Connecting shoppers with treasured pieces that have not yet found the right home.
We partnered with Crisis, the UK charity dedicated to ending homelessness, to design a bold new outlet concept in Hammersmith.
‘Crisis Dropshop’, the new retail concept, works to revolutionise the store as “a positive outlet”, signalling a bold step change on the high street. Just as Crisis has always sought to bring fresh thinking to retail, this evolution of the retail space continues to push the category forward, while maintaining the values-led approach that serves as the centre of all of Crisis’ work.
Located in Hammersmith, London, the outlet shop serves as a beacon of sustainable fashion, while raising funds for a worthwhile cause. Crisis Dropshop will be the last stop for all items donated across the 17 Crisis stores in the UK, with all items price-dropped – giving everything a second chance to find a new home. With a desire to connect more meaningfully with Gen Z audiences, reframe what an outlet experience can feel like, and reflect the changing role of physical brand experience, Crisis briefed us to evolve the space and create a retail brand identity for the outlet store. With a fresh new storefront and retail concept, the ‘Crisis Dropshop’ outlet has been transformed into a vibrant destination for savvy shoppers.
In creating the Crisis Dropshop identity, we aimed to bring a youthful vibrancy and unique playfulness to the brand while maintaining its genuine and unstaged nature. As part of the shop’s identity, we crafted a new name, logo, colour palette and tone-of-voice.
The name ‘Dropshop’ points both to the guaranteed price drops as well as providing a constant ‘drop’ of products from other branches, while also leaning into the semantics of ‘drop’ culture in the fashion industry. The decision to visually drop the ‘o’ in the logo brings a further sense of playfulness to the shop’s personality, and the dynamic ‘dropping’ down of the logo in the shopfront window itself from the fascia also contributes to its impactful presence as well as reflecting the name.
The bold, straight-talking tone of voice captures the genuine character of Crisis, remaining confident and impactful throughout the experience. This is reflected in the distinctive fascia design and carried through touchpoints in-store.
Crisis Dropshop aims to connect shoppers with great pieces that have not found the right home previously, cutting down environmental waste while enabling great bargains. Utilising a fixed price scheme, customers will be able to find treasured items for either £3, £5, or £8. The new store concept captures the essence of Gen Z’s shopping attitudes: enabling budget-friendly, sustainable, unique fashion choices, all while supporting a good cause.
The message in the window: ‘2 drops a week. 3 fixed prices. Ready, set, hunt.’ serves as an open, unapologetic invitation to discover your own Crisis Dropshop finds. The stickers accompanying the message in the shopfront window introduces the pricing sticker concept to potential shoppers as they’re walking down the street.
Sustainability, both environmental and capacity, were at the forefront of this design. A core part of the experience design was to ensure the changes felt manageable and achievable to the shop staff, while still giving the refresh desired. From using printed merchandise as display pieces, new colour-coding stickers to suggest price changes, and design elements that can be printed in-house, our store design is practical, yet completely inspired.
Amber Haas, Senior Creative Strategist, Dalziel & Pow: “We’re so proud of this recent collaboration with Crisis. The opportunity to reimagine what an outlet store experience can be and create a bold new brand identity for the concept has been a dream project for the team. ‘Crisis Dropshop’ represents a real step-change for charity retail on the high street – playful, joyful and full of confidence. It’s been inspiring to work with a partner so committed to pushing boundaries while staying true to their values.”
“Crisis Dropshop is about unlocking the full potential of every donation. By giving great pieces another chance to be worn and loved, we’re reducing waste, making sustainable fashion more accessible, and raising vital funds to end homelessness. This new concept brings real energy to both Hammersmith and to our network of shops – it’s bold, playful and welcoming. Thanks to the creativity and commitment from Dalziel & Pow, we’re thrilled with the end result.” Kim Collins, Director of Retail, Crisis.