THE PARK · ING GINZA Revamps Their Illustrious Parking Lot Into a Public Park For “SPRING HAS COME”.

Concept store THE PARK · ING GINZA revamps their illustrious parking lot into a public park for their latest project “SPRING HAS COME”, creating a unique physical experience for the consumer.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the retail industry has seen a decline in in-store sales over the past few years. The decrease can be attributed to a few key factors; the rise of e-commerce, a more conscious consumer and heavy discounting from retailers diminishing the value of both the product and brand. For these reasons, retailers should use physical stores as a destination to facilitate interaction. Focusing less on the product and more so on creating an engaging shopping experience for the consumer.

THE PARK · ING GINZA is a concept store by Hiroshi Fujiwara, the man dubbed by many as the “The Godfather of Streetwear”. The store is located in the third and fourth basement floors of the Sony building in Tokyo, comprising of a cafe, retail space and gallery. For their latest project “SPRING HAS COME”, THE PARK · ING GINZA have revamped their illustrious parking lot into a public park. The space now features artificial grass, picnic tables and a scenic city backdrop bundled with trees.

South Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster, are extremely successful at experiential retailing. Jae Ho Bae, head of interiors at Gentle Monster highlights the importance of the physical store space. “Customers don’t remember products when they visit a space, they remember the architecture and artwork curated within the space.” This explains why brands like THE PARK · ING GINZA are shifting the focus from product to the physical store, using this to encourage customers to buy into the brand.

“Stores are not just about consumption any more, they are platforms for connection, participation and mystery. Instead of just creating a story, brands need to share their value system and allow multiple stories to emerge,” explains Martin Kwaskowski, creative director at Milligram studio (LS:N Global, 2015).

*Written by Arslaan Ahmed