Brief 1 Brands/Youth culture

I had a trip to Meadowhall today with my sons Oli and Isaac shopping for holiday clothes.  Oli preferred to spend his whole budget (£50) on one pair of shorts, a t shirt and flip flops from Hollister.(The shorts had 25% off as well!)  Much to Oliver's embarrassment I took some photos of Hollister as I do think its visual image is quite unique.

The whole brand is built on Californian/US surfer chic.  There are images of beaches, suntanned beautiful bikini clad people.The American flag features but also the dark spaces lit by elaborate chandeliers and filled with leather chairs and sofas really creates a unique luxury shopping 'experience'.  The store is very busy and this feeling is heightened by the heavily stocked shelves and rails which are very close together.

On a different end of the age spectrum I was immediately struck by the Kuoni shop in Meadowhall.  Not your typical Travel Agent!  Definitely appealing to create a luxury lifestyle feel to appeal to a discerning customer.  It almost has created a contemporary 'lounge' space perhaps hooking into the concept that a lot of people are buying their holidays from the comfort of their own home.