Italy is famous for its eyewear giants, Luxottica first. If you have ever visited an eyewear retail store in Italy, you would have noticed that more or less they all look the same: neon lights, mirrors, traditional displays, sales people wearing a white coat.
Today we would like to show you two very different approach to this kind of point of sale: Salmoiraghi & Viganò at Piazza San Babila, Milan and Kirk Originals in London.

The first looks like a “traditional Italian” eyewear store, we might say the “deluxe” version of it but from the design point of view, nothing extremely different from the typical layout, displays included. What is “unusual” in this point of sales is the concept and the services offered: a very fast service for those who need new spectacles, culture, events and corners managed by several fashion brands.

Kirk Originals flagship store, on the opposite, looks very unusual, and the only one eyewear wall with 187 “heads” for frames, and practically no furnishings ensure that customers will focus on the eyewear, not the trappings. Eye examinations and fitting take place in the basement, away from the main display space.

Two different, opposite concepts for the same product. Which one do you think will sell most? (Photo: courtesy of Salmoiraghi&Viganò, Luca Oliverio and TheCoolHunter).