Manchester City Football Club

Many of the team’s supporters who made the Wembley pilgrimage may have visited this 7,250 sq ft ‘CityStore’ located on Manchester’s Market Street.

The scene that will have greeted visitors is among the best of its kind in the UK and allowing for the fact that Manchester City is about football rather than retailing, this is a space that would shame many full-time retailers. Until November last year, the club had its downtown Manchester store in the Arndale Centre, but the decision to relocate to Market Street has meant a store that is more than four times larger.

The CityStore manages to overcome one of the trickier retail problems facing any football club – the generally monochrome nature of footballing livery. Adversity is turned to advantage in the case of Manchester City, however, as the team’s sky-blue identity is teamed up with a predominantly slate grey and white interior. Canny mood lighting means that the emphasis is on the replica kit that’s on offer, as should be the case, but so frequently is not.

The store has two floors and theatre is added by a glass balustrade that tops the glass and steel staircase, meaning you can look around from a first floor vantage point. The first floor also features a white, spotlight-studded ceiling raft.

It’s just possible that Man City fans may not be interested in the finer points of retail design, but if they were to visit the stores of rival teams, they might feel a little smug.