#Textiles & Apparel / Garment

2021-06-03

Zara, Zara Home and Stradivarius to feature their latest store concepts in Madrid's newly renovated Plaza de España

Inditex has entered into an agreement with Inbest SOCIMI, the firm that jointly owns Edificio España, the emblematic building located at Gran Vía 84 in Madrid, to open Zara, Zara Home and Stradivarius in the new shopping gallery, which is in the midst of a major refurbishment. The three brands will occupy over 9,000 square metres between two stores within the complex, which will be flanked an enlarged pedestrianised area and over 1,300 newly planted trees, with a new car park moved underground.

Inditex has agreed with Inbest SOCIMI, co-owners of Edificio España in Madrid, the addition of Zara, Zara Home and Stradivarius stores to the emblematic building's new shopping gallery

The three brands will occupy over 9,000 square metres combined in two stores with street access from the iconic Madrid square, Plaza de España, which will have wider footpaths and new green spaces with more than 1,300 trees.

Inditex's Executive Chairman, Pablo Isla, said that the new stores will become “a global benchmark for sustainability and the integration of the store and online shopping experiences”

Inditex's Executive Chairman, Pablo Isla, said that the new stores will become “a global benchmark for the integration of the store and online shopping experiences. This agreement embodies our strategy succinctly: the highest quality sales space complemented by more efficient technology to enhance customer service in a building that will be a beacon of sustainability”.

The plan is to open the stores during 2022. They will feature all the latest sustainability and technological developments in the integrated store and online sales platform, to provide customers with the total product range and most efficient customer service.

Zara will take over 7,700 square metres over four storeys, including a basement with a stockroom to enable instant restocking of the sales floor.

The ground and first floors will house the Women's collections, with the lower of the two showcasing the new Zara Beauty Cosmetics section and the online order pickup area, facilitated by an automated delivery point capable of handling as many as 1,500 orders. The second floor will be devoted to the Men's section and the new Zara Home immersive store concept, which divides the floor area into the rooms of a home with the ultimate goal of maximising simplicity so that the brand's designs stand out and the customer journey is comfortable and pleasant. The Kids’ section will be located on the lower ground floor.

The new store will be fitted with self-checkouts. Shoppers will also be able to enjoy the "Store Mode" experience enabled by the Zara app currently available in all of the brand's stores in Spain. In addition to the in-store fitting room reservation and garment location services, the aim is to introduce a new function – “Pay&Go”, whereby customers will be able to purchase items by simply scanning them through the Zara app on their mobile phones in store.

The new image planned for this store is articulated around flowing curved lines that enable continuous engagement with the fashions on display. In addition, a variety of plant life will complement Inditex's stringent ecoefficiency standards: the new store, along with the rest of the building, will be BREEAM certified.

Stradivarius will occupy 1,200 metres over two storeys and the store will have two street entrances. It will also be configured for "Store Mode" using the brand's app and will have self-checkout kiosks. The architectural plans meet all Inditex Group ecoefficiency criteria, including the use of materials with excellent sustainability credentials mixed with industrial touches to create a very welcoming urban vibe. To create that effect, the store will have open ceilings and exposed fittings in an environment marked by neutral finishes, in which the use of a range of natural materials such as stone, wood and plants are placed together within the space.

In keeping with the clean and natural overtones, the façades will be transparent, revealing the inside of the store, and the overhead lighting will be dynamic to raise the visibility of the brand without jeopardising energy savings targets, thanks to the centralised Inergy system, designed to control emissions by tracking environmental sustainability metrics.

The two stores in Edificio España will join the Plaza de España area, which is being fully remodelled as part of the Welcome Mother Nature initiative which will see 90% of the ground area pedestrianised and more than 1,300 trees of 50 different specimens planted. That project encompasses a large gardened area bordered by calle Princesa, the Royal Palace, the Sabatini Gardens and other major city parks (Parque del Oeste and Parque de la Montaña), not to mention the newly replanted square itself, where all traffic has been diverted underground.

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