International lifestyle company Mexx sells clothing and accessories for men, women, teenagers and children in more than 65 countries across the world. The brand is a by-word for optimism, independence and inspiration and “joie de vivre” – values that are all reflected in the company’s metropolitan casual range. Several years ago, Mexx extended its range to include business fashion and, as a result, started to modify the décor and lighting in sections of its stores. In line with the formal look and feel of business attire, the company went for a townhouse look, combining authentic white wood moldings on ceilings and walls with bright, antique furniture to create an elegant yet cosmopolitan atmosphere. In order to put the finishing touch on this look, Mexx wanted the perfect lighting concept – one that would reflect the modern elegance of its new range, make customers feel at home and show the products in the best possible light. This meant striking the right balance between general illumination and accent lighting.

Mexx opened the first stores with townhouse areas in Amsterdam and Den Bosch in the Netherlands in the spring of 2012. The Den Bosch store is located in an old cinema. Here, designers installed Cyl Vario uplights fitted with OSRAM LED bulbs from LEDVANCE on the tops of columns to illuminate the ceiling. A number of flexible spotlights were installed to ensure the clothing can be ideally illuminated from any angle. The lighting team chose black casing for the austere atmosphere of the men’s department, while a more welcoming white color was used in the ladies’ department. Each luminaire is equipped with an OSRAM HCI POWERBALL Plus metal halide lamp from LEDVANCE, which has a 35 W rating and a warm, wide distribution light pattern (WDL 930). The brilliant light and excellent color rendering (Ra ≥ 90) shows textures and fine color nuances at their best, in particular reds and skin tones.In Mexx’s Amsterdam store, the lighting concept combines 278 spotlights with OSRAM POWERTRONIC PTi 35 electronic control gear for maximum energy efficiency.

This effective, flexible and efficient lighting concept ensures that the company’s products are always in the spotlight. It combines high illumination efficiency with 35-Watt bulbs and the OSRAM POWERTRONIC PTi 35 electronic control gear (ECG) to increase luminous efficiency by up to 10% (up to 103 lm/W) while reducing energy consumption. The POWERBALL Plus metal halide lamp with its ceramic burner brings a host of benefits including an average life of 15,000 hours, and only a small drop in luminous flux. After 12,000 hours of operation, for instance, the lamp continues to produce around 80% of its initial brightness.

Mexx aims to install spotlights, POWERBALL Plus HCI lamps and POWERTRONIC PTi 35 control gear in all of its stores, including new sites in Bonn (Germany), Gent (Belgium), Vienna (Austria), St. Petersburg (Russia) and Montreal (Canada). The metropolitan concept with its dramatic lighting concept was a big success for the company with sales increasing by up to 25%.