Axel Arigato Munich

In the late fall of 2020, the Ganter Group realized two new retail spaces for Axel Arigato in just five weeks: In parallel, two new shop-in-shop areas were created for the Swedish high-end footwear brand, both in the luxurious traditional department store Oberpollinger in Munich and in the renowned Alsterhaus in Hamburg.
Ganter was responsible for the complete interior fittings in both projects. In addition to painting and drywall work, Ganter laid the carpets, handled the wall design with two different strupture plaster variants and the production and installation of the logos. In addition, the furniture was produced and installed by Ganter. Although strict Corona requirements had to be met and associated disruptions had to be mastered, both spaces were able to open on time for Black Friday.
The minimalist concept of the two retail spaces features individual furniture with clear architectural references, contrasting materials, and a reduced but precisely chosen color palette. The textured plaster on the walls, for example, was produced by the Ganter Group in a Natural Colour System® shade precisely defined by Axel Arigato:
The relatively spacious area of 80 square meters in the Oberpollinger department store (Munich) is defined by a royal blue carpet. A curved metal structure made of brushed stainless steel and anodized aluminum serves as a presentation module for clothes and shoes and divides the area into different zones. A special challenge in this case was the LED cable routing, which had to be realized completely without any measurement options. As a counterpoint to this backlit central piece of furniture made of shiny metal, various architectural objects made of exposed concrete are distributed throughout the space, their rough, heavily relieved surfaces forming an exciting contrast to the two immaculately smooth, organically shaped presentation tables as well as the soft, smooth qualities of the shoe models on display.
In the Alsterhaus in Hamburg, the much smaller space of 20 square meters is dominated by an organically shaped piece of presentation furniture in glossy lacquered royal blue, enthroned on a color-corresponding, asymmetrically cut carpet. The installative character of this combination evokes associations with the art world. Here, too, the concise formal language of the furniture, its spatial staging, and the minimalist color concept of the sales areas are more reminiscent of a gallery than a retail space.
This is in line with the Swedish brand’s approach, which aims to launch pieces that are as individualized as possible, for example by launching a new model every week and dispensing with seasonal collections and traditional sales channels. The direct approach to the customer is at the heart of the concept.