Heal’s is the British interiors and homeware brand with more than 200 years of design heritage. The stores are a showcase for design inspiration and production quality.

After working with Heal’s on a pop-up store in Birmingham (so successful, it became a semi-permanent two-year installation), the brand came back with a bigger project: a multi-zone store in London’s Westfield. Heal’s wanted us to design a store that would encourage sales across ten distinct retail areas.

The challenge was to create a coherent space with instant step-in-the-door appeal that would lead customers onward to bigger purchases deeper within the store. So we took a strategic approach that takes customers on a touch-and-feel tour of brilliant design and outstanding brand heritage.

Their journey begins with a high-impact entrance area featuring premium wooden plinths and tactical lighting to prompt instant purchases of cushions, throws, and home fragrances. The appeal of this area is immediate and impulsive; it draws customers into the store and encourages them to explore deeper. Their inspirational tour continues with imaginative design elements made from a variety of materials. They include multi-tiered rug displays, angular backdrops of rich metallics, digital content, and a Heal’s heritage wall.

We placed the service desks and the most inspirational design elements further back near the furniture zones. They brought the store together as a single entity that customers were happy to shop in its entirety.

Installation of the shopfit was a project in itself. It came at a time when an extension to Westfield put the mall at the heart of a construction site. Our project-management team took the disruption in their stride, and the store opened on time to a fixed budget and to huge public approval. It stands out as an example of how retail storytelling can inspire consumers to dive deeper into a store to immerse themselves in brand inventiveness and imaginative design.