Store of the week: Casio, Covent Garden

This is a regular dilemma for jewellers and for many the response is display cabinets where museum pieces are made of the stock.

Consumer electronics brand and manufacturer Casio launched a 995 sq ft flagship in Covent Garden last week that shows little other than variations of the G-Shock watch across two floors.

The shop is in the middle of The Piazza and as such has Grade II listed status, adding to the challenge that confronted consultant HarrimanSteel, which worked on the project. The outcome is a series of grids and projected images with the stock displayed where it can be touched, rather than having to make a request to extract a product from a sealed unit. The space inside the store is all about the perimeter and a few pillars, so there is no mid-shop equipment, but Casio has made the view interesting irrespective of where you look.

It has divided the offer between the chunky, youth-oriented G-Shock watches in the basement and the more investment-based purchases on the floor above.

With an expensive palette of materials, including rusted steel and smooth, polished concrete, the interior is swish industrial. And even though the watches are small, relative to the space, you find yourself inspecting the offer as distractions such as superfluous graphics and wall treatments have been taken out.

The merchandise has the same cyber-punk factory feel as the interior and that means product and interior complement each other. This is not easy to achieve and perhaps shows Casio has taken the product followed by interior path that should inform all good store design.