A look at the Adidas showroom at Forum. Picture by Rashbehari Das

Take One: An all-new silver fa?ade, special ‘rigatino’ fixtures for flexibility of display, and a special autumn-winter collection designed in Italy... United Colours of Benetton.

Take Two: Lit-wall array of high-performance shoes, outer-window exposition with mannequins and a sharp focus on women’s sportswear... Adidas.

Take Three: 012, or clothes from zero to 12 years (three months to 12 years actually), in nine different sizes, toys and accessories, luggage and shoes in a kaleidoscope of hues? UCB Kids.

A retail rack rejig at Forum has enabled the franchisee and the mall management to bring back the kids’ wing of Italian apparel major United Colours of Benetton to the city for the first time after the closure of the Free School Street outlet.

At the same time, the chic churn has facilitated the launch of the new international look of both the Adidas and Benetton stores at the Elgin Road shop stop. The reconfiguration is a very strategic step, maintains the mall.

“United Colours of Benetton was doing very well on the third level and wanted a bigger space. So we shifted them down to the ground level to the slot which earlier housed Adidas, which in turn has been allotted a new space across the corridor and a smarter, more focused look,” explains Rahul Saraf, managing director, Forum.

The erstwhile Benetton store on the second level has now been converted into UCB Kids, with more floor space freed for the large mix of merchandise of the prestigious brand, which adds another feather to the city’s retail cap.

From basic round-neck tees to tops, trousers, track pants, jackets, toys and accessories ? the entire Benetton booty is now on the racks of the kids’ outlet. Pocket pinch tees off at Rs 249.

The reformatted and relocated UCB store, designed by the chain’s international studio and catering to adults and teens, has started bringing in its global autumn-winter range.

From men’s basic round-necks for all-day wear to the best-knitted T-shirts for parties, trousers of Italian cut and design and a lavish line of shirts for all occasions, there’s just about everything to pamper the wardrobe.

For women, the all-new Benetton store offers classic western wear, jeans and tops, jackets and pullovers ? the works.

The Adidas store, also wearing a new “global look and feel”, has turned its gaze on “today’s women”.

Says franchisee Madhusudan Binani: “We have beefed up the women’s sportswear range (everything from tennis apparel to trendy beachwear to special designer motifs on T-shirts) and lifestyle shoes keeping in mind the increased consciousness towards sports and fitness among women in the city.”

The men’s section now concentrates more on technical shoes, with a “comprehensive range” of running, tennis, outdoors and basketball footwear.

“We are busy tracking international fashion trends as well, and hence, track pants are very much in,” informs Binani. According to the Forum MD, managing and evolving a mall is “always a learning curve”.

And a realignment like this is essentially an exercise in optimising and rationalising shop-floor space, explains Saraf.