How do you make a multi-level store stand out in the heart of New York City’s retail district? That’s the challenge we faced when Abercrombie & Fitch commissioned us to develop millwork for its flagship 5th Avenue location. Here’s the story of how we helped the clothing giant revitalize its brand by leveraging the power and beauty of wood.
How Woodworking Advanced the Abercrombie & Fitch Brand
When Abercrombie & Fitch was getting ready to move its existing 5th Avenue flagship a few blocks down, its team saw an opportunity to revitalize its presence on one of the busiest streets in the city. However, this opportunity wasn’t without its obstacles. For example, the previous location’s storefront wrapped around the corner of 56th and 5th, which gave it an inherently striking visual appeal. The new location, sandwiched between other stores, required some in-depth design vision to maximize.
We’ve worked with Abercrombie & Fitch for years, so we knew that wood has always been central to its branding. We wanted to take that to the next level with this location by strategically using wood to make this new flagship as eye-catching as possible. To do that, we worked with the Abercrombie design and architecture teams to create a store plan that not only aligned with the company’s brand but also enriched it.
One of the most important factors was to nail the storefront. The stretch of 5th Avenue on which the store is located (between 52nd and 53rd streets) is striking for many reasons, but there are hardly any wood details or accents on any of the storefronts. We took full advantage of this by crafting a striking series of wood slats that immediately draws the eye with its unique visual pop.
For the interior, we took a similar approach to create an aesthetically memorable and impactful customer experience. To start with, we extended the wood slat motif throughout the store for brand consistency. Next, we tackled the custom wood retail displays by carefully curating luxurious woods that met Abercrombie’s high standards. We used a mixture of cool, warm, and black woods to create the kind of refined, classy atmosphere the company is known for. Our team took special care to make sure the wooden retail displays looked fantastic but didn’t draw attention away from the merchandise.
It was important for us to balance Abercrombie & Fitch’s heritage as an elite outdoor retailer with its status as one of the foremost clothing brands around today. Mock Woodworking experts collaborated closely with Abercrombie’s store designers to
combine our elegant retail woodworking with sconced columns, slate detail and ornate chandeliers.
Since its opening in July 2023, the new 5th Avenue flagship has delighted countless customers, and it continues to represent the ongoing evolution of the Abercrombie brand.
Elevate Your Next Project With Top-Notch Retail Millwork
Our team at Mock Woodworking takes pride in offering custom retail displays to businesses of all shapes and sizes. We’d love to talk about how we can amplify your retail presence with our custom millwork. Interested? Contact us to tell us more about your project.