Two new Olio Carli stores with the retail concept designed by Studio FaseModus in line with the company's philosophy, which puts the consumer at the center of attention, to respond to new commercial and hospitality needs, integrating the peculiarities of a store with those of domestic life.
At the end of April a new store was opened in Bergamo, a presence that stands out in the city, located on the corner with an entrance from via XX Settembre, the beating heart of Bergamo's commercial life. The large arched window that signals the double height of the store (organized on two floors, the upper one reserved for offices), announces with the many products on display the all-round experiential context, which combines the professionalism and quality of the company, with the warm atmosphere of a family lunch. The same concepts that are found in the store in Padua.
At the heart of the experience, to make it even more unique, a series of suggestions deeply rooted in the collective imagination of Italy and beyond, scenes of relaxed conviviality, of food excellences of the Mediterranean diet, olive oil first and foremost. The latter is configured as a product of excellence to which the visitor can best approach also through the use of taps that allow tasting, autonomous or guided, and therefore a conscious choice of the preferred oil.
If the model inaugurated in 2010 in the heart of the historic Imperia plant designed by Robilant Associati included an environment divided into thematic areas, the new project by Studio FaseModus for Fratelli Carli includes the “table” element in the center, so much so that it can be found in the windows, on the video wall, up to the large table inside the store, on which the proposals of the month, books and furnishing accessories are presented. They are the so-called “experiential table” and “promo table” that become the protagonists and that suggest, entice and inform customers in the best way with the typical hospitality of the Carli family.
“When developing the project, we thought about how important it was to communicate the brand values and product quality to customers, giving them a unique experience that would remain in their memory even after the visit to the store,” explains architect Stefano Cellerino of FaseModus.
Essential formulas such as mise en place, ideas on serving a good aperitif, Fratelli Carli connoisseur recipes are combined with accurate visual interventions on the windows and visual suggestions provided by the hot spots and smart tables placed inside the spaces, so as to establish a trait d'union between the offer of traditional products and an innovative, emotional, customer-centered communication. The furnishings tell and make immediate the concepts of quality, everyday life and specialty of Carli products.
The window displays, with stools, rugs and tables laden with products, recall the table at home and anticipate the buyer's experience inside the store with the additional support of videos transmitted on totems. Modular and flexible systems facilitate the perception of the environments and facilitate the transformation of the displays according to the different periods of the year.
Light is also a fundamental tool within the store – together with the visual – to enhance the product and to create atmospheres capable of exciting and bringing the public closer to the brand.
The guideline followed in the development of the project was that of sustainability, a theme that has seen the Fratelli Carli company strongly committed for many years and on which this project takes shape and meaning, through the replacement of traditional materials with eco-sustainable materials, in line with the most innovative developments in green building.
A strategic choice, which began with the opening of the Emporiums in Alba, Vicenza and Treviso and was gradually applied to all the emporiums, with a strong focus on reducing the environmental impact of the stores. The interventions, specifically, involved the use of silicate paints that allow a 38% reduction in CO2 emissions and a 97% reduction in water consumption compared to a traditional water-based paint, for the flooring of stoneware tiles with 30% recycled material in the mix, of gypsum-fibre sheets made solely of gypsum and recycled cellulose fibres and of furnishing materials for which wood and iron are preferred, but also price tags in biodegradable plastic and shopping bags produced with a paste of olive stone powder, cellulose and water, completely recyclable, compostable and degradable.
“We can say that ours was a real specific consultancy in this sense, supported by a specialized studio. The project was deepened by research on the parameters of environmental improvement, starting from the general values of each individual material, to arrive at the actual values calculated for the square footage of the stores, based on the quantities used in the various locations where the new stores come to life.
The analysis focused on the comparison between materials with the same use but different characteristics, taking into consideration different parameters: the use of energy from renewable sources, overall CO2 emissions, the acidification potential of the soil and water and the consumption of water resources”, continues Stefano Cellerino.
The outcome of the study confirmed the reduction of the environmental impact associated with the choice of eco-friendly materials in terms of reduction of emissions and consumption of resources and highlighted some further areas of improvement, which will guide the company's future actions towards an ever-increasing use of eco-sustainable materials.
