Sony and xplace promote the future of digital signage in retail

The pop-up store of the mountain and nautical clothing brand Helly Hansen, located in Kiel (Germany), has become an innovation laboratory for digitalization in retail designed by Sony, with its professional Bravia 4K screens, and the digital signage specialist xplace.

Helly Hansen, Norwegian producer of clothing and gear for mountain sports, hiking and work at sea, has trusted the experience in displays and digital signage from Sony and xplace to make a pilot project with this technology in Future space (FutureSpace), the first own and concept store of this international brand in Germany.

Subsidized with federal funds, this pilot project Kiel-Marketing e.V has become a technological innovation laboratory with the aim of offering a Practice-oriented platform for digitalization to retailers traditional.

Sony has equipped this pop-up store, of 220 square meters and located in the center of Kiel, con eleven Bravia screens, which has included its flagship model FW-98BZ53L from 98 inches.

Sony's partner in this digital transformation project, xplace, has been responsible for installing Bravia professional display equipment in this concept store, in which you have used Beeceen, your own content management system (CMS) for digital signage on sales floor screens.

Besides, have been deployed sensor-based solutions, like the Lift technologies & Learn y Place & Learn. Sony Bravia displays create a visual and interactive bridge between the analog and digital worlds of retail, They convey brand messages and offer customers real in-store support when making a purchasing decision..

Custom screens 43 a 98”

Specifically, For this project, five have been installed Sony FW-43BZ30L screens (of 43 inches); four FW-50BZ30L (50”); one of the model FE-55BZ40L (55”) and another from his team FW-98BZ53L (98”).

While the screens 43, 50 and 98” p are controlled and played via the xplace Beeceen CMS, lThe four 50” models are connected to information systems with sensors and RFID. Two screens are installed one behind the other and offer two Lift areas & Learn y dos Place & Learn, that provide interactive information for customers.

And Elevator & Learn, las RFID antennas are mounted under the product table and their positions are marked on the table surface. If a product equipped with an RFID tag is lifted, the antenna recognizes it immediately and triggers a specific content change on the screen.

Place & Learn works similarly, although it is not necessary to lift the product, sino place it on a marked surface to activate a change of content on the screen so that the client has all the information about it.

Intense black without reflections

Sony uses its Deep Black Non-Glare coating technology in his series of screens Bravia BZ53L and BZ40L, which works through an anti-reflective coating (AG) and a low reflective surface (LR).

This allows, For example, that the Bravia FW-55BZ40L professional display reaches a extremely high haze value, of the 47%. The result is that it has Very reduced reflections with greatly improved image contrast, that looks clear and sharp from any viewing angle, even in brightly lit spaces or in direct sunlight.

Focus on sustainability

The flagship models of the BZ-L series have been developed with special attention to sustainability and energy efficiency.. Some of these screens are made with recycled materials, like Sorplas, and incorporate advanced components, like a powerful system-on-chip architecture (SoC).

And intuitive eco-friendly control panel allows you to control both energy efficiency and functions for greater ease of use of the screen. Besides, and ambient light sensor optimizes energy consumption and thus contributes to the high energy values of the entire product range.

In this sense, Last year Sony Europe received the gold medal of EcoVadis, a well-known global platform providing sustainability ratings and assessments to companies, and that has placed the company between the 5% from the most sustainable suppliers in the world.

A window to the future of shopping

“Our solutions digitize the customer focus at the point of sale and are designed to accompany traditional retail trade towards a safe and unique future,” he says. Christian Flohr, xplace brand ambassador and responsible for partner management-. In Future space KielWe have Sony as a partner, whose technological experience is demonstrated in its excellent signage screens”.

To Ina Runge, director of digitalization of the local economy at Kiel-Marketing e.V, “con Future Space “We offer a window into the future of shopping that invites people to constructively and critically analyze the possibilities offered by the use of technology in retail.”.

This innovative space, adds Runge, "create a environment for flexible retail models, data-driven optimization and experiential shopping. This would not be possible without a next generation digital signage like the one offered by xplace and Sony with their screen technology”.

Michael Uhl, CEO of Helly Hansen Germany, explains that “since May 2025 we have our first brand store here, in How, and the privilege of test a store concept of the futureo and to use the full range of digital tools in fixed retail. Innovative digital signage plays a key role in this. With xplace and Sony, we can present our brand in a vivid way, dynamic and specific.

“The initiative Future space Kiel gives us the opportunity to demonstrate our technological experience in the use of digital signage. We are delighted that our partner xplace has placed their trust in us for this project, concludes Christian Schirduan, B2B Key Account Director for Retail at Sony Europe.