LIGHTS ON FOR THE WORLD’S LARGEST FOOTBALL STORE

When a leading e-commerce football retailer, Ultra Football, wanted to open the world’s largest football concept store in Alexandria, NSW, you knew the experience for the consumer had to be unlike anything else. Ultra Football is the new destination store in Australia for the devoted football fan, stocking the latest range of premium soccer and football boots, clothing, balls, performance apparel and equipment.

In order to bring the passion, excitement and energy into the retail space, Ultra Football wanted to create an immersive retail experience to simultaneously offer the best collection of merchandise, while allowing consumers to interact with the Ultra Football brand. This was achieved through key activation touch points including a FIFA Grade Football field/cage, sports play station zone, apparel customisation lab and an in-storeafé and restaurant.

Combining these environments was integral in developing a shopping experience that shows innovation and excites today’s consumers who seek more engagement from brands.

LPA joined forces with PM Electrical, Intermain and ARCD to develop a well thought out and unique strategy for the lighting design, together with a precise installation method and delivery schedule.  The role of lighting in this converted warehouse space required a careful balance between atmosphere, functionality and efficiency.  Lighting in warehouse conversions for retailers not only requires detailed planning to enhance the natural depth and volume of a space, but lighting product selection is also critical to a store’s energy consumption.

Consideration of ongoing costs is one of the most important components when delivering a retail lighting solution.  Working with a large volume of lights, energy consumption is a high priority. LPA were able to satisfy Ultra Football’s power load by using high efficiency LED’s for a 50% reduction in allocation of power.

As customers walk in, the goal was to establish a focal point for what would become their overall retail experience. This focal piece needed to deliver a strong ‘wow’ factor and personify grit and passion for the game of football. This piece required detailed collaboration. The idea for a hexagon grid cluster was born as well as the store’s brand identity.

Collectively, our approach to the design, manufacture and installation of the custom hexagon grid was managed with great care due to its high suspension, integration of LED lights and the degree of impact the illumination would have in such a vast space. The finished product delivered both a sense of grandeur, feeling of excitement and ultimately pushed the boundaries for an inspiring retail lighting solution.

When it came to designing the lighting solution for the merchandise, play activation and dining areas, zones were established with suspended track lighting to help customers navigate the retail space.  When standing within each of the zoned areas, it was important customers felt they were immersed in a football stadium experience – everything from watching the game through to the underground concrete locker room vibe.

When a true work of art is created in a large scale and complex environment, it can only be achieved when the client, builder, product and installation team have the same vision. Ultra Football has a strong vision for the future of football and is passionate about the experience the game delivers. Their Alexandria store is certainly kicking these goals.