Walking the aisles: Colombian kitchen and bath chain goes all out

There are plenty of examples in the United States of home design showroom stores that make emotional appeals to the customer’s purse strings. But for another perspective and for an award-winning approach to this theme, Home Channel News points to the new Almacenes Corona, in the exotic retailing locale of Bogota, Colombia.


The 15-location home design showroom company’s flagship store is one of the finalists in the “Retail Store of the Year Design Competition” organized by Chain Store Age, sister publication of Home Channel News. The store is also the competition’s sole representative from the home improvement or home remodeling space.


Not only are all the materials for the kitchen and bath displays sold by Corona, but all the contractors and installers are Corona employees — a fact that is expected to instill confidence in the craftsmanship of the people who work here. 


The kitchen and bath specialist considers the store the “ultimate inspirational center for home renovations,” which caters to a very high-end market, including those who are “proud of their financial success and want the home to reflect their status in the community,” according to the store’s entry form. The pictures speak for themselves. 


The Toronto-based design firm Watt International contributed its expertise to the look and feel of the 4,305-sq.-ft. project. The Bogota location is smaller than most of Corona’s showrooms, but offers a “best of the best” approach to merchandising. e