C&A in the UK - until its disappearance at the beginning of the last decade - was one of those stores you didn’t really visit for store ambience.
And yet, while it may be long gone from these shores, the retailer continues to trade in many other markets and this store, in São Paulo, shows how far removed it is in some of its stores from what you might remember.
Completed late last year, the Iguatemi flagship has design features not usually found in an operation where value may be top of mind, including a three-storey LED video staircase, custom-built chandeliers and amber glowing pendants. The space is also divided into a dramatic series of shop-in-shops, with separate spaces for lingerie, fashion and, during the recent São Paulo Fashion Week, even an idiosyncratic space set aside to celebrate Brazilian design.
The store is located in an upscale shopping mall and the decision to remodel it, using the services of US design consultancy Chute Gerdeman, was taken in order that it would feel of a piece with other shops in the location.
The outcome is a store that feels totally unlike a C&A and in some ways is something of an aberration when compared with the stores that the retailer continues to operate on mainland Europe.
That said, with the exception of a few showpiece elements, it is possible to see how this might be replicated elsewhere and the bright, vibrant colours are perfectly on brand with what most people imagine when they think of Brazil. This branch of C&A is about real glamour and feeling a million dollars, even if the prices might indicate otherwise.
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