Store design expert John Ryan selects the 10 most landmark shops that have opened over the past decade.

A decade is a long time and unexpected things always happen during the course of any 10-year period. There have been twists and turns in the world of stores, with new formats, new ways of doing things and customers on new shopping journeys.

In selecting the stores of the decade, I’ve looked for shops that could be viewed as landmarks and illustrative of the various trends that have become apparent since 2010.

Those who have made the list are the best in class from around the world. You may disagree with the selections and if so, as always, we want to hear your views.

Hema (now Freshippo), Shanghai 

In January 2016, Chinese online goliath opened the first Hema grocery store in Shanghai. It does all the things that might be expected of a supermarket, but it is also, an example of ‘New Retail’, the term coined by Alibaba founder Jack Ma.

Hema-1

This means that the store, rechristened as Freshippo last year, is a place where shoppers go to shop, dine and enjoy home delivery within 30 minutes, if they happen to live within 3km of the branch.

hema 5

From QR code information, to in-store picking and a lot of fresh fish tanks, Hema/Freshippo is a highly digital experience, but one with an entirely human shopping face.

There are now more than 150 Freshippo stores across China.

Apple, Milan

Apple stores were already established as destinations years before the current decade began, but in terms of creating ever-more compelling spaces for shoppers to spend time and money in, the last 10 years have seen the world’s most valuable company raise its game.

Apple Milan

The Milan store is typical of what has been done. Opened in 2018, the shop is fronted by a fountain that shoppers entering the store have to pass behind.

Increasingly, destination stores are made from amazing architecture as much as visual merchandising and it’s a trait that looks set to continue.

Primark, Birmingham

It was a tough call choosing between the shopping centre-turned-department store that is Primark Birmingham (opened 2019) and the converted theatre that is the retailer’s Spanish flagship on Madrid’s Gran Via (opened 2015).

In the end, Birmingham was chosen for the simple reason that it does everything a grand department store should do: hospitality on each floor, beauty and barber departments, homewares and on and on, but it does so on a budget.

Cafe Primark Birmingham

This is also Primark’s largest store to date and a destination in its own right. This is a landmark for the city and alongside the Bullring, is a new symbol of bullish Midlands optimism.

Amazon Go, New York 53rd Street

The first Amazon Go to open was in Seattle, home of the online leviathan, and it was located at the base of one of the head office buildings.

Amazon Go fascia

That was in 2016 and since then, much like Alibaba in China, it has been spreading its tentacle across the US.

The idea of a staff-less convenience store where shoppers enter using an app and are then charged from the moment they exit the store has certainly struck a chord with retailers and has spurred many to invest in emulating Amazon’s efforts.

But Amazon Go really does have first-mover advantage and its branches are slick, well-stocked and very easy to use. Whether this is the future for larger supermarket formats is another question altogether.

Nike, Shanghai

‘Retail gamification’ has been one of the catchphrases bandied about in the latter part of the decade and few places on the planet have made a more effective attempt at turning the business of shopping into a game than the Nike flagship in Shanghai, which opened last year.

This is a store that has a void at its heart, which hosts a basketball court that doubles up as a giant Wack-a-Mole game but instead of hitting a designated spot at speed, the player jumps to reach a lit spot and then shoots the basketball.

Nike Shanghai centre court

This may sound like a mild waste of expensive retail space, but visit this store on any day and watch the crowds on every level leaning over the balustrades to watch the players. Gamification is about spreading the brand word, and this store delivers.

Nordstrom, New York

Any 320,000 sq ft store set across seven floors would be considered enormous. When that store is in the middle of Manhattan and a stone’s throw from Central Park, it is remarkable, if only for the rent involved.

Nordstrom 1

The department store sector has been hard hit this decade with far more are being closed than opened.

Nordstrom’s newly opened store on West 57th Street might, therefore, be considered a gamble, but it is a thing of beauty and the biggest store to open in the Big Apple’s most expensive borough for years.

It also shows that there are some who feel that there is still life in department stores.

Samsung KX, London

It is symptomatic of the ways things have gone during the last ten years that three of the top 10 stores of the decade are the spawn of technology behemoths.

Samsung at Coals Drop Yard

Samsung refers to its stores in London’s Coal Drop Yard as a “global experience flagship”. It may sound pompous, but this store actually delivers as where else can you virtually drive a car of the future, spray a wall with digital ink or see what the internet of things means in situ? All this, and one of the most architecturally distinct stores in London, it deserves to be on our list.

Muji store and hotel, Shenzhen

Japanese no-brand retailer Muji has three stores-cum-hotels, in Beijing, Tokyo and this one, in Shenzhen, which was the first of its kind for the retailer when it opened in 2018.

Muji hotel China 2

The idea of a homewares store becoming an eating and drinking destination, a place to meet and a hotel might sound outlandish, but the combination of Muji’s trademark wooden interiors and unfussy aesthetic has made this a hit.

Retailers indulging in a little brand extension is not unusual, but pushing the boundaries on this scale shows it is possible to take a trusted name and run and run with it, rather than trying to create something entirely new.

Eataly, Paris

There have been 40 Eataly outposts open since its debut in Turin in 2007 but the Paris branch, opened this year, seems to sum up all that has happened in the nearly 13 years since the first Italian ‘slow food’ temple welcomed shoppers and diners.

Eataly Paris 2

In the interim, the emphasis has shifted from shop to hospitality with the retail bit acting almost as a souvenir of your visit.

Eataly illustrates how eating and drinking have become central to the retail experience and whether it’s a mocha or a full-fat pizza, the grand surroundings of the Italian food theme park in Paris’ Le Marais make this store an example of what is possible.

Starbucks Reserve Roastery, New York

The final store in the top 10 is to coffee what Eataly is to Italian food. The first Starbucks Reserve Roastery opened in the brand’s hometown, Seattle, in 2014 and was interesting, but not a showstopper.

Since that time, however, it has become notable for the manner in which it takes heritage buildings and makes them better.

Starbucks roastery - Copy

This branch is in New York’s Meatpacking district has the now-familiar roastery in its middle and there are multiple ways in which to have your caffeine-infused beverage prepared.

Like its sisters, this Roastery is about slowing down, rather than speeding up, surely one of the major trends of the decade that is coming to a close.