[title]
Just as we were (somewhat) recovering from the news that there was going to be a gigantic Greggs in Leicester Square, there’s a fresh West End bombshell. No lesser global super-brand than Coca-Cola just launched its first flagship in London. The store, located on Long Acre in Covent Garden, is the first of its kind for the brand in Europe.
But what on earth do you even buy in a Coca-Cola shop, you might reasonably ask. Apart from bottles/cans of Coca-Cola. Well…
The London shop is vaguely conceptual, in that it is a physical manifestation of the brand’s exhortations to come and ‘experience the Real Magic of Coca-Cola’. What that actually means, we’ll park for now. But the Covent Garden outlet will sell limited-edition clothing collabs with the dreaded teen-bait ‘drops’, kind of like Supreme hooking up with, say, Subway. Okay, it’s not really like that very much.
The company has already done similar stores in the US. This time around, featured brands will feature some UK-based faves and global names including Soho Grit, Alma de Ace, BAPE, Herschel, Staple, BE@RBRICK and more. In addition, there will be a C-C Beverage Bar, and the chance for shoppers to add a personalised touch to cans of the brown stuff at an instore ‘customisation centre’.
If you want the full head-to-toe look, the shop is offering hats, bags, tech and reusable drinkware plus topical collections for Pride, for example. It is also intended to showcase the brand’s sustainability credentials, so if you do pop along to get a new trackie top and a refreshing Coke, make sure you put that famous can in the correct side of the litter bin.
Coca-Cola Covent Garden Flagship, 32-33 Long Acre, WC2E 9LA.
In other collab news, this year’s Proms will feature a concert of video game music.