Happy Retail: A format that makes you smile

Copenhagen – Boutique L.U.I.S is currently claiming to sell happiness – in the form of a small white dog, the smell of new leather, or a piece of artfully displayed wood.

The clue, of course, is in the artful. Boutique L.U.I.S. will soon be seen in any number of European capitals with empty retail space to spare (and there are many of those). It is the brainchild of three Danish Design School students who are keen to explore notions of happiness, content and inner calm in these recessionary, market-lashed times.

Part pop-up, part philosophical treatise on the meaning of happiness, value and worth, it is a timely experiment. Consumers are asked to reassess their notion of happiness, via the smells, moods and emotions on display, and explore how and why buying something makes them feel good.