Article

Cirque du Soleil reinvents its retail shop

The entertainment company recognized an opportunity to expand its performance experience into the concession and retail shop, creating a marketplace truly in sync with the brand.

September 27, 2009

Cirque du Soleil shows are synonymous with creative design, elegant acrobatics and unrivaled performances that meld circus with theatrical storytelling in a way that has made it world famous.

Cirque's 25-year history of classic shows have a passionate following of patrons who enjoy purchasing a reminder of their show experience at touring shows and permanent installations including everything from custom clothing, hand-crafted art, DVD's and various other manner of memorabilia. A dark blue custom fixture system based on the mechanics of road cases previously served as the display environment, however it left the merchandising and concessions space disconnected from the fantasy-like Cirque experience. Rodney Landi, vice president of merchandising and hospitality for Cirque du Soleil, recognized an opportunity to expand the performance experience into the concession and retail shop; creating a marketplace truly in sync with the brand.

"While immediately functional, we felt the existing system did not quite create the ambiance and spirit which would help to extend our patrons unique experience outside of the show."

After interviewing several design companies, Landi engaged Miller Zell, a retail design and strategy firm based in Atlanta, Georgia, to develop a concept for the retail and bistro tent. With Artful Living as Cirque's driving design concept, Miller Zell came up with the theme of "Souk du Soleil." Souk, which translates to marketplace, was the theme that led design of a retail and bistro front-of-house intended to be as theatrical and captivating as Cirque itself.

PHOTO GALLERY: See a slideshow of the Cirque du Soleil retail experience

The goal for Miller Zell was to create a retail environment that delivered a complete brand experience, from concept, development and engineering through to production and implementation. The challenge, however, was devising a system for a traveling show that would be assembled and disassembled repeatedly over several months of cross-continental travel.

Understanding how to go about that required Miller Zell's design and strategy teams to immerse themselves in the culture of Cirque du Soleil, learning about touring logistics, the Cirque du Soleil brand philosophy, show themes and building a symbiotic relationship with Landi's merchandising group.

"I chose Miller Zell," said Landi, "because I was impressed by the very different design approaches they had taken on other projects, each of which reflected the objectives and specific personalities of their clients."

In addition, Miller Zell's design had to be flexible enough to adapt easily to show concepts that change annually. Keith Curtis, vice president and director of design for Miller Zell, worked intimately on the design of the project and describes the marketplace concept as, "a multi-layered aesthetic in that it's modern yet futuristic and historical all at once — similar to the ebb and flow of Cirque du Soleil performances."

The new bistro and retail marketplace first opened during the world premiere of the "OVO" show in Montreal, Canada earlier this year. Comprised of a lightweight, nearly tool-less, kit-of-parts, it is currently traveling throughout North America with the tour of "OVO." Cirque and Miller Zell intend to adapt the concept to additional Cirque touring productions throughout the world. The team is also in the process of adapting a similar concept for various permanent Cirque installations throughout the United States.