D’Art expands Hitachi’s retail model with experiential stores

D’Art Private Limited has helped Hitachi roll out a more scalable retail strategy across India, including an experiential center in Gujarat and more than 100 compact Hitachi Home stores. The work matters because Hitachi is pairing immersive store design with a format built for Tier II and Tier III markets as it expands its physical footprint.

Why it matters: - Hitachi needed a retail model that could work across different store sizes, customer journeys, and market types as the brand expanded in India. - D’Art’s work gives Hitachi a repeatable store system, not just a one-off design, which is critical for scaling without losing brand consistency. - The rollout supports Hitachi’s push into smaller cities with a compact format built to keep the full product range visible in less space.

What happened: - Hitachi partnered with D’Art Private Limited to manage retail strategy, design, and execution across its Indian retail network. - The collaboration covered an experiential center in Gujarat and the launch of a compact store format called Hitachi Home. - D’Art also executed Hitachi’s 4th Global Development Center in Kadi, Gujarat. - D’Art completed more than 100 new Hitachi Home stores across India and facilitated the fabrication of more than 750 retail fixtures.

The details: - The Kadi experience center was designed as a “live product experience in a live environment.” - D’Art divided the Gujarat space into three product zones: Room Air Conditioners, Packaged Air Conditioners, and Variable Refrigerant Flow systems. - The agency used a “Product Zone” approach to improve movement, visibility, and interaction inside the space. - 3D visuals and connectivity-based displays were used to help products explain themselves through visual storytelling. - Hitachi said the experience center design presents its technology in a simple, effective, and direct manner. - Hitachi Home was built for Tier II and Tier III towns and was designed to bring the full product range into a smaller footprint. - D’Art handled the concept, strategy, design, and on-ground execution for the compact format. - The store model was designed to be easy to set up, easy to navigate, and easy to replicate. - Each store followed a unique but consistent design language. - D’Art managed the full retail fitout process, from strategy and design development to final deployment.

Between the lines: - The project shows how retail brands are shifting from standalone showrooms to systems that can be reproduced across markets. - The emphasis on standardization and adaptability suggests Hitachi wanted a format that could scale fast without weakening the customer experience. - The compact-store strategy points to a broader push to reach new buyers in non-metro markets while keeping the brand present and recognizable.

What's next: - The Hitachi Home format appears positioned for further expansion as Hitachi grows its physical footprint. - The experience-center approach may serve as a template for future retail environments that need both product education and brand storytelling. - D’Art’s execution model is set up to support additional store rollouts if Hitachi continues scaling the format.

The bottom line: - Hitachi is using D’Art to turn retail design into a scalable growth tool, combining immersive flagship spaces with a compact format built for broader market reach.