JD Sports adds accent lighting wow factor

Sports fashion retailer, JD Sports, has installed Tamlite Lighting’s Starlite LED strip in over 20 stores throughout Europe and the UK, including its Birmingham Bullring store, using the eye-catching feature lighting as an accent for product displays and decorative features.

 

With so many different types of sports shoes on offer, JD Sports was keen to find new ways of showcasing its wide variety of stock. The major retail chain opted for new LED technology that could create a focal point for large Perspex display cases, which have been designed to display trainers in a novel and eye-catching way.

 

Flex Strip from Starlite was chosen to provide feature lighting within the JD Sports store in Birmingham’s Bullring. The LED ‘tape’ allows light to be used in an unconventional way: flexible strips with self-adhesive backing make it possible to attach the LEDs to any surface in any desired spot. 

 

On JD Sports’ retail floor, Flex Strip’s bright, white lighting precisely outlines the ‘flight cases,’ Perspex cabinets that display the shoes. The LED strip has also been used to outline suspended triangular ‘exploded crown’ ceiling features, creating a distinctive style motif that helps to set the tone in JD Sports stores.

 

DCM Electrical carried out the installation. Flex Strip was supplied in customised 7.5m reels, which the installer was able to cut at 50mm intervals and use with connections and drivers to create continuous lines of white light. Since the lighting is LED, JD Sports are expecting up to 30,000 hours lifespan. The provider said this means the retailer is able to consider it as a ‘fit and forget’ fixture of its store.

 

While JD Sports did not comment on the announcement, Joseph Smith, marketing manager of Tamlite Lighting, said forward-thinking retailers like JD Sports are beginning to think about lighting in a new way. “It’s not just about having a lightbulb in the ceiling,” he said. “It’s about using lighting where it’s actually needed – to illuminate the products and create an eye-catching feature, that also saves them money.”