The retail business has travelled to a place where it became the
wonderland for effortlessness, in Hubert’s opinion. The Internet has
taken over the remarkable tradition of going to a store and look for
what we want. Instead, with a few gentle taps on our smartphones, we
get everything we need. No travelling, no effort, and, furthermore, no
experience. That’s the way Hubert sees it, the technological revamp of
a transaction. Moreover, Hubert distinguishably notes that, nowadays,
people are attracted to places where they can live the moment. Get an
experience. Acquire memories. He remarks that a restaurant that indeed
works well is the one that provides you with a complete experience,
from the simplest form of how a menu is presented to you to its interior
design. For him, that is the experience, and that’s what people look for.
Nowadays, it is rather impossible to properly design without
mentioning the ever-present elephant in the room: the role of traditional
craftsmanship. Over the years, Malherbe Paris has worked with a variety
of gifted artists and craftsmen, whose efforts helped elevate the good
name of Malherbe to the spotlights where it shines today. Craftsmanship
has a very important role to play in retail design, thus to have unique,
high-quality designs that can stand the traumas of time and misuse
means to have a timeless and tireless design.
“We have a lot of partners who are glass
blowers, cabinetmakers, rug makers... a
wide variety of artists. In fact, it’s in our
best interest to work with these artists, with
people who aren’t famous at all but are
beginning to get recognition for their work.”
Hubert names the Studio’s strong Asian presence in virtue of the
exponential growth of the Far-Eastern culture. With offices in Shanghai
and Hong Kong, Asia is quickly becoming a core market for the French
Studio, as the righteous Asian community evermore seek the essence
of Design Française. The demands of the Asian retail market are not
the same of the Western ones. Asian people are probably the most
demanding clientele in terms of experience. In a culture impregnated with
technological development, to have a good experience is crucial. The major
retail players are investing heavily in renowned interior designers so they
can provide them with the experience their clients seek. And that’s where
Malherbe Paris has been thriving.