At a time when many retailers are struggling to adjust to a marketplace increasingly dominated by online shopping, The North Face is refreshing its brick-and-mortar strategy by transforming its stores into “basecamps for exploration.” The 53-year-old activewear and outdoor brand wants to facilitate stronger connections with consumers and create a retail environment that focuses on brand identity as much as it does on merchandise.
The new 8,000-square-foot flagship store in New York City, which replaces a smaller store that’s now closed, is the first to feature the new concept and will serve as a model for the rest of the brand’s locations. The over-arching design goal for the new space, says Evert Lee, the company’s creative director of environmental design and brand experience who led the in-house creative team behind the design, “was to deliver a ‘perfect store’ experience to test in-market.”