Wedgwood fired up by its flagship

Wedgwood, the classic English ceramics brand, will unveil its retail model for contemporary ‘inspired living’ in October, when its London flagship store reopens with interiors by Hosker Moore Kent Melia.

The project comes at a time when Waterford Wedgwood – the company behind the brand – is facing financial difficulties and stalling consumer demand (DW 19 June).

Wedgwood creative director Jill Sharrock says the brand has been ‘moving towards the redevelopment of [its] largest London store’ for ‘the past couple of years’. She acknowledges the importance of the retail offer to a brand that is largely known by its products.

‘How can we reposition [our image] without having one prime, branded flagship that illustrates the brand?’ she says. ‘[The proposition involves] each consumer finding their own personality through the Wedgwood brand.’

The 600m2 Regent Street outlet closed for refurbishment last week and the brief is based around the ‘zoning’ of areas. HMKM director Peter Kent says the scheme will shift away from ‘dated’ associations with formal dining to contemporary settings that espouse ‘relaxed entertaining at home’.

While Wedgwood has modernised its range, ‘the display of the product hadn’t really moved on’, Kent adds. The aim is to sell the brand ‘with a certain amount of abundance’ and present the products in ‘completely different contexts’ that reflect current trends.

Sharrock says the two main audiences for the store will be ‘young, city consumers’ and Japanese tourists, with the flagship design work being ‘echoed’ in Wedgwood’s Japanese outlets.

FutureBrand is still working on Wedgwood’s brand applications and refining its ‘strategic direction’, Sharrock adds.