The Arsenal Armoury Experience

442 completed the refurbishment of the 12,000 SQFT flagship experience 'The Armoury’ at Emirates Stadium for Arsenal Football Club, marking the launch of a 5 year partnership deal between adidas and Arsenal. The brief was to take the store beyond pure retail and into engaging, shareable experience. 

442 were appointed to work with both adidas and Arsenal to bring together two world-class brands with one unified voice - reflecting the DNA of each brand, while marking the launch of a collaborative partnership that puts fans at the fore. Striking the balance was critical.

The Armoury handles up to 8,000 matchday transactions across 41 pay points and the design challenge was to ensure the customer flow works well for both match day and non-match day scenarios, making the bustling match day experience easy and enjoyable, whilst ramping up the in-store experience and increasing dwell time on non-match day. 

The new approach raises the bar for show-tailing in sport / stadium retail, with immersive, interactive digital and lo-tech tactile experiences on offer - from digital interactive mirrors to Broadcast Augmented Reality, giving fans the chance to “Show Your Skills” and be rated by first team players, a 4 meter screen playing Arsenal’s "Top Ten Goals” and a “live match day” ticker tape calling out team line-ups. An “audio shower” entrance tunnel welcomes fans into the shop to the sound of Arsenal fans singing in full voice. 

Bespoke street mural art, hand rendered concrete and metal mesh finishes echo the North London connection and lo-tech treats such as ‘freshly cut grass’ scent machines in the fitting rooms, a chance to take a seat on Mikel Arteta’s touchline chair and a chance to have your photo taken beside an iconic golden Arsenal cannon add a strong counter-balance to the investment in top quality digital interaction.

The video attached to this entry was produced by Dynamo ( a project supplier) for their use at a trade show . The design and ideation is all 442 design IP.