R Design and Saint Clair Projects go to work on Club Med package

Club Med, the French-owned holiday operator, is preparing to open its first UK store in London’s Covent Garden as part of a two-year strategy to position the brand as more ‘upmarket’.

The 140m2 shop in Henrietta Street will showcase the Club Med holiday offer, which provides interactive facilities that allow customers to take virtual tours of Club Med Holiday Villages.

R Design is creating the retail graphics and Saint Clair Projects is developing the retail concept. They were both appointed last year, and the shop is due to open next month.

The interiors will feature natural materials, such as stone and wood, and the lighting will be designed to evoke holiday locations, says Steve St Clair, director at Saint Clair Projects.

‘We will create a sophisticated atmosphere that will reflect our global offer,’ says Chris Woodbridge Cox, managing director at Club Med UK and Ireland.

Club Med has shops throughout Europe, but the Covent Garden site is the company’s first UK venture. Cox says the retail concept is different to the European model. ‘We really went off on our own ideas here,’ he says.