IADS Exclusive - Interview with Blocher Partners

Blocher Partners (bp) was founded 30 years ago in Germany by Jutta and Dieter Blocher. From the very beginning, their approach was transdisciplinary. Along with their client needs, they added new competencies to their practice: interior design, product design, but also marketing and communication solutions. Thanks to their recognized know-how in the development of retail spaces, they were soon labelled as retail architects. They could offer clients holistic concepts, always putting the customer in the centre of actions and the thinking process. For getting in touch with their clients in an early stage and really understanding their needs, Blocher Partners lately expanded their business by the field design strategy: early in 2022 ‘Blocher Partners sens’ was established. Erik Schimkat who leads the new entity, is an interior designer who has specialized in co-creative design research methods. These are of great importance when it comes to unveiling unseen potential and pushing ideas towards new boundaries. For this interview we had the chance to talk to both Jutta and Erik about innovation and transformation in the retail business.

IADS provides its members with a weekly in-depth analysis on retail-oriented topics. This is an example of the themes the Association regularly addresses, and the topic of an article from the IADS members-only newsletter date 13 April 2022.