Three years ago Zurich-based lifestyle brand SEVENFRIDAY opened it’s first Space - a place where people could interact with friends, take some food, drinks and relax. Fast-forward to 2019 and the opening of their 25th Space in Shanghai.
For those in the dark, SEVENFRIDAY sell unique watches - predominately - as well as a growing eyewear offering, bracelets and limited edition apparel, but that isn’t the driving force behind the brand - people are.
A refreshing twist on traditional ‘watch’ industry etiquette, SEVENFRIDAY is about living life the best way we can - a mantra to strive toward. This approach motivated the team to look at Spaces where like-minded people could walk into that world and experience a vibrancy that is new.
“Show Me Don’t Tell Me, is our brand tagline,” says owner Dan Niederer “we want people to feel energised by us and to interact, so the idea for the Spaces started there,” he adds.
Opening their first Space in Jakarta, Indonesia, back in 2016, SEVENFRIDAY set the tone for the emergence of other Spaces, including Hong Kong, Mumbai, Abu Dhabi, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Tapai, Mexico City and of course Zurich among others.
Collaborating with local street artists and genres for its design aesthetic and working with local musicians/DJs as well as food and drink specialists for event evenings and launches has been commonplace and a mechanism to attract a growing loyal customer base and the simply curious.
“The importance here is that we are not showing products in people’s faces. The retail element is of course important, but very subtle and incidental to our Space concept and design,” says Niederer “We want people from all cultures to connect and exchange and to feel comfortable - to not feel scrutinised. The Spaces are for people to come together to spend quality time with friends and family ”
With interior architecture and design that hints toward the product, capturing an organic, energised pulse for the brand, SEVENFRIDAY joined forces with award-winning London Design Agency BusbyWebb to refine the look for their latest offerings, with Shanghai’s opening on September 25 being a major marker in that process.
James Coates, Interiors Director at BusbyWebb said: "We developed the idea around seeing the inner-working within the Space, as we do with the watches, to create a retail experience. We did this by developing the current offer and layering textures, exposing the skeletons of the current architecture to a refined ‘industrial feel’, but still in-keeping with the SEVENFRIDAY brand. “The environment had to be different with a more multi-functional social Space for the customer, so you can immerse yourself with the brand or hang out with a coffee, beer or food,” he adds.
With further ‘Spaces’ well on their way and in the pipeline, customers will be treated to numerous events and activations within the environments - a must visit should you and your friends/colleagues be close by.
