The shops that give us a reason not to buy online

With the massive increase of online shopping traditional bricks and mortar retailers are having to work harder to convince people to come to the store, which means coming up with some impressive and unique ideas. 

From South Korean cameras to Berlin concept stores here are some of the coolest and unique retail spaces around the globe.

South Korea

Photo: Dreamy Camera Cafe

South Korea’s Dreamy Camera Cafe is a hipster’s fantasy come true. The cafe, which opened in 2013, is a two-storey replica of a vintage twin-lens Rolleiflex camera that looks out through the lens windows onto the country-side. The interior features the owner’s vintage camera collection on display, while the tables include coloured pencils, a menu inside a photo album and a film roll-style paper towel dispenser.

Barcelona

Photo: Pave.

Here’s one for the cycling heads – Pave bike store in Barcelona. The store was opened in 2011 and with high-end bikes and cycling gear displayed on the walls in cages, it seems more museum than shop. Pave aims to be unlike your average bike shop, it has a lounge where customers can watch bike races on TV, a lounge area with magazines where they can have coffee and a snack, and showers they can use after riding.

Milan

If we’re talking about shopping it would be wrong to skip past Milan. Designed in 1860 and built between 1865 and 1877, the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele, Milano is arguably the birth of the modern shopping centre and is considered one of the grandest malls in the world. The Galleria takes up two covered streets of stores and restaurants joined by an elaborate glass-domed roof with painted frescoes.

Melbourne

Photo: A friend of mine

Melbourne’s Lune Croissanterie is focused on just one thing: croissants. According to the owners the store’s aim is for customers to be stepped through the process of ordering and purchasing as if through a religious observance. The Croissanterie has earned several big accolades recently including a write up in The New York Times as having the world’s best croissants, and winning ‘best retail design’ at the annual Eat Drink Design awards.

Berlin

Photo: LNFA.

LNFA -Live Networking for Fashion & Art- is a concept store within an avant garde concept mall in uber cool West Berlin. The large store is composed of 16 modular wooden boxes that serve as pop-up spaces for local artists and designers. Because LNFA is also a PR company, the store is used as an events space and with a rooftop terrace we can imagine the cool and exclusive vibe.

New York

Photo: Ralph Lauren.

Ralph Lauren’s New York flagship store has become a destination not just for fashionistas, but historians and interior design enthusiasts as well. The enormous Rhinelander Mansion was completed in 1898 and Ralph Lauren took over the lease in 1983, spending more than $15 million to restore the building. The mansion now has four floors of Ralph Lauren apparel and is filled with rare art and furniture collections to really enhance the experience of luxury.