The Urban Salon designed warehouse store for Britain’s oldest wine and spirits merchant, Berry Bros. & Rudd has been completed and is now open to the public.   

The brief was to create a coherent and enjoyable customer experience that enabled customers to browse, try out new wines and to get advice from the Berry Bros. & Rudd wine experts. Our main challenge was in balancing the updating of the 3500sq ft former bottling room whilst retaining the essence of the company’s long established history.

The façade has been painted to match the historic façade of Berry Bros. & Rudd’s London shop in St James’s. New hanging signage made from galvanized steel signposts the entrance.  A paved ramp creates easy access for customers wishing to buy in bulk.

Inside, a component-based system allows staff to flex the layout and to use the store for large events. A separate fine wine room is within an enclosed space with back-lit ebony stained units under a distinctive slatted ceiling.   The main range is in a lighter, brighter space where the bottles are displayed in their original wooden boxes to reflect their provenance.

54 enamel lights form a central spine throughout the store creating a focus and highlighting the different tasting units, which allow customers to try before they buy. The shop has a palette of warm natural materials and uses a red highlight that reflects the primary red traditionally used on wine labels. Artefacts from the Berry Bros. & Rudd's archive are displayed throughout the store to reflect the company's heritage. This includes a 20th century bottle corker. 

Alex Mowat, Creative Director, Urban Salon:

'The new store design seeks to make customer navigation simpler, allowing customers to explore the regional wines on offer. The new palette of materials seeks to connect customers with the rich textures, materials and typographic styles of the wine trade. The new store is simultaneously a simpler and richer experience.'