The Bicester Collection, created and operated by Value Retail, is a family of 11 luxury shopping destinations in Europe, the UK and China, and soon in the US. Locations include distinguished retail spaces like Maasmechelen Village near Brussels, Kildare Village near Dublin, and Bicester Village near London. A staggering 41 million people shopped and dined at a The Bicester Collection in 2022!
A drive for sustainability
An organisation that takes its corporate responsibility seriously, The Bicester Collection have dedicated themselves to embedding sustainability into their culture. With an emphasis on monitoring and reducing environmental impact across the Villages, they aim to reduce water, energy use, waste, and greenhouse gas emissions. It was these common values that brought The Bicester Collection and Shoplight together.
Being so sustainability driven, with specific targets to improve energy consumption and sustainability across all areas, Shoplight’s newest product, Nort, and its High Efficiency range proved to be highly attractive to The Bicester Collection’s boutique development teams.
Retail Development Manager, Richard Baldry said, “As part of our drive on sustainability and reducing operational energy demand at Bicester Village, we’ve been impressed by the Nort lighting system from Shoplight. Its energy efficiency, the use of recycled materials in its main body, and commitment to the principles of the circular economy align perfectly with our ESG initiatives, further enhancing our efforts towards environmental responsibility while maintaining our high standards for retail environment quality.”
So far, Shoplight, in partnership with The Bicester Collection have supplied retail lighting for pop-up boutiques and leading brands like:
- Hugo Boss, within Le Salon, Maasmechelen Village
- Simone Perele, Kildare Village
- Women’s International, Bicester Village
- Astrid & Miyu, Bicester Village
- Marc Jacobs, Bicester Village
Bringing sustainability to retail lighting
A fully upgradeable, circular economy spotlight, Nort has been designed to reduce energy consumption in both manufacture and operation, a perfect match for The Bicester Collection’s ongoing focus on sustainability.
Nort is a track mounted adjustable spotlight, made from sustainable bioplastic and complete with increased efficiency COB LED module, reflector, and integral electronic driver.
- As a circular product, Nort materials can be reused, recycled or composted
- In fact, 86% of Nort is reusable and/or recyclable at end of life
- The use of innovative bioplastic blends means Nort offers up to 97.5% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to aluminium production
- Local manufacturing of Nort means up to 25% reduction in CO2 emissions
- On demand printing means little to no waste is produced
- Its modular design means key components can be easily serviced, upgraded or replaced
- The high efficiency version of Nort offers up to 153 lumens per watt which can reduce energy consumption by up to 50%
The Bicester Collection also used Shoplight’s Colt Mini HE, a recessed fixed downlight complete with COB LED module, reflector and remote electronic driver.
The Colt Mini HE is from Shoplight’s High Efficiency range which significantly reduces carbon miles and energy consumption. Rather than being shipped from the Far East, the High Efficiency range is made in the EU, and therefore reduces associated carbon miles considerably. The High Efficiency range also features new high efficiency LED modules which deliver efficiencies of up to 150 luminaire lumens per circuit watt. This means they can reduce the lighting energy consumption by up to 50% compared to a standard LED spotlight.
Striving for retail lighting efficiency
Through product innovation and expert lighting design skills Shoplight work with brands like The Bicester Collection to significantly improve lighting efficiency.
As well as providing significant energy cost savings, better lighting efficiency contributes to improving overall sustainability. Reducing energy consumption decreases the overall demand for electricity and contributes directly to energy conservation. This is crucial for the kind of sustainability efforts that The Bicester Collection are undertaking as it reduces greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy production and helps to mitigate negative environmental impact.
For example, in the Hugo Boss Le Salon Pop-Up at Maasmechelen Village, existing lighting was using 30w/m2. Shoplight’s design reduced that to and impressive 10w/m2! Shoplight went on to match this, keeping energy consumption under 10w/m2 for Simone Perele in Kildare Village and Women’s International in Bicester Village.
Going beyond lighting with innovation and service
Working on these lighting projects with The Bicester Collection has involved dealing with multiple team members, including boutique development teams from The Bicester Collection and the Brand partners they work with. By keeping a steady flow of communication with designers, contractors, and everyone else involved in bringing these stores to life, and keeping close tabs on project management, Shoplight have successfully lit several of The Collection’s pop-up stores with more in the pipeline.
To complement its innovative bioplastic product range made from plant-based polymers, Shoplight has an in-house design studio available to help brands create lighting design that considers both sustainability and visual impact. As specialists in sustainable UK and European retail lighting, a light-focusing service as standard and experience with other leading brands like LEGO, GAIL’s Bakery and END, working with Shoplight could well be the next best move for your retail development team.
Overall, this partnership demonstrates what can be achieved when businesses consider the impact they have on all stakeholders including the environment. By changing its approach to lighting, The Bicester Collection are actively contributing to a more sustainable future by adopting and promoting circular, energy-efficient lighting across their estate and with the Brands they partner with.
For more information on sustainable lighting options like Nort, contact Matt Carrington on +44 (0)7921 823725, matt.carrington@shoplight.lighting or visit www.shoplight.lighting
