Nakun Tangsuwan's dream is to have her own shop in Thailand with Western classical décor.

She is currently managing director of two shops called Q Concept and, being unable to turn entire buildings into the design of her dreams, she has gone part of the way by giving her shop fronts a retro design - following the style of the recent past - featuring blue and white colours.

"I think of London or Paris, where the shops are located inside classical-looking buildings. They have very nice looks," Nakun explains.

"The interior design is a key to attracting customers, and it is part of my marketing strategy, which means I make a handsome saving on the cost of marketing," she says. "If the customers get a good impression, they will start talking about the shops and our reputation will spread by word of mouth."

Moreover, the striking interior design is a way of convincing visitors that the products on sale are leading designs.

The latest Q Concept shop, at CentralWorld, is 280 square metres in size. It is designed to resemble a theatre, in retro Western style, yet it is blended with trendy white walls with a black spiral vine motif and other graphic features, as well as white and green chandeliers.

At the back of the shop there are two dressing rooms decorated in black with amber lighting, huddled behind bright red woolen velvet curtains, giving a backstage atmosphere.

The furniture can also give patrons - about 500 visitors a day - a sense of shopping in London or Paris. Despite the retro look, it is all newly made. Visitors can try on dresses or shop for ornaments, from bags to glittering necklaces, as well as finding items of furniture, lighting, personal accessories, stationery, books and magazines.

This new shop - Q Concept's second branch - targets trendy shoppers aged between 25 and 35. The first branch is located at the upmarket Siam Paragon shopping complex. It occupies 850 square metres and targets a wider range of customers aged from 18 to 40.

The CentralWorld shop required investment of Bt8 million, while the Siam Paragon branch cost Bt18 million, Nakun says.

The CentralWorld outlet is expected to break even within three years and the Siam Paragon shop after three to four years. Both shops offer a mixture of locally made and imported goodies, including the company's two in-house brands - Labyrinth and Red Ruby.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation