Workwearstore Oberhausen: A New Spin on Retail Spaces

Designing a Flagship Store with a Craftsman's Touch

The inspiration behind Workwearstore Oberhausen's design is the brand's DNA as a workwear goods manufacturer. The aim was to stage these products as lifestyle items in a surprising yet honest manner. The store design incorporates the working world of craftsmen and their emotional values. Materials and tools from the customer's working environment are cleverly integrated into the design and product presentation, creating emotional accents and providing references to various craft professions.

What sets this design apart is its response to the uncertain future prospects for stationary trade. The e-commerce brand for workwear, engelbert strauss, decided to give craftsmen physical shopping experiences. This flagship store in Oberhausen is a testament to this decision. It is a further development in response to dynamic product development and experience with existing stores.

The store's interior design is based on the equipment of the craftsmen's working world. Scaffold boards, control cabinet doors, warning triangles, paint cans, and corrugated and trapezoidal sheet metal are used to create emotional accents and provide references to various craft professions. The lighting concept also incorporates this theme, with chandeliers made from miner's lamps and deco lights from customs poles, spirit levels, or shovels.

The flagship store, which includes a business lounge and meeting rooms, spans 2812 sqm. The design process involved an analysis of the customers' values and tools, as well as the brand's DNA as a manufacturer of workwear goods. The aim was to stage these products as lifestyle goods in a surprising yet honest manner. The store's location in Oberhausen, a city with a long mining tradition, features miner's lamps or shirt presentations in mine building style as part of the store design.

Despite the usual challenges faced by architects in large projects, the design team managed to create a unique and engaging space. The store not only provides a physical shopping experience but also creates a real connection between the customer and the mail order company, engelbert strauss. The materials and tools from the customer's working environment used in the interior design and product presentation set emotional accents and provide references to the various craft professions of the customers.

The design of Workwearstore Oberhausen has been recognized for its creativity and innovation, winning Silver in A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award in 2018. This award is given to top-of-the-line, creative, and professionally remarkable designs that illustrate outstanding expertise and innovation. These designs, admired for their strong technical characteristics and splendid artistic skill, showcase a remarkable level of excellence and introduce positive feelings, amazement, and wonder.