Shoe Premieres Like at the Movies

Extra Butter/New York. These sneaker enthusiasts are also movie buffs and design entire co-operations as movie related as their store.

Text: Petrina Engelke. Photos: Extra Butter, Petrina Engelke Quite a few people are standing on the constantly bustling Orchard Street; some have even settled down in folding chairs. They are waiting for the opening of Extra Butter. That opening is still three hours away and rumour has it that some already secured their respective spots in the queue over the previous night. The only thing missing is a red carpet. No doubt, the owners of Extra Butter know how to stage a premiere. A few years ago they opened a store with sought after sneakers and some street/urban wear in a small village named Rockville Centre. It seems the community was waiting for just that. They have built a fiercely loyal following no more than a 30 minute commuter train ride from New York. One of the absolute highlights is that the store also stocks sneakers and shirts for women.

Premiere with "Kill Bill" Sneakers

In October 2013, Extra Butter made the big step from the suburbs to Manhattan and the shop had a real treat in store for its grand opening. A brand new co-operation with Asics sees the launch of a string of sneakers titled "Death List 5", inspired by the movie "Kill Bill". The name of the line is at the centre of an advertising campaign including a short video in the style of an action film trailer. This video was the only thing visitors saw when they visited the website of the New York-based store in the weeks leading up to the opening. "I am a movie buff", laughs Jason Faustino, the mastermind behind the Extra Butter concept. Before customers can enter the actual store, they need to walk through a foyer worthy of a real cinema. There are old movie theatre seats and a thick red velvet curtain, through which one can enter the "screening room". Instead of films one finds long rows of sneakers and film reels. The setting complements the premiere of the Asics x Extra Butter Gel saga "Cottonmouth"

perfectly. "Most people only showed up because of that", Faustino argues.

A Combination of Hype and Service

Such spectacular premiere ideas attract sneakers enthusiasts from far and wide. It's no surprise that they keep on returning too. The store is run by staff that one wants to befriend instantly. The old school service of the shop is characterised by in-depth product knowledge and individual service. Extra Butter wants its customers to feel just as welcome and well-advised in the new branch. "The audience in New York is very diverse; we see completely different styles", Faustino says. Some top sellers from the original store in Rockville have to take a back seat in New York. However, the owners are adamant that they will stick to their initial idea of offering the best sneakers, T-shirts, jackets, popular collaborations, and new ideas on a regular basis. After all, the name Extra Butter sets the bar very high. In the jargon the term "butter" already describes things that are spectacular, especially in the context of clothing styles.

The screening room - sneakers that drive collectors mad are beyond the cinema foyer.

Extra Butter

125 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002/US extrabutterny.com Owners: J. Faustino, A. Amin, N. Amin, R. Furchak Employees: 6 Sales area: 213 sqm Shoe brands: Adidas, Asics, New Balance, Nike, Puma, Reebok, Saucony, Toms, Vans, and others Accessories and clothing brands: Anmlhse, Civil, Extra Butter, Guns Germs Steal, Junya Mafia, Publish, The Decades Hat Co., White Gold Tarantula, Zanerobe, and others.

The new Garhammer store houses many atmospheric details such as vintage-look wooden elements, golden wallpapers, large-scale wall graphics, and floral prints.

Tradition with Future

Garh ammer/Wal dkirchen . The small town Waldkirchen is located halfway between Passau and the Bavarian “Bayerischer Wald” national park on the Czech border. The fashion house Garhammer has been based in this rural idyll for 117 years. Only recently, Garhammer underwent the most extensive area and product range expansion in the company’s history.

Text: Kay Alexander Plonka. Photos: Fabian Aurel Hild The brothers Christoph and Johannes Huber are quite satisfied with Garhammer’s development. Since 2004, they managed to increase the sales volume by 40% to 12 million Euros in fiscal 2012. “Our fashion competence and diverse product range configuration appeals to people from different generations, regions, and income brackets. Our customers come from within a perimeter of roughly 70 kilometres and spend approximately four hours in our store”, says Johannes Huber to prove the attraction the established fashion house has. Garhammer sees itself as a service provider and proves that all its efforts are centred on the customer by offering - among many other amenities - personal shopping, a tailor shop for instant alterations, a glasses rental service, a free-of-charge parking garage, and free baby food and beverages.

Extensive Upgrade in Lower Bavaria

Continuous changes such as the steady refinement of the product range and regular construction measures are also part of the concept. It’s proving highly successful too. An increase of revenue and yield caused a higher volume of goods, which - in turn - opened the door to spatial growth opportunities. The Huber brothers invested 15 million Euros in an architectural and content-related upgrade of the renowned department store. They also kick-started an extensive reconstruction and new construction project. They teamed up with the Stuttgart-based architecture firm Blocher Blocher Partners to develop a package of measures aimed at enhancing the quality of the customers’ stay in store. At the same time, the salesrooms were generously restructured to accommodate the product ranges more suitably. During the 15 month construction period, Garhammer modified existing sales areas and built a new 2,000 square metre annex, which is connected to the original building via skyways