The new Jako-O store recently opened on two floors in Bochum’s Ruhr Park. The orange front alone is an eye-catcher, and it’s immediately clear from the smaller, child-sized doorway who is the centre of attention at Jako-O. Inside the entrance, a giant giraffe stretches its head down through the ceiling, inviting visitors to come on up to the next floor and explore a world full of children’s dreams. Jako-O’s typical cute little animal and figure prints run like a golden thread through the otherwise simple store design. Just four elements – beech wood, anthracite, white, and the bold Jako-O orange – make up the colour and material concept. And that makes the eye-catching detail stand out all the more.
There is the huge tree assembled from wooden slats, and all the different sized cubes that are interspersed among the walls of merchandise, at the same time highlighting selected products. The open-top bookshelf has books looking like they are flying up to the sky. The large children’s table is split in the middle into two levels so that everyone, big or small, can draw and create in comfort. And at the checkout, the kids have their very own steps.
In two things Jako-O shows it is especially attuned to its young target group: in its “theme worlds”, which feature a variety of different products in a carefully composed assortment of clothes, games, books and accessories. And in its gift boxes, which – similar to a wedding gift list – let children pick out the things they wish for most.
It all adds up to clever stuff for kids on over a thousand square metres of feel-good space!
