London is cool. Those living in the UK capital are occasionally unaware of this view of their home and some may even be a little blasé about the city’s status.

Yet travel overseas and the shiny, fashionable aura that surrounds London is undimmed and nowhere more so than in Germany.

German department store group Karstadt has been running a ‘Feel London’ promotion in September and it is at its most obvious in the flagship Düsseldorf store. Long hailed as the headquarters of the German fashion industry, Düsseldorf is the obvious place to make the link with London. Karstadt chief executive Andrew Jennings says the promotion has been 18 months in the making and will be the first of many.

Essentially this is a visual merchandising and graphics job, as both elements are yoked together to create the impression that London has come to northwest Germany. It is also intended to give Karstadt a way to communicate with a younger demographic than its core 35-to-55-year-old customer base without alienating its existing shoppers.

The quantity of merchandise from the UK is actually relatively limited, although brands such as French Connection, Topman/Topshop and the Rolling Stones pop-up store that was in Carnaby Street in 2012 all make an appearance. A tonal blue version of the Union Flag has been placed throughout the five-floor shop and if you want some McVitie’s digestives or Twinings tea, or just to look at red telephone boxes and mannequins sporting policemans’ helmets, look no further.

The idea of store-wide themed promotions is not new. Selfridges did it with Brazil and Japan. But the conviction with which this has been done in the Karstadt Düsseldorf store impresses.

The ‘Feel London’ promotion has been running in all the other 84 Karstadt store in September, and plans for the next event are under way, says Jennings. As a way of helping to revive a retail brand that has been through some torrid times over the past five years, this looks an effective vehicle. -