“How should the brick-and-mortar shops look like in this new era?”

A new book on the topic of ‘shop’ published by Magazine B

<THE SHOP>

Title | <THE SHOP>
Date of Publication | March 30, 2022   Pages | 287   Size | 170x240mm   Price | 23 USD

Publisher | B Media Company Category | Magazine > Living / Lifestyle

ISBN   979-11-6036-147-6

■ About the Publisher

Amid the waves of numerous brands sweeping the globe, B shares its perspective on well-balanced brands and uses print media to demonstrate the timeless values of individual brands. Defining a well- balanced brand by four standards—beauty, practicality, price,

and philosophy—B offers unique insights and in-depth analysis of one

well- balanced brand in one issue.

■ About the Book

Some might wonder why we chose to highlight brick-and-mortar shops amid our

new normal. Since the onset of the pandemic, we’ve experienced firsthand the wonderful world of e-commerce. However, our restricted lifestyles have also helped

us realize what kind of person we are, and subsequently, what gives us strength to keep going. For example, some people get energy from the ambience of a restaurant or its bustling environment more than the food. And some people enjoy the process of discovering new things in a brick-and-mortar shop more than the actual products. It doesn’t matter how great e-commerce services or algorithms get—these experiences will be forever nonpareil.

The diverse shops we are featuring here in The Shop were selected for their emphasis on precisely this kind of experience. We hope to answer the question of “Why do we need physical stores in this age?” with unique and compelling reasons from each shop that we introduce. Interestingly, the shops we highlighted in cities like London, Tokyo, Berlin, and Seoul share a common preoccupation with their spaces and how to fill them. These shops focus on how to cultivate both the owner-to-customer and customer-to-customer relationships, how to accept the anxiety of these times with grace and adaptability, and how to utilize space as a medium for sensory experiences.

Such examples are spread across the globe: Mo-no-ha, a Seoul-based commercial

space in search of Korea’s traditional aesthetics; Muachi, an introduction to moon jars and vintage furniture from around the world, along with many daily items; Blue Mountain School, a London-based fashion select shop also operating a restaurant and gallery; and Liberia, a bookstore that categorize books by unique keywords such as time and space, utopia, and identity. Many brick-and-mortar shops deliberately choose the neighborhoods where they will set up and establish their identities there. To say that these shops become the creative forerunners of any industry doesn’t seem far off the mark

While shops featured in The Shop differ in sizes and industries, they work in the same way that they continue to verify the values they pursue and transfer their business roadmap in the physical space. The book describes how Freitag, Aesop, and Muji have demonstrated their philosophies and future strategies through physical spaces. Gildas Loaëc, founder of Maison Kitsune, and Alasdair Fenning, head of retail for Rapha Asia-Pacific at Rapha, share their ideas and thoughts through interviews with The Shop.

What our correspondents and editors discovered at each different shop encourages us to visualize what makes us feel good. Perusing items that the owners curated with care, sharing the thrill that other shoppers experience while searching for that special something, holding an item in the hand and feeling its weight but still being indecisive on whether to buy it or not. Perhaps we go to shops for the innumerable micro-experiences and activations that can only happen in these physical spaces. Optimistic that brick-and-mortar shops around the world will triumph over these hard times and offer even richer interactions in the future, we invite you to The Shop in search of hopeful clues.

■ Preface :   A conversation between Magazine B’s Editor-in-Chief Eunsung Park and publisher Suyong Joh

Q. The Home posits that the home is closely related to the existential question of “Why are we alive?” Considering this, what do you think shops add to our lives?.

A. Home is where you realize who you and your family are, but shops are born out of the need to know other people. In a way, the desire to stay true to yourself and the desire to understand others are parallel issues that shape society. We cannot visit the homes or private spaces of others freely, so we visit public places like shops to experience the spaces of others more naturally. An important function of commercial spaces is letting people engage with someone else’s space, and by doing so, momentarily see into their world.

- Suyong Joh (Preface / p.8)

Q. Then, are the standards to judge which shops and commercial spaces are good related to that?

A. When we experience a good brand, we treat it like a person with unique qualities and character. Likewise, I think it’s ideal for a commercial space to say something about the owner. For example, a restaurant should feel like someone’s dining room, and a cloth- ing or lifestyle shop should feel like someone’s personal dressing room or living room. I’m not saying that commercial spaces need to evoke a residential feel. But it’s true that we are instinctively drawn to spaces with this kind of ambiance. Recall some warm memories of your favorite shops. It’s probable that they felt intimate and homelike in one way or another. Now imagine that all the shops introduced in this issue are spaces where other people live. They become invariably more interesting.

| CONTENTS |

1. SPECIFIC STORIES

: In a time when clothing shops slash restaurants or bookstores slash lifestyle shops are mushrooming, multifunctional shops are no longer the answer alone. A hybrid shop that stands out from other multicomplexes focuses on contextual stories—either about the space itself or what’s in it. Crossing genres and boundaries, hybrid shops create depth with these stories, which range from topics that the owner finds interesting to attachment and philosophies on consumption.

p16 A novel consumption experience for different schools of thought

Blue Mountain School

p30 A creative space that transcends genres

Skwat

p42 A space for media and culture

Brain Dead Studios

p54 And more

Alex Eagle Studio

Andreas Murkudis

Analog

In a Station

Casica

Unto This Last

Freshservice Headquarters

Uhjjuhdah Promenade

Duffel Centre

2. THE INTERPLAY

: Shops that suggest good lifestyles aim to help people lead healthier lives by connecting producers, sellers, and consumers. To this end, grocery stores are evolving into spaces where customers can imagine farmers and the fields and feel them, and lifestyle shops are now places where the value of items can thrive. Some grocery stores even started their own vegetable gardens, and some lifestyle shops displayed their products like art pieces. They not only convey the sincerity of and stories about the producers but also implore us to mull over the value of a good life.

p76 A place that represents the life of nature

Eatrip Soil

p88 Emptiness covered with Korean beauty

Mo-No-Ha Hannam

p100 And more

Gather

Objects of Use

Markthalle Neun

Leafmania

60 Seconds Lounge

Ready to Wellness

Moon Juice

Older Brother

3. PERSONAL TASTE

: The well-curated collection of a shop that is based on the owner’s personal taste amounts to an archive that communicates their philosophy, leading consumers to feel as if they are inside the heads of the owner as they wade through the layers of their unique and distinctive universe. Visitors to shops are typically responsive to the owner’s style because pieces are arbitrarily arranged. An example of this is how books may be arranged by idiosyncratic themes or mood, or clothing may be categorized by a certain color standard. This might explain why the intimate bond grows between the owner and their clientele. It’s like extremely personal spaces serve as a friendly forum for public communication.

p120 A bookstore for new discoveries and serendipity

Libreria

p132 A concept store that uplifts the nomadic lifestyle

Darklands

p144 And more

Persephone Books

Hop Burns & Black

Present And Correct

Paper & Tea

Hardwax

Garde

Broome St. General Store

Qusamura Tokyo

Alkov

Sounds Good!

Block Shop

4. SPIRIT OF THE TIMES

: Not all manufacturers and boutiques become successful even if they are a time-honored shop with exquisite craftsmanship. These businesses must strive to reflect the zeitgeist while cherishing longstanding practices and regional characteristics—for example, making spirits from fallen leaves to capture the notes of autumn foliage, selling furniture and household goods from different periods and regions in the same space, and applying bold colors and patterns on handmade pottery—to keep and communicate a distinct identity. Only a local brand that continuously innovates will prove the value of tradition and inject the future brand scene with renewed creative energy.

p170 Cultural heritage of modern Korea

Muachi

p182 Spirits created through innovation and professional artisanship

Deutsche Spirituosen Manufaktur

p194 An all-in-one production to sales platform

Heath Ceramics

p206 And more

Keit

Kühn Keramik

RTH Shop

Eath Library

The Elder Statesman

Hakujitsu

Kkotssul

5. BRAND

: Brick-and-mortar shops are multifaceted entities for their brands: they embody the brand philosophy and aesthetics, they are labs where innovation is fostered, and they become a touchpoint through which the brand can reach its customers. Most brands that B has introduced also use retail stores as a strategic outpost. The following brands are involved in different industries on a different scale, but they have one thing in common, which is that they constantly verify their objectives through their physical stores and transplant their own roadmap into these spaces.

Freitag p224 | Rapha p228 | Aēsop p230 | Maison Kitsuné p234 | Monocle p236

Vans p238 | Ikea p242 | Muji p244 | And more p246

6. STORY

Tendency p254

Interview: Gildas Loaëc p260 | Alasdair Fenning p263

Jiho Sohn p266 | Taijip Kim, Chris van Duijn p270

Essay p273 | My Favorite p278