How do you completely revitalise a retail store in a listed building, stripping it down and rebuilding it while causing minimal disruption? A good place to start is with a particularly forward-thinking client.

We’ve worked on a number of projects for Sure, the leading mobile network for the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Each has had their own challenges, not least being the remoteness of the locations compared to the mainland UK.

Every time, however, Sure has backed us to come up with something special. They’re always happy to explore new ideas and make the most of sales-related technology, and with their encouragement and approval we believe we’ve created an interior that’s as unique as it’s impactful.

That said, one of the keys to the success of this interior is actually the exterior, in the shape of the magnificent harbour view through the end windows. We commissioned a local photographer to capture just the right photo of the outside, although he practically had to hang upside down from the roof to get the shot.

We took the resulting panoramic picture, cut out the middle and displayed the two end parts on the back and front walls. This means that if you stand in the right place in the room, the actual outside view is seamlessly extended on both sides by the pictures, all the way to around 270 degrees.

Stunning visuals are on display elsewhere too. We wanted to contrast today’s innovative technology with the age when telecoms first took off. We were also aware that while the majority of the store’s clientele were young, a significant portion were considerably older. So we came up with something that would be attractive to both target markets.

The left side seating area is designed like a 70s living room, the era when telecoms took off, complete with vintage Ercol furniture. There are chairs from Belgium, and a sideboard from the Czech Republic which we picked out – and up – ourselves. There are even iconic flying ducks on the wall. But bringing it right back to the present, this space also acts as a demonstration area, with a sonar system for showing Wi-Fi capabilities, plus a smart speaker and so on.

On the opposite wall, we placed four digital screens, complete with touchscreen controls to showcase product capabilities, promotions and prices, as well as to customise phones for customers. This fits in with the seamless, paperless approach that marks out the way Sure interacts with their customers.

Hi-tech products like our client’s also demanded a high-specification finish. From neon signs through to plenty of interesting engineering details in glass and aluminium, we made sure every detail counted. We also kept some original features in this listed building, such as exposed stone and brick notes.

The project took around six to seven weeks. The store remained open nearly the whole time, shutting for just three days. The client was delighted with the new look and so were the customers – the seating area and panoramic view proving a particular hit. We look forward to working with Sure on many innovative projects to come.