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Artful design to woo young shoppers

A fusion of fashion, art and architecture is the strategy to pull young shoppers back to department stores. And Lane Crawford aims to achieve exactly that with the opening of its store at Two IFC today, according to president and managing director Jennifer Woo.

Creating a 'hybrid' store catering to modern young shoppers was the new direction for traditional department stores, she said.

The recent economic revival had given the company confidence in investing $200 million on the new premises and closing the Queen's Road Central store.

'We believe Hong Kong has a positive future. And as a gateway to China, this is the store model we'll roll forward to the mainland,' she said.

Glenn Pushelberg of Yabu Pushelberg, the firm that designed the interior, said luring the young was a global trend.

'Like Barneys (New York), for example, now caters to younger and trendier people. Fine fashion and artistic quality should walk hand in hand,' he said. 'What do people really want today? They don't just want products. They want the experience and services.'

Customers will find the first hotel-standard concierge at the store. Services include restaurant booking and advice from personal stylists. Shoppers can also consult the fashion director.

Pushelberg, whose firm also worked with New York luxury retailer Bergdorf Goodman, said he had to aim high when designing the new Lane Crawford.

'Now customers are more sophisticated and they travel a lot. And from the internet you know everything. I need to make a store that's better than Barneys,' he said.

Planning began in March, said Ms Woo, adding that with the completion of the Four Seasons Hotel, the IFC Mall would become the 'new Central'.

While bringing in previously unavailable brands to the IFC store such as Vera Wang perfume, the 82,000-square-foot shop exhibits fine art installations by Japanese artist Hirotoshi Sawada and Dennis Lin from Canada.

Hong Kong art company D'Art also contributed to the painting of the walls, which are finished in such non-traditional materials as stone, fabric, metal and glass.

Adding to the products carried at most Lane Crawford stores are gadgets, music CDs and books on fashion, art and design. A cafe with a harbour view and a martini bar providing wireless internet connection are also new.

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