Visual Merchandising and Retail Design – July 2019

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PN RAO’S HYDERABAD STORE: A ROYAL

BLEND OF TRADITION & LUXURY

Spread across 3,500 sqft area, the objective of the store design was to make the space welcoming for all class of

people and to add the charming royal flavours of Hyderabad to the store.

HYDERABAD

L

eading men’s apparel retailer PN Rao

began its journey in 1923 in a small

store on MG Road, Bangalore, with the

late Pishe Narayan Rao, designing garments

for officers and ladies of the erstwhile British

Empire in the cantonment area. Today the

brand has made an indelible mark in the

market with seven stores spread across

Bangalore and Chennai, having built a

reputation for suiting up the cities’ elite.

The brand has recently opened its doors

in the City of Nawabs - Hyderabad. Spread

across 3,500 sqft area, the store brings

the traditional Hyderabadi culture under

the spotlight. Located at the upmarket

Banjara Hills, the store followed the design

objective of making the space welcoming

for all classes of people while highlighting

the charming royal flavours of the city.

Naveen Pishe, Partner, PN Rao, said, “We are

a building relationship company and that’s

how we are positioning the new store. So,

our focus is on understanding the customer

requirement and catering to their needs.”

Naveen Pishe, Partner, PN Rao

We wanted a store that would invite

everybody and where once the customer

walked in, he would feel privileged. With

this new store we are positioning PN Rao

as an affordable luxury brand. Plus, we

have added the Hyderabadi royal flavours

into the design. We wanted to get the

regionality into the store perspective and

align the space in that direction.

Designed by Bangalore-based Viridis

Architecture, the store has been built at a

cost of about Rs 4,500 per sq ft. The new

store is segregated into four parts – the first

is the suits section, followed by the ethnic

section, the third is the shirts and trousers

section, and the fourth is the fabric section.

The entire store has a wooden look, giving a

traditional and warm feel to the store. It also

has dual flooring of vitrified tile and wood

laminate, which is extended to all the four

section of the store, thus achieving a good

blend of the traditional and modern look.

Sunil Kumar, Director, Viridis Architecture,

said, “The main concept was also to identify

the four sections correctly and segregate

them, while at the same time letting the

space have an open feel, so that customers

July 2019