South Korea’s biggest travel retailer, Lotte Duty Free, is ready to resume its plans for global growth, starting in Sydney, Australia where the company just recently opened its first store in the CBD by Bates Smart.
Established in February 1980 Lotte Duty Free is the second largest travel retailer in the world and operates 20 duty free stores, across 11 international airports, in seven international locations, including Australia, Guam, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Vietnam. Lotte Duty Free is a leader in innovation and customer experience.
As South Korea’s biggest travel retailer, Lotte Duty Free, is ready to resume its plans for global growth, starting in Sydney, Australia where the company just recently opened its first store in the CBD. An impressive project completed by Bates Smart, the entire retail space covers more than 32,000 square feet and showcasing hundreds of high-end brands, the three-level store on the corner of Pitt Street and Market Street in the heart of Sydney’s retail precinct has been designed to be a destination for travellers.
The new ‘luxe’ retail environment has been designed to enhance the shopping experience, providing a space where customers can interact with products at a higher standard. Across the three floors there will be approximately 70 beauty, jewellery, alcohol, fashion and watch brand and retail suites, including a Whiskey Bar and Tasting area on level 1.
Living Edge was proud to provide a custom solution for wine storage, designed by Bates Smart. As the largest installation of Libreria del Vino we have ever completed, it was perfectly matched for Lotte Duty Free’s premium wine offering.
Designed by Elite, To Be – the design brand founded by Australian-born, Italy-based brothers – Libreria del Vino is a study in close attention to detail and intricate fabrication, drawing inspiration from the designers’ love of travel. Streamlined, functional and aesthetically pleasing, Libreria del Vino allows users to equip walls of varying volumes and lends itself to a wide variety of residential and commercial spaces.
Complex yet sleek, rugged yet soft, the versatile Libreria del Vino, with cavities suitable for storing bottles of multiple sizes, is entirely derived from laser-cut iron and is available in a range of metal finishes. Proud owners of the Liberia del Vino are invited to combine the weathered patina of corten steel with the natural warmth of oak and suar to create a cosy atmosphere or choose from a range of powder coat finishes in shades derived directly from wine varietals. The powder coat finishes add different nuances to the iron frame, bringing character and colour to its environment, while the antique brass finish offers a classic, distinguished alternative that will patina with age.
A truly modular product, units can be tailored for any wall or freestanding partition and include eight, 16, 18, or 24 bottle units with the ability to hold bottles in a horizontal or vertical position. With the addition of a timber frame, the system becomes an ideal room divider for open-plan spaces including lofts, penthouses or tasting rooms, making elegant and efficient use of unused areas. Sleek, space-efficient, and visually arresting, Libreria del Vino allows for the display of wine labels while maintaining free airflow with proper storage positioning.
Much like the wines it has been designed to display, the Libreria del Vino – ‘wine library’ – wine rack storage system by Elite, To Be is a timeless yet complex example of expressionism, savoured by observers like a glass of fine vino. Manufactured in Italy and available in Australia exclusively through Living Edge, Libreria del Vino represents modularity without limits.
Project by Bates Smart
Photography by Sebastian Mrugalski
