Daniel Wellington is a fashion focused Swedish watch company founded in 2011. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, the company has different networks in over 25 countries. The watch brand has gained much of its success through its digital strategy in social media, and was named the fastest growing company in Europe in February 2017. The company is now focused on expanding the brand in the United States. In order to do so, the company decided to establish a presence in the heart of New York City by opening a global flagship store in the iconic Landmarked Rockefeller Center.

Located in Midtown Manhattan at 610 Fifth Avenue among many neighboring fashion brands, Daniel Wellington’s new store is strategically situated to attract the heavy Times Square foot traffic of tourists and local shoppers. TPG’s team worked alongside Daniel Wellington’s design architect from Sweden to execute the new store concept. The fashion brand is known for their refined and minimalist watches with interchangeable straps, therefore, the NYC flagship store needed to reflect this same brand aesthetic. The store needed to be minimalistic in design as to not overcrowd the small space, while simultaneously allowing their merchandise to pop. Due to the dark navy walls, the mirrored and marbled surfaces help the store’s product to stand out. The mirrored wall vitrines also help to make the space feel deeper.

The primary design challenges for the project team were complying with the landlord and Landmark requirements, and creating a welcoming and comfortable retail environment in such a small space. The design team needed to ensure a comfortable flow around the store’s furniture and fixtures. Custom constructed niches with glass vitrine cabinets were incorporated along the store’s perimeter to display the watches, while the center of the store features a velvet bench with watch podiums built in.