DARK STORES

Our Projects for Dark Stores

A dark store is a warehouse dedicated exclusively to the preparation and shipping of online orders. Unlike traditional supermarkets, dark stores are not open to the public and are designed to optimize the speed and efficiency of the picking and packing process.

In 2019, we had our first contact with this reality, becoming the Italian architects for GLOVO, which intended to open its dark stores in Italy. From there, a long and enriching journey began alongside this client, who is not only wonderfully dynamic but also incredibly driven. Those who work at Glovo are generally very young and have an extraordinary willpower that drives them towards innovation.

For us, coming from the traditional commercial world, it was interesting to conceive the commercial project in a totally different way. In a traditional supermarket, the customer needs to be attracted and slowed down to see the products and enjoy the journey within the store. In contrast, the dark store focuses on the speed of movement of the staff. In a very short time, they receive the order and within a few minutes, they must ship the ready order to the final customer. We had to completely rethink the way we design.

In addition to this journey with GLOVO, we have also been consultants for other companies, including MACAI and GORILLAS, for a total of four dark store specialists. To date, we have developed projects and overseen construction for over 55 stores, from Valle d’Aosta to Sicily. The service we offer our clients is diversified and includes design, municipal building permits, construction management, site safety, and all the licenses for starting activities. To date, we have completed over a hundred procedures.