LONDON — Smartphone-maker Nothing on Saturday unveiled its 5,032-square-foot flagship in India‘s tech hub Bengaluru.
Impressed by ’70s meeting traces and workshops, the duo-floor area provides customized service to the model’s vary of smartphones and audio merchandise, and comes with studio area for social media content material creators.
It additionally incorporates a group hangout zone with merchandising machines, claw video games and conveyor belt shows, and a espresso store in collaboration with Virtually SoBar.
The model stated the shop will even host meetups and collaborations with native creators sooner or later, and provide Nothing model merch.
Nothing flagship at Bengaluru, India.
Courtesy
Bengaluru is Nothing’s second brick-and-mortar location worldwide, with its first one within the Soho space of London, sitting proper subsequent to cult streetwear model Supreme. Following the India opening, the model stated it’ll open in New York and Japan later this yr.
In an interview, Nothing’s new chief model officer, Charlie Smith, beforehand chief advertising and marketing and communications officer at Loewe, stated he’s bringing a luxurious‑trend mindset into shopper tech, and he sees Nothing as an trade disruptor, redefining how expertise participates in tradition, particularly for the following era.
Throughout his seven-year tenure at Loewe, Smith oversaw its collaborations with Studio Ghibli, On Working and Japanese ceramic duo Suna Fujita, developed its TikTok technique, and orchestrated partnerships with high-profile celebrities.
He stated the model selected India for its first cease in world growth becasue Nothing’s cofounder and chief government officer, Carl Pei, has had fairly a following there from his earlier enterprise, OnePlus, which he exited in 2020 to launch Nothing. The model not too long ago accomplished a collection C funding spherical of $200 million, valuing the corporate at $1.3 billion.
Nothing flagship at Bengaluru, India.
Courtesy
As for the Bengaluru retailer, Smith hopes it will really feel “trailblazing” in its native context, because it goals to problem the established order within the class, extending Nothing’s retro futuristic design aesthetic to entice those that are “rebellious, inventive, and go towards the grain.”
The first focus going ahead, in response to Smith, is to broaden Nothing’s attraction from tech lovers and early adopters to a bigger group that sits on the intersection of tech, music and trend.
For instance, Nothing final month partnered with the self-described “trend agitator” Lyas’ La Watchparty for Jonathan Anderson’s debut high fashion assortment at Dior.
“We gave all the scholars who have been watching t-shirts that stated: ‘I went to Lyas watch celebration and left with Nothing,’ and a few of them had headphones hidden underneath their seats like shock and delight moments. We’re planning extra collaborations like this going ahead,” stated Smith.
The model additionally plans to companion with trend faculties and work with musicians with cult followings who communicate on to youthful audiences. Collaborations with rising trend designers to co-create Nothing merchandise and restricted clothes traces are on the agenda as nicely.
Charlie Smith
Courtesy of Nothing
Smith touted the concept of Nothing performing like a writer, curating digital content material round tech, music, trend and tradition, and launching a bodily journal in some unspecified time in the future.
Concerning its core tech providing, Smith believes Nothing’s {hardware} design ought to transcend utility and grow to be expressive. “Issues like telephones and headphones say one thing about who you’re as an individual. It’s an extension of your physique in the way in which that garments are,” he added.
In the long term, Smith stated Nothing’s purpose is to stay a shopper tech firm, however with a full ecosystem throughout audio, telephones, wearables and the supporting software program layer, all empowered by AI.
To make the style world perceive Nothing’s positioning, Smith in contrast Apple to the Hermès or Chanel of tech — luxurious, prestigious, however not essentially cool.
“I believe that Nothing can play on this area the place it’s extra like Margiela and Balenciaga with character and a viewpoint,” he added.
