Space-agey and retro: Helio store opens in Mile High City

DENVER-The Helio store gleams from a distance in the early dark of a cold Denver evening, its floor-to-ceiling windows enclosing a modern, warehouse/boutique-chic space that is brand spankin’ new and very, very shiny.
You know that new-car smell? The Helio store has a new-store smell.
Helio opens the 5,000 square-foot store today in the Mile High City, marking its first retail location outside of the state of California. The store is located in the posh Cherry Creek shopping district, across from an upscale mall and just down the block from a high-traffic Whole Foods market. A third California store, this one located in San Diego, also opens this weekend; the mobile virtual network operator also has Helio-branded stores in Santa Monica and Palo Alto.
On an early tour of the store, which Helio spokeswoman Courtney Carlisle tells me is the MVNO’s largest yet, it seems that the only non-minimalist aspect are the flat-panel monitors and large TV screens generously sprinkled around the room, showing images of Helio’s sleek handsets and some of the content available on the device. Soft, circular panels of light beam overhead among bare pipes and ducts, and the flooring is a mix of glistening concrete and cork. It’s sort of space-agey and retro at the same time, continuing design elements previously introduced at Helio’s other stores.
A large, semi-circular green sofa marks a “no-sell” area where customers can chill out and play with their devices. There is no traditional cash register area; instead, “pods” scattered around the room offer live phones to play with and touch-screen monitors to explore information about the devices and service. The dark wood paneling pulls out to reveal keyboards below the monitors for checking out customers, and the inventory is also hidden away behind the wall panels. No trips to the back to check handset availability, no need to leave customers, Carlisle points out. A “Q+A” bar with stools offers a place for the staff-all Helio users and in the MVNO’s young-and-hip demographic-to answer questions and perhaps polish up an excessively loved-on device.
“This is clearly not like any other phone store, with a unique set-up to make it work,” Carlisle said.
Helio plans to open five stores in its first phase of retail launches. The fifth, in New York City, is expected to open in late February. The company has not started a major advertising blitz for the Denver market yet; that will come after the grand opening this weekend, which will feature works from underground artists, local DJs and concert ticket giveaways.
“We really wanted to make sure the store was ready before we drove traffic into it,” Carlisle said.
Eventually, Helio may have events such as acoustic sets and display pieces from local artists, and broadcast images from Helio events elsewhere.