Retail hengstyle
Embracing
the culture of living well Some might assume that an ultra-modern store selling tech-based brands in a steel and stucco tunnel might lack warmth and a sense of hospitality. However, hengstyle is a haven where customers can relax, connect and immerse themselves in the finer things in life. Michelle Hespe learns more about the Taiwanese outlet…
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Sponsored and organized by The Inspired Home Show and the International Housewares Association (IHA), gia (IHA Global Innovation Awards) is the world’s leading awards program honouring overall excellence, business innovation and creative merchandising in homegoods retailing. For more information about the gia retail program, the co-sponsors, or participating in gia, contact Piritta Törrö at piritta. torro@inspiredconnection. fi. Additional information on gia is also available online at TheInspiredHomeShow.com/ Awards/gia-Retailing. For more information about The Inspired Home Show and to pre-register for the 2023 Show, taking place in Chicago on 4-7 March 2023, please visit TheInspiredHomeShow.com. 28 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL
aiwan’s gia-winning store – hengstyle – is devoted to “enriching life without boundaries.” And although the store focuses on 25 tech-based brands that provide “better lives, beyond technology,” it is as welcoming as someone’s finely curated home, with a library, bar and plenty of cozy places to explore, relax and be inspired by. hengstyle started out in 1960 as a distributor of cameras and associated products and today is the number one home appliance and houseware distributor in Taiwan, with a presence in 68 department stores, one concept store and a staff of 550. Tech is the hardware, not the base, of what hengstyle is. “Our goal is to shape a culture of new fine living. We want to lead people to mindfully feel life and open up to other ways of doing things,” says hengstyle’s senior director Sarah Chen. “We believe this living culture is a new fashion and one that is beyond just buying luxury goods.” The dazzlingly white, steel and reflective tunnel-like building was designed to create a calming atmosphere so that visitors can step in from the busy streets
“Our goal is to shape a culture of new fine living. We want to lead people to mindfully feel life and open up to other ways of doing things”
of Taipei and immediately feel relaxed enough to explore at their own pace. “The goal was to create an architecturally designed space where our 25 brands could be unified; a space where customers would walk in and see a style, rather than just products,” explains Sarah. “It was incredibly time consuming to sculpt its multiple wooden structures and then there was the application of different materials on the surface, stucco plastering by hand inside and stainless surfaces outside.” Rather than placing a focus on selling products, hengstyle is all about the many things that can be put together to assemble a fine lifestyle. Its grounding philosophy is about encouraging people to live well in every sense, while also making them feel a part of a welcoming community. It also has a magazine through which this approach is amplified. Hengstyle’s store staff (called
Did you know?
Rather than placing a focus on selling products, hengstyle is all about the many things that can be put together to assemble a great lifestyle.
