Now not just our favourite store, Takapuna’s jewel in the crown The Department Store, is recognised by our favourite magazine, Monocle, as no.1 in their list of the world’s 25 best retailers. An amazing accolade indeed…
Now not just our favourite store, Takapuna’s jewel in the crown The Department Store, is recognised by our favourite magazine, Monocle, as no.1 in their list of the world’s 25 best retailers. An amazing accolade indeed…
“The Art of the Sell: The World’s Best Shopkeeping and Retail Stars” headlines Monocle’s April 2010 issue and reporters searched worldwide for ground-breaking retailers.
The article states “Monocle presents a list of our favourite shops, the most attentive services, the best store designs and the most innovative concepts in the retail sector.” The magazine heaps praise on The Department Store’s ‘vernacular’ of celebrating local talent.
Monocle’s Tom Morris visited Auckland in January 2010 and immediately cited The Department Store as a must-visit location. Morris met with key Department Store partners on-site and created a portfolio of the store before heading back to London. To complement Morris’s acclaim of the store, Monocle have also filmed The Department Store to feature in their online ‘Retail Awards’ section along with four other inspiring global locations.
Thread attended the opening on 6 November 2009 and said that opening such an extensive- not to mention expensive- project in a recession is a testament to the vision of Dave Donaldson of Maidstone Properties who half owns the property and the building Karen Walker tenants in Ponsonby.
He invited Karen Walker to look at the space when it was a gutted shell and to get excited about his vision for it and now she shares the converted Takapuna Post Office building with several "friends": Stephen Marr hairsalon on the top floor, Lucy & The Powder Room on the 2nd, and Simon James design, Black Box local and imported labels, and a Supreme coffee cafe all with Karen Walker on the ground level.
The fabulous spiral white staircase dominates the centre of the building; it and all the interior design was created by Katie Lockhart.
Well done The Department Store, what well-earned praise. With the award-winning new Ironbank building on KRoad and this as design inspiration, we wish more New Zealand businesses would follow suit.
Photos by Melanie Cutfield
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