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Mobility brand Lynk & Co’s creative approach to automotive retail

Lynk & Co. Designed by Masquespacio, Spain

Spain – Steering away from the conventional automobile showroom, Lynk & Co has unveiled a versatile 400-square-metre space in Barcelona intended as an experiential meeting point.

Designed by the creative studio Masquespacio, the project aims to reflect the creativity and unconventional character of the car brand, which offers a range of flexible, membership-based mobility solutions.

As such, The Barcelona Club serves as a creative and sustainable meeting place described as ‘a world of utopias’, where visitors experience a hyperphysical immersion into the brand’s universe. The brutalist décor of the space is intentionally full of imperfections to inspire surprise, with elements like a trompe-l’oeil swimming pool in the co-working area or a show of lights and sounds in the bathrooms.

Lynk & Co’s versatile space in Barcelona is reminiscent of a concept store or a members’ club rather than a showroom, paving the way for disruptive automotive retail spaces providing sensorial awe-inducing experiences to attract a new wave of consumers.

Strategic opportunity

Take inspiration from Lynk & Co’s automotive retail concept by giving your brand an immersive edge and turning traditional showroom spaces into social experiences and network hubs for clients to connect and drive the brand story forward

Kering and L’Occitane team up to support nature protection

Canada – Global luxury group and sustainability pioneer Kering has teamed up with cosmetics company L’Occitane Group to collectively protect and restore biodiversity with the creation of the Climate Fund for Nature.

The joint initiative aims to mobilise resources from the luxury, fashion and beauty industries to collectively support biodiversity restoration and conservation on a large scale. The Climate Fund for Nature will bring significant capital to projects supporting nature protection and restoration, mostly in regions where investors source raw materials.

Criteria that make a project eligible include the ability to deliver measurable outcomes for nature, climate and local livelihoods, but also to contribute to women empowerment. The fund will back projects helping farmers transition to regenerative practices or deliver carbon credits, for instance.

‘A Net Zero and nature-positive economy requires huge amounts of capital, and the ambitious contribution of corporates is essential to achieve this transition,’ says Anne-Laurence Roucher, deputy CEO of sustainable investment company Mirova.

With this symbiosis strategy, the organisations hope to fulfil ambitious commitments – £122.3m ($148.7m, €140m) has already been pledged, with plans to onboard new partner companies in the near future.

L’Occitane, France

Strategic opportunity

Collaboration is key to scaling up the impact of our corporate sustainability efforts, but to do it effectively we need to commit to long-term goals and to invest cash and resources accordingly.

Stat: Young parents are rejecting gender norms

Oddokids Manual by Oddobody, US

Global – As more members of Generation Z become parents, they are applying their progressive views on gender and identity to their parenting style, paving the way for new, gender-neutral approaches to raising a child.

‘Beyond pink and blue’ has been named by image discovery platform Pinterest as a visual trend to watch in 2023 as part of its annual Pinterest Predicts report. Despite taking root in an aesthetic trend, insights suggest a deeper shift, with younger generations moving away from binary gender narratives and approaching parenting on their own terms.

Data shows increasing interest in gender-fluid parenting, as searches for unisex names nearly doubled from September 2020 to September 2022. Young parents are also turning to Pinterest for inspiration and advice on how to address gender diversity or the use of pronouns with their kids, with searches for gender flags (+285%) or self-identity art (+75%) soaring in the same period.

Resources such as educational books or art activities that help to address gender topics and steer free from stereotypes will be valuable tools for next-gen parents as Gen Z begin to enter the Parenting Market.

Strategic opportunity

Beyond outmoded and divisive binary gender narratives, services and products intended for children should focus on fostering diversity, individuality and self-expression