Scotch & Soda targets major global expansion, unveils new brand identity

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 16, 2021

​Scotch & Soda has unveiled a new programme of global store openings, alongside a new brand identity. The Dutch company will open 15 new standalone locations over the next six months, as well as 12 concessions. 

And it now has a new brand logo that “embraces the symbol of unity at the heart of Scotch & Soda’s name, which embodies the free spirit of Amsterdam, blending the iconic ampersand with the brand’s initials, whilst also nodding to the craftsmanship that goes into the collections by following the delicate movement of a thread attached to the eye of a needle”.

This is said to reflect the brand’s design ethos of “connecting the expected with the unexpected, celebrating the power of self-expression and liberal thinking of Amsterdam, the city where the brand was born”

Designed in collaboration with A Studio in New York, the new identity was revealed digitally on Tuesday on the brand’s social media channels, website and dedicated app, as well as in several new stores, before launching on collections in November with the SS22 offer.

The store opening plan clearly underlines the brand’s belief in physical stores post-pandemic. The openings started with Utrecht in the Netherlands this week, which will be followed by Westfield’s Mall of the Netherlands in Leidschendam on March 18, as well as the brand’s largest flagship worldwide opening in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (colloquially known as Den Bosch) on March 25. 

In Germany, two stores will open starting with Hamburg at the end of March. In France, a new store will open in the Corso wing in the CAP3000 beachfront mall in Nice in June. 

May will see a new location in Ukraine in May and Poland will get two new stores in Warsaw by October. Additionally, three concessions will open with Globus in Switzerland this month, followed by seven in Åhléns department stores across Sweden in March and April, “cementing the brand’s growth in Scandinavia”.

Outside of Europe, a new store in the Seaport district of Boston in the US will debut in September, following two recent openings in California to add to the 43-strong chain in North America. The company is also seeking additional US locations.

In the Middle East, it will debut in Israel next month, followed by Qatar, UAE and Kuwait. In Asia-Pacific, a new franchise will open in April in Mumbai, India, as well as in October in Perth, Australia.

The brand is also adding new showrooms and offices in Shanghai and Milan this spring. 

This acceleration of its global retail network also see the introduction of a new ‘Free Spirit’ store concept that highlights the new brand identity. As far as the look and feel are concerned, each store will be unique, blending the original architecture and characteristics of each building with the brand’s signature design.

But all facades and interiors will carry the new brand identity and play on muted tones of cloud white, charcoal and tan, combined with pop accents of sunshine yellow, rose pink, and burgundy. Bespoke fixtures will come in aged brass, textured tiles, marble, and powder-coated steel and there will be “a unique bar designed to highlight accessories and get together around it”. Selected vintage furniture and wallpapers designed in-house complete the new design concept. 

The new stores will have strong sustainability features and the company said that from the SS22 collection onwards, Scotch & Soda will be increasing the responsible standard of materials used in its collections to a minimum of 50% of these materials. These are certified fibres that are organic, recycled, regenerative or renewable from a biological or technical source, such as organic cotton, recycled polyester or econyl.

CEO Frederick Lukoff said of all this: “With our new identity, we want to define our evolution, mark a new era of brand expression and storytelling with a renewed ambition for growth whilst still managing the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on our current performance. We are relentlessly optimistic about the future and the next chapter of the brand and its story based on the profound values of unity that drive the unique spirit of Amsterdam.”