Candylicious in the press:

We were over the moon this morning when we received the latest publication of BOB from AncBook in Korea. They have featured our design for Candylicious in The Dubai Mall as one of their feature projects. Check it out below, just double click on the pics to bring them up in larger format 🙂

From the article:

One of our design dreams came true when retail giants Alabbar Enterprises approached us to redesign the iconic Candylicious store at The Dubai Mall. As retail designers we always held the original Candylicious Store in high regard. But having the chance to redesign the store from top to bottom. And to put our Studio EM twist onto it was an opportunity that we jumped at.

As this was a renovation we had to return the site to a complete shell and core status. In essence, this meant redesigning and building the store from scratch. The most progressive element of the whole project was the client. The client trusted our creativity and abilities enough to literally give us carte blanch to create the store our way. They only had two main requirements. The first being that the store had to flow. The second, that we made the store even bigger.

By the end of the project we had achieved the latter quite comfortably by adding a mezzanine floor to the store. Taking one of the worlds largest candy stores from 10,000 square feet to 12,000 square feet. The extra 2,000 square feet is now home to Partylicious. A private party area for candy themed parties within the store.

Design Flow:

Addressing the clients first requirement was where we began the design process. Creating a design that flows over such a large space is quite a difficult thing to achieve. Especially given that the store should be extremely vibrant and colorful so as to be on brand. To fulfill the brief of creating flow, our Creative Director, Emma Stinson, identified that the store design needed to tell a story and take the customer on a journey.

We began the brainstorming process with a key target in mind. Developing a concept or theme that allowed us to connect both Adults and Children to the world of Candy. As the store had to appeal to both Adults and Children equally.

Nostalgia:

Our brainstorming took us to the fairground. Where the nostalgia of eating candy and being with our families came to the fore. This evocative trip down memory lane was the catalyst for our concept design. Immediately we developed key design elements associated with the fairground and used them as the main focal point of the store. Allowing us to then build the rest of the design around them.

Our brainstorming wall in the office was full of things that first popped into the mind of our design team as soon as the word fairground was mentioned, bright lights, carousel, blinking signage, colours, big top tents, candy swirls, lolly pops, candy floss, the waltzer and fairground games to name but a few.

Using all of these ideas we began building the design from the bottom up, literally. Our senior designer, Nicola Fahy, came up with an idea to play with the notion of candy swirls by creating a floor pattern that aided both customer flow and acted as our visual representation of candy lollipops. Niciola created the design and the graphic, which we then had installed as a Seamless Epoxy Resin.

This design touch gave the store design a real 360 degree feel and created a fun and interactive element that the children love to follow around the store.

After this element was created the store really began to take shape quite quickly. This element acted like a linchpin of sorts that tied the whole store together. Using the carousel as inspiration. We created a cash counter that was circular and allowed for much more efficient customer flow. But it also gave us the chance to create a real statement piece at the heart of the store.

Photograph opportunities:

Once we added this piece to the much loved and adored Candylicious Airplane and Candylicious Tree we had succeeded in satisfying one of our own internal briefs. That being to create exciting photo opportunities for visitors to the store. We took the idea of photo opportunities one step further. By creating a staging area at the back of the store that allows for seasonal or festival based photo opportunities. A photobooth of sorts, another fairground inspired idea that allows the visitors to take some treasured memories away with them once they leave the store.

At the front of the store we assisted in the addition of a Spun Candy concession. This concession marks Spun Candy’s first store in the Middle East. With the design being conceptualized by Nick Leith Smith Architecture + Design in London.

Once we had the main design features inserted in the store we started placing the more subtle design elements such as the Candy Floss Cart, the “Big Top” carnival visual merchandising tents, the fairground lighting inspired store signage and the waltzer / teacups inspired seating booths within the Partylicious Area to name but a few.

By the end of the project both the client and Studio EM felt that we had delivered a project that fulfilled the brief required by the client as well as a store that tells a story and most importantly for us at Studio EM, a store that will hopefully be as iconic as the original Candylicious.

Quote from the client:

“ Deciding that we wanted to take maximum advantage of the scheduled store renovation. Not only to give freshness but also to add more exciting elements within the store. We aim to engage with our customers’ emotions as they walk into our space. We know we’ve done our job well when our customers associate walking into Candylicious with words such as “nostalgia”. Studio EM have translated our vision and through the redesign of Candylicious and assisted us in taking our physical retail store to the next level and transformed it into a destination rather than just another candy store.” Mouza Mohamed Alabbar, CEO Alabbar Enterprises