Uniqlo Berlin, another shopping temptation

Uniqlo opened his shop in Berlin this month, on Tauentzienstrasse, at the end of an intensive months long media campaign. The main advertising campaign was called 'Berliner People' featuring famous Berliners, such as Roland Mary, the owner of the Borchardt Restaurant, DJ Nina Kraviz or actors Daniel Bruehl and Samuel Schneider, among others. Before the inauguration of the big, two-floor shop, the retail company promoted its products in a pop-up store in Mitte since the beginning of the year.

The overall message of the advertising campaign multiplies the philosophy of the company: 'Clothes are made for all'. The first Uniqlo/Fast Retailing shop was opened in Hiroshima, in 1984, by Tadashi Yanai. Since then, it sells affordable products, for all ages and genders. Since then, it opened a couple of shops all over the world, from Shanghai to London and from Paris to Tokyo. 

This diversity of customers corresponded to the profile of the visitors that hurried up to make their purchases or simply window shop. The location is situated in the shopping headquarters of the West Berlin, with many tourists regularly looking for attractive temptations. 

The clothes look funny and easy to adjust various types of customers and their tastes. I especially loved the Tom and Jerry or Peanuts T-shirts. Those looking for a little bit more for their wardrobe, can browse the collections designed by Inès de de La Fressange. The prices are moderate to middle-level: with 10 Euro you can buy a nice T-shirt. 

The location looks good and designed with style, the personnel is solicitous and there are plenty of things to chose from. Here is a short YouTube Video describing the ambiance of the first days after the opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZdCfmARmHU

It might be the sign of a new shopping culture getting rooted in West Berlin, especially after the opening of Bikini. Many predict that sooner or later, Berlin will become close to New York, many are complaining that it's too much shopping culture around, even though themselves don't shop but only love complaining and praying for the so-called 'old good times' (DDR is dead, by the way). Intelligent people know how to accept the change; intelligent city planners are able to create specific cultural labels.  

Kids shopping on Ku'damm

With the holiday season open and a lot of anniversaries of friends' children days away, I've found myself, as usual, completely unprepared with the presents part. No wonder, as buying presents was, is and most likely will always be, the most difficult part of my life. I disappoint often the little ones expectations or completely mistake the size or the favourite colour I was requested more than 5 times. However, I assume that with children till 1 year it is easier, as I usually buy one size bigger and they are not too fussy weighting diplomatically or not their 'thank you' for my presents. This Tuesday, I discovered though that it is not too easy to made a decision, especially when I chose Ku'damm as my hunting terrain. 

I started with Il Gufo shop, at the beginning of Bleibtreustrasse. A relatively big shop, presenting elegant clothes for boys and girls till 12. It seemed that it was not a very good day for the shop, as my messy presence was not noticed, although for the next minutes onwards I was the only customer in the shop. The prices were relatively high, which can be a problem when you make an investment for clothes for children whose sizes are changing from a month to another. Especially the sky costumes were good looking, but as my friends will not go to sky with their kid in the next 10 years or more, I admired once again the beautiful dresses for bigger girls and went to the next destination. 

At Pinco Pallino I reached a new level of children elegance. Offering very chic but with a rather adult cut dresses and young suites for children, the shop has high prices and a relatively limited array of choices. Most clothes are designed for special occasions, even though I thought that the winter white coat can be easily worn every day, especially if your children are attending one of the posh private schools in Berlin. The shop has many visitors, but not a very welcoming customer service. The space is small, but decorated with taste. Documentation done, time to move to the next shop.

At Carine, I felt not only welcomed, but talking with people ready to help. I bet that they were almost sure that I am not necessarily the type of customer that will leave the shop with lots of packs but they did their job with patience and attention and I was sincerely impressed. For a 1 year old, the offer was very diverse, with many chic and sport outfits, at good prices. Not cheap, but the right price you can get for an elegant Ralph Laurent polo shirt. 

When I arrived at Jacadi, I felt in the air the familiar smell of the presents we used to receive many years ago from France once the year. I am not sure if my clothes were from this brand though as I was not too careful for fashion then. The colourful shop has not only outdoor clothes, but also PJs or toys. The prices are relatively accessible, with around 100 EUR for a winter jacket. The service was relatively friendly, especially with the little customers not too patient to try all the clothes that their parents have chose for them. 

Tartine et Chocolat was my next destination, only one shop away. I was welcomed by an ambiance of classical music, that gave a too serious note to the little room over crowded with baby carriages, many signed by big fashion houses, like Cavalli or Fendi. Perfectly matched children clothing were waiting for the fancy parents to turn their little ones into veritable fashion addicts. But as I know that my friends have other plans with their little boy, I resumed my researches for the day and took a break from windows shopping till the next time.