Barkers is a classic kiwi fashion brand with stores nationwide offering high-quality men’s clothing. For the newest store at the Bayfair Shopping Centre, Mount Maunganui, concrete, stone and timber surfaces were chosen to create an industrial aesthetic.

An integral part of the design is the use of Plytech’s LightBeton real concrete surface for shelving throughout the store. LightBeton is an MDF panel with a 2mm concrete surface that features irregular surface holes and authentic concrete characteristics for a true concrete look. The panels feature an HPL back for balance. 

Brian Harris, Furniture Maker, Harris Quality Woodwork Ltd, was tasked with supplying the bespoke shelving for the store. He used LightBeton in Urban Grey to create a total of forty 1200mm shelves and thirty 600mm shelves.

“LightBeton looks more like concrete than any other product we’d seen, which is why it was chosen,” explains Brian. “It has all the pit holes and characteristics of concrete. I haven’t seen that in a low-pressure laminate before or in a high-pressure laminate for that matter.”

New to using LightBeton, Brian was pleased to find that the concrete surface was simple to work with. “It worked just as easily as the plywoods and melamines we’ve used in the past for doing the same job,” he says. “I’d certainly use it again.”

Now installed, the LightBeton shelves add a touch of texture while ensuring a neutral backdrop for clothing and accessories on display. “The LightBeton looks great,” says Brian, adding that the HPL underside of the surface was another advantage for Barkers: “That’s something the Barkers team really liked as it helps shed light onto the clothing.” Stone flooring tiles, a concrete block counter, and timber countertops complete the design of the store.

The final result is a chic industrial design that reflects the Barkers brand, with the textured look and feel of the LightBeton concrete shelving providing a stylish surface for clothing displays.