Rodney Fitch’s Campona precinct plans get the ok

Retail developer Campona has this week approved Rodney Fitch & Co-designed concepts for a radical overhaul of branding, wayfinding and circulation at its premium-end shopping centre in Budapest.

Retail developer Campona has this week approved Rodney Fitch & Co-designed concepts for a radical overhaul of branding, wayfinding and circulation at its premium-end shopping centre in Budapest.

The project is part a move to improve footfall and retail mix at the 60 000m2 mixed-use venue. The centre houses retailers like Debenhams, and entertainment and sporting facilities including a cinema complex, bars, aquarium and bowling alley. It is Budapest’s biggest retail development.

The combination of declining footfall at the centre and ‘lots of empty retail units’ prompted the company to evaluate its strategy, according to Rodney Fitch & Co creative director Sean O’Mara, who worked on the project with senior associate Alan Thompson.

O’Mara says the consultancy was briefed to evaluate the retail mix, deliver a strategy for improving circulation both internally and externally, clarify signage and wayfinding and re-assess the centre’s branding.

‘We’ve looked at the positioning of stores within the centre and at the entrances. Currently, entrances don’t encourage footfall because consumers can bypass areas of the centre,’ says O’Mara.

The consultancy’s proposals include a repositioning of entrance points and the creation of three ‘districts’ or sub-brands – entertainment, lifestyle and sport – to add clarity to the centre’s offer for prospective tenants as well as consumers.

‘We started by looking at the branding and signage led on from that. We’ve created the three sub-brands with colour-coding for each. Signage is consistent throughout the centre in terms of shapes and forms, but visual style changes to help with clarity,’ explains O’Mara.

Exterior graphics and landscaping will also be introduced to ‘make the building more vocal’ in terms of its branding, he adds.

Rodney Fitch & Co was appointed in June following a three-way pitch. A staged implementation is expected to begin from next month.

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