FEATURES: RETAIL
A landmark vision
More than 120 FS3 ceiling speakers and subwoofers have been installed at the Dubai Mall outlet
The newest Centrepoint outlet has just opened in Dubai Mall
A long-term relationship between Visiontech Systems International and the Landmark Group has kept the company busy throughout the pandemic PART OF THE LANDMARK GROUP OF RETAIL OUTLETS, retail giant Centrepoint established a shopping concept whereby its Babyshop, Splash, ShoeMart and Lifestyle brands are all combined under a single roof within a family-friendly and stimulating environment. Clearly this has been a successful formula for the group, as the chain has quickly spread out from its original location in Kuwait to boast 140 stores throughout the Middle East, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Lebanon. This comes as the result of a DH1 billion investment since 2014 to open new outlets and hire more than 10,000 staff throughout the region. But that expansion was not without its teething problems. Unhappy with the quality of audio playback within many of those existing outlets, the Landmark management brought Dubai-based systems integrator Visiontech Systems International LLC on board back in 2018 to assess the problems at some of the worst affected sites, and devise replacement solutions capable of delivering the stimulating ambiance the brand promises. “We are delighted to be part of Landmark Group, underlining our expertise in turnkey solutions,” explains Aliasgar Dohadwala, CEO of Visiontech. “With our extensive experience and through our in-house team of subject experts, we could ensure everything went ahead perfectly.” Visiontech’s AV design and project lead, Arpit Bhatnagar, recalls the issues faced by the retail giant at the time. “The client had been experiencing very uneven sound in their stores – in some places the music was very loud and in others it could hardly be heard. Overall, it was muddy because of the poor system design. Furthermore, if the staff turned up the volume then the whole system would fall over. Not only had the wrong speakers for this application been chosen, but the way in which the solution was designed was far from optimal.” Visiontech was immediately put to task assessing the current audio systems at the Centrepoint outlet in Juffair Mall, Bahrain, one of the chain’s flagship outlets at nearly 10,000m2. Sensing that a successful completion would likely also result in the systems integrator being awarded the upgrade contract for all of the retailer’s Centrepoint outlets, the team set about conducting a thorough audio analysis of the shop floor using Bose Modeler software, considering all of the factors that may affect the final audio output. This included assessing each space to determine the occupancy of the stores, the type of clientele and therefore
Splash at Centrepoint Dubai Mall
playback material, as well as the reflectivity of the surface and ceiling materials, explains Bhatnagar. “It was very indepth. This is something that we do properly, ensuring higher SPL is achieved with uniform sound dispersion and good intelligibility.” Following the results of the analysis, Visiontech devised a new audio solution drawing heavily on Bose’s FS3 series of surface-mount, pendant and ceiling speakers. According to Bhatnagar, the full-range FS3 cabinets are more than capable of providing the necessary output and audio quality throughout the spacious Centrepoint shop floors, but have also been augmented with FS3 ceiling subwoofers for those situations where the music levels are increased. JBL Professional Control24CT and Control24Ct Micro fullrange ceiling speakers have been integrated into the back of house areas. Ensuring loudspeakers receive optimised EQ, all Bose speakers are powered via Bose PowerMatch amplifiers, whereas the JBL cabinets draw power from JBL Commercial amplifiers. Paging capabilities, zoning and source selection are provided via Audac MTX88 eight-zone audio matrixes together with MPX88 paging microphones for staff.
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The spacious stores were thoroughly analysed with Bose Modeler prior to the fit-outs
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18/12/2020 14:55