EAT. DRINK. SLEEP
Design & Refit Spotlight on:
July 2018
The Battersea General Store What was the design thinking?
It has been one year since the first and largest retail unit in the prestigious Battersea Circus West Village development opened it’s doors to the public. The Battersea General Store has been a renowned success on a local, national and international scale. The unique store has been highly acclaimed for its design and for the array of international food, wine and spirits on offer. The 6,500 square foot General Store offers local craft produce, local delivery for residents, and the retailer stocks a multitude of items that are not available across London, let alone anywhere in the UK. The shelves, wine units and the deli are all carefully merchandised with with delicacies, sweets and savoury items and variety of wines, spirits and vodkas from France, Japanese whiskies and a selection of teas from around the world. With such a large retail space and with a key focus on making the world local, the design followed suit. To mark the opening of the store, the owner Raj Bathia, shared his vision for the service
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saying, “We are your global local store. We are able to supply one of the widest ranges of products to be found in the capital, coupled with friendly local service. You can come in for a barista coffee, do your shopping here or have it delivered. Whether you want a freshly made sandwich from our continental deli, a fine bottle of wine or simply your weekly food shop, we have everything you need.” For such a prestigious retail setting catering for the local and global world,
the design brief for the General Store had to be closely considered and developed to reflect the history, the future vision and to compliment the owner’s ethos. With a feel of modern London under its skin how would each piece come together to create and combine the old and new? From point of view of the senior project manager and design lead, Rohit Raval, of Rapeed Design everything had to have a place, a past and a reason. The glazed tile bricks throughout the store internally