Mudra ties up with UK retail design agency Portland Design

Mudra Group and Portland Design, a UK based retail design agency, have formed a joint venture to form a new consultancy which will be called Portland Mudra. The new agency will tap into the Indian retail market with respect to designing commercial retail spaces and advising retailers and mall developers on branding strategies.

UK based Portland has been working in the Indian market for the last two to three years, having worked on creating retail spaces within the Bengaluru and Hyderabad international airports. Portland Mudra is currently working on getting their core team together, and hopes to be fully operational by the end of July. Portland has just finished working on a project for Shoppers Stop in Hyderabad. Clients in India who have worked with Portland in the past, will now be serviced by the new entity Portland Mudra. 

“There is a gap that exists in the market, in that there aren’t really retail design shops in India that understand the branding part of the process. That’s a skill that we bring in, with our knowledge of the industry,” says Pratap Bose, COO, Mudra Group (pictured, left).

Bose admits it is a challenge when talking to clients to make them see the value of investing in good retail design in India, but it is an understanding that he believes will evolve over time as more clients see the return that good retail design can bring.

“When we create retail spaces, there is an opportunity to create focal points within a particular area so that we can segmentise different spaces within the same environment to appeal to different consumer demographs,” says Lewis Allen, director, Portland, (pictured, right) adding, “The mechanics of how consumers shop is what we have to keep in mind when we conceptualise and create commercial environments. It is an understanding that marketers come to accept when they see the results that good retail design can effect.”

He further adds, “How the interior space of a brand’s commercial outlet looks is an expression of that brand itself. Good retail design is also an effective differentiator, especially in a cluttered marketplace.”