Godiva Chocolate outlets being refurbished

The first of the Godiva retailers to feature the d-ash design concept recently opened in Istanbul's Nisanti district. Godiva and d-ash design are continuing their collaboration with newly completed stores in Amerkez, Turkey; Xintiandi, Shanghai; Shanghai's Pudong region; and in an IFC mall in Hong Kong. Stateside locations will open in Atlanta in Spring 2011 and in New York City in Summer 2011.

The d-ash design team (led by David Ashen) partnered with Linda Lombardi, Godiva's Vice President of Global Store Design & Visual Merchandising, to create the new concepts, which brings a more luxurious, immersive retail environment to the company's worldwide operations. Together, Lombardi and Ashen have fashioned a glittering aesthetic that pays tribute to Godvia's venerable Belgian heritage while presenting a fresh face to the world, with clean, modern interiors where as Ashen puts it "chocolate is the star."

Each flagship has its own personality and amenities, including a Godiva cafe that provides guests with an elegant and stylish place to have a cup of cocoa, an interactive 360-degree "Chocolate Island," and a two-storey vertical vitrine in place of the traditional chocolate display case. The interiors highlight a palette of dark browns and bright creams, rendered in an array of rich materials, and the exterior features beautiful Art Nouveau-inflected bronze gates framing the Lady Godiva logo.

"Our objective was to make the consumer feel totally surrounded, in a sense, not just by chocolate itself but by all the emotions that chocolate conjures-pleasure, indulgence, comfort," said Ashen. "Everywhere you turn there's a different way to enjoy Godiva, a different type of chocolate encounter."

The redesign gives new life to one of the biggest brand names in the chocolate industry, with d-ash design bringing a touch of 21st century glamour to chocolate lovers everywhere-just in time for Godiva's 85th anniversary.