NIKE RUNNING Shop-in-Shop Cisalfa Bergamo – Sports Retail Design
When shop-in-shop design rivals standalone flagships
Shop-in-shop projects face unique challenge: the customer journey doesn’t begin at your threshold. Rather, it starts at the host retailer’s entrance, sometimes hundreds of meters away.
For Nike’s running corner at Cisalfa Group Bergamo, we designed complete retail environment comparable to standalone Nike flagship—but operating within multi-brand sports retail context. This Nike Cisalfa retail design required thinking beyond spatial boundaries, creating wayfinding, visual pull, and brand immersion that activates long before customers physically enter Nike territory.
The result? A comprehensive Nike Running world inside Cisalfa that attracts, orients, and converts through strategic design addressing both visibility challenges and experiential depth.
The shop-in-shop design challenge
Traditional retail design assumes controlled entrance experience. Shop-in-shop design surrenders that control. Customers enter Cisalfa, not Nike. They browse multiple brands. Your space must compete for attention while maintaining brand integrity within someone else’s environment.
Moreover, Cisalfa Bergamo operates at significant scale—a sports retail destination serving diverse athletic categories. Nike Running needed clear identity without disrupting overall store flow or overwhelming adjacent brands.
Our strategy addressed multiple layers simultaneously. Long-distance visibility through bold signage and distinctive materials. Mid-range attraction through color and dynamic display. Close-range engagement through immersive environment and product storytelling. Consequently, the design works across different viewing distances and customer mindsets.
Material palette communicating performance
We developed material strategy balancing warmth with technical performance aesthetics.
Warm wood cladding defines the perimeter, creating Nike Running’s architectural envelope within Cisalfa’s larger space. The orange-toned wood panels provide continuity, rhythm, and premium material presence. Wood communicates quality and permanence rather than temporary corner feeling.
Black industrial ceiling and fixtures add athletic edge. Matte black shelving, display tables with black bases, black perforated metal details—these elements ground the vibrant product colors while reinforcing Nike’s performance DNA.
Neon accent colors inject energy strategically. Lime green wall sections and cyan blue vertical elements create visual punctuation without overwhelming. These bright tones echo running apparel colors, creating material-product conversation throughout the space.
The palette feels distinctly Nike Running—warm yet technical, premium yet approachable, energetic yet organized.
Zoning and visual merchandising strategy
This sports retail design organizes product through clear category zoning visible from distance.
Footwear walls dominate sight lines. Shoes organized by purpose (training, racing, everyday running) with clear signage. The “RUNNING” illuminated logo anchors the main shoe wall, creating focal brand moment. Secondary walls show breadth of Nike’s running shoe portfolio.
Apparel zones separate by gender and function. Women’s running apparel occupies dedicated wall section with sports bras prominently displayed—acknowledging this category’s importance for female runners. Men’s and unisex items organize by performance level and use case.
Central display podi with wood-topped black bases create flexible merchandising zones. These platforms elevate product literally and figuratively, allowing seasonal storytelling and new product launches without spatial reconfiguration. Moreover, their geometric stacking creates visual interest and Instagram-worthy moments.
Wayfinding and attraction beyond boundaries
Successful Nike Cisalfa retail design required solving visibility problem: how do customers find Nike Running within Cisalfa’s extensive floor plan?
We designed multilayered attraction system. From Cisalfa’s entrance, bright neon accents visible across sightlines. As customers approach, warm wood cladding signals premium destination. Upon arrival, immersive Nike environment with comprehensive running product offering.
Signage strategy balances Nike brand standards with wayfinding necessity. “RUNNING” messaging appears prominently, orienting customers arriving from different store zones. Category callouts (women’s, men’s, shoes, apparel) provide quick navigation within the corner itself.
The space boundary feels clear without physical barriers—material changes and ceiling treatments define Nike territory while maintaining visual and physical flow with surrounding Cisalfa environment.
Flagship experience within multi-brand context
What elevates this project beyond typical shop-in-shop? Completeness.
We didn’t create miniature Nike corner. Rather, we designed comprehensive Nike Running retail environment that happens to operate within Cisalfa. Product breadth rivals standalone stores. Merchandising sophistication matches flagship standards. Material quality and design execution communicate premium positioning.
Customers don’t experience “Nike section of Cisalfa.” Instead, they enter Nike Running world, browse complete offering, receive full brand immersion—then return to Cisalfa’s broader sports retail context.
Shop-in-shop design expertise
If you’re developing Nike retail design or shop-in-shop concepts requiring flagship-level experience within host retail environments, VANDA brings expertise balancing dual requirements: maintaining brand integrity while respecting host context.
We understand shop-in-shop design demands different thinking—visibility strategies, wayfinding integration, material choices communicating both autonomy and contextual fit.
From Nike’s running corner at Cisalfa to sports retail environments across Italy, we create shop-in-shop experiences that attract, engage, and convert without requiring standalone locations.
Nike Running Shop-in-Shop, Cisalfa Bergamo
Client: Nike / Cisalfa Group
Sports Retail Design: VANDA Designers
Location: Cisalfa Bergamo, Mall
Year: 2017
Scope: Complete shop-in-shop design, wayfinding strategy, visual merchandising systems
Typology: Nike Running, shop-in-shop, sports retail design
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CISALFA | Retail Design | Vandadesigners
