Armani Hotel brand debuts in Dubai

Armani’s first hotel launches tomorrow, April 27, in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa tower. The project was scheduled to launch on March 18 last month but was moved with no explanation by hotel management.

The Armani Hotel Dubai occupies ten floors of the tower (floors 1-8, 38 and 39) and offers 160 guest rooms and suites. Room prices start at $US462.90.

According to a hotel management site, www.hotelmanagement-network.com/projects/Armani/specs.html, the joint venture between Giorgio Armani and EMAAR Properties, EMAAR Hotels and Resorts Inc cost $US8billion! An extraordinary amount of money to be invested in anyone’s name and, in this case, Armani’s empire. However, the opulence will no doubt be jaw dropping to experience. The good news is that Pentagram New York created the naming, identity, visual brand positioning and marketing collateral which guarantees an aesthetic of grace and a degree of visual subtlety –  www.pentagram.com/en/.

Milan is the next city in line for an Armani hotel followed by London then New York.

MoMA? No, it’s Moomah

Retail concepts for kids tend to be either kitsch and over the top, a good example being Rainforest Cafe in London, or lacking in substance & personality altogether. Or it could just be that what personality there was has faded…the passion and belief in the brand in the first instance was never really there.

Experiencing approximately-12-month-old café Moomah for the first time today, I seriously felt I’d been left out of TriBeca’s best kept secret. It’s specific interest in kids strangely didn’t seem to discourage the light stream of business lunchers which was no doubt assisted by its decent menu and on-the-ball-staff.

Serving an unexpectedly full bodied latté will always be a good mom-magnet, so of course I’ll be back, but in all seriousnesss this fantastically creative and inspiring, whimsical space has been put together so well and therefore manages to dodge clichés. It so cleverly uses a combination of something old/something new that it becomes impossible not to feel wholely satisfied.

It doesn’t matter that it’s Tracey Stewart who owns the business (wife of political satirist, host of the Daily Show Jon Stewart), but just that it’s done so well: with a design sensibility that only a particular eye can deliver, with a true understanding of its market and their needs and with thorough consideration of the small details that make a difference to a customer’s retail experience. All this is solidly driven by a clear idea and a firm belief in that idea. We need one in Sydney please Tracey!

Moomah’s Funky Forest room provides the interactive sensory component of the experience. (See the Theo Watson link below). As for the rest? You’ll have to see, taste and feel for yourself.

Retail experience-Moomah.Café-Funky.Forest.Installation

http://www.moomah.com/

http://www.theowatson.com/site_docs/work.php?id=41

God Bless America: Barbie wins Whopper.

retail brand design/Burger King-Whopper Bar

Burger King’s claim yesterday to the Retail Store of the Year 2009 competition awarded by US publication Chain Store Age, certainly made me curious. It so turns out that Burger King won the ‘Casual Dining’ category, making their announcement an exaggeration of convenient proportions.

More frustrating is that Chain Store Age runs the program as an open award to the industry globally, and while it kindly includes an international category, (although it is not clear if this refers to non-American clients or projects executed outside of the US), of the 19 first place winners (pardon?) and 7 ‘Honorable Mentions’, 21 are from the US.

Is it unsurprising, therefore, that Barbie… yes, Barbie in Shanghai won the ‘Best Overall Entry’ award trumping Burger King, Walmart, Guess, Tommy Hilfiger, Barney’s, American Eagle Outfitters and the rest, with a 36,000 square foot, multi-level emporium launched March 9, 2009. Gotta love it! In all honesty it is pretty fabulous and no doubt still looks brand new.

Barbie Shanghai store

But why did Walmart win two awards? I’m not doubting the judging process but believe it or not great retail exists in both Asia and Europe too. Come on Chain Store Age, it’s dangerous to be parochial in consumer-land which, let’s remind ourselves, is a global concern. Hopefully next year you’ll look a bit further afield and honor a better mix. The three Canadian, two South American and one Thai project you bothered to include reeks of tokenism.

McDonald’s super-smarted at Fashion Week

Just when you think your retail strip is looking pretty tired, hope may well be on its way. The Cool Hunter’s ideas agency called Access’ recently collaborated with McDonald’s for International Fashion Week and the result provides pause for thought.

Seriously, despite my cravings for the occasional sundae and fries, I hate McDonald’s and everything it represents and attracts, but Access’ super-smart application of creativity would make anyone rethink their order.

Described on their website as ‘A transformational ideas agency’ Access created McFancy, a retail concept for McDonald’s launched at Fashion Week. With the New York Fashion event over-shadowed by the death of Alexander McQueen, McFancy very likely didn’t get the mainstream visibility it otherwise might have (or at least not for any open-minded client to hear about).

If you haven’t already seen these fab pics, where you’ll also find The Cool Hunter/Access Agency information about the project, log on to – http://www.thecoolhunter.net/article/detail/1682

I know I for one will be keeping on top of what these wildly intelligent creatives are up to next. Yes, I guess I have a crush on you all!