Crabtree Hall looks down under

Retail design group Crabtree Hall/Plan Créatif is in talks with 50-strong Melbourne graphics consultancy FHA Image Design, regarding an alliance in Australia.

Crabtree Hall/Plan Créatif joint managing director David Mackay says: “We have been putting out feelers in the Australian market for a while. We haven’t finalised anything [with FHA] yet but we have exchanged information and have been talking for some time.”

Mackay is aiming for a similar tie-up to that with Paris sister company Plan Créatif, which began 10 years ago.

“Crabtree Hall/Plan Créatif has developed over ten years from an initial joint project. In the case of Australia it is now a question of finding the right, mutually useful, project,” says Mackay.

FHA, which designed the logo for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, is the first Australian group which Crabtree Hall/ Plan Créatif has approached.

“It was recommended to us as a possible affiliate. We are working together to see how we can move the process forward and there would appear to be a good cultural fit between us. FHA is very strong in graphics, while we have good retail expertise. There’s a slice of the cake for everybody,” says Mackay.

“Despite the economic crisis in Australia, we believe there are plenty of openings in the long term for retail in Australia and even more so in other parts of the Pacific Rim. Also, we have worked in Australia before so we have a good understanding of the retail scene,” he adds.

FHA is currently rebranding and renaming Australia’s branch of ICI which the conglomerate recently sold off.