.
Instead of merchandising Banana Republic’s contemporary styles and office fashions across a spacious floor, the new look of Banana Republic’s women’s store features a set of compact shops-in-shops. Some were intended to be reminiscent of a stylish, walk-in closet. The mini-shops flank a big aisle going through the store, which still is located on the first floor of the South Coast Plaza’s Bloomingdale’s wing.
The separate shops-in-shops will focus on different Banana Republic categories and lines, such as its Heritage label.
In a prepared statement, Banana Republic creative director Simon Kneen said the focused redesign was intended to appeal to people with busy schedules. “Our collection is designed to fulfill the different parts of our customer’s lives, from day to night, work to play, and we wanted to create a shopping environment that is inspired by each of these,” Kneen said.
There will be a second act to the redesign. The South Coast Plaza Banana Republic’s men’s shop is located on the second floor, and its redesign is scheduled to be unveiled in November. The two shops will be joined by a staircase. (Work on the staircase will be finished in fall.) Later this year, the redesign will be rolled out to Banana Republic locations in Canada and New Jersey, according to a Banana Republic statement. Banana Republic is a division of Gap Inc.
