The Bottle Shop

Client Background

Rapeed Design was approached by a client who had a clear vision of what he wanted to bring to a secondary parade in South London. The client had come from a family of successful shopkeepers that had excelled in running grocery stores. Our client had been looking for the ideal location for him to set up his new business venture and once he had identified this he appointed Rapeed Design as the main design and shop fitting company.

Points of note

This was to be a new concept of off license, our brief was to bring Freshers and Unwins into a modern era. The location of the new store was in an area saturated with local convenience and newsagents offering some lines of alcoholic beverages, but none were fully dedicated to selling just alcohol.

Our client was keen to offer a customer buying experience. The look and the feel of the shop floor and the actual customer service element in addition to the products he would be selling formed part of this experience.

From a design and shop fitting perspective, Rapeed Design envisioned creating a space that would be able to offer something for everyone that was in a contemporary and fashionable setting. The design brief was to be different, bold and daring especially in comparison to what has become of the usual high street off license shop.

The design was key to enhancing the customer experience allowing for browsing opportunities and talking points. The miniatures in the glass tank of the counter were part of the quirky aspect of the design.

Having a central counter and paypoint rather than one on the side allows for people to browse and be able to walk around the offerings. The central counter also meant that customers would be greeted upon entering the shop and not feel like they are being watched through a crowded and cluttered local off licences or grocery stores. The simplicity of the design means it is easy to maintain and keep clean.

The name of the store was also based on the products it would be selling - it literally is a bottle shop as it sells bottles of wines, craft beers, spirits and a variety of other selected alcoholic beverages. Our design gives it a slight feel of a wine cellar and modernises the concepts of other wine merchants and craft liquor sellers.