China’s Honor Life Store Shows How Retail Design Acts as a Cultural and Brand Lens

Just as in the rest of the world, the optimal retail experience in China is a societal lens on what is important to people and how cultural values are changing. As stores need to rapidly adapt to changing consumer moods, so too do the designs that activate their experiences, while still fulfilling the unique and specific needs of each brand.

Here in China, the recently completed Honor Life Store, located on a historic pedestrian street in Taiyuan, encapsulates this idea of retail design as a cultural and brand lens. A collaborative effort between Honor (the largest smartphone brand in China by sales volume) and Gensler, this immersive, experiential retail format is designed to showcase the possibilities that Honor’s technology enables.

Be Authentic: Spaces as an Extension of Brand Values

Consumers today are highly specific on the brands they choose to purchase from, especially in goods that are highly visible to others, such as consumer technology, fashion, and automotives. Brands selling these products need to express their values of sustainability, social consciousness, and forward-thinking in an all-encompassing way. Whether this is in the way a brand approaches a fleet strategy or a specific retail space, the message must resonate with the consumer in a clear and self-evident manner.

In the Honor Life Store, this is expressed through a minimal material palette that highlights product features while disguising the rich and deep technology that enhances the space. Tech innovation, product design, and service are brought to the forefront, while frivolous details are abandoned in favor of a human-centered approach; this is all in clear alignment with the values that Honor holds as integral to maintaining a prominent position in the China market.

Building Consumer Trust: Leave It All Bare

Gensler and Honor collaborated to design a space fully dedicated to building consumer trust. In today’s market, brands need to be able to deliver on what they promise. Part of this is achieved in transparency of service: allowing consumers to see the inner workings of a brand, allowing them to build a sense of loyalty and trust, and breeding a desire to come back again and again. This store achieved this by bringing the service center on the second-floor front and center. By letting consumers see every step of the process, customers can see that Honor stands by its values of quality service and quality products.