Charles Grech, importers of fine wines, beer and tobacco since 1881 have extended their range of upmarket products to include perfumes and cosmetics. With this product diversification and extensive refurbishment programme at their flagship store in Valletta, Mangion and Lightfoot were brought in to create an image that reflected this diversification on a retail level. The challenge was to create an image that would cover the whole range of products without looking out of place if simply applied to one particular range, say cigars. Ultimately the brand had to look comfortable if you walked out of the store carrying a CG bag with a box of cigars or just a perfume or both.  The inspiration behind the logo itself came from the name Grech which from research we carried out was derived from a Greek family who settled on the island of Malta in the 17th century. Further research into Greek keys, designs and motifs inspired us to construct a ‘C’ and a ‘G’ in a continuos line that became the logo. But this wasn’t enough, we also created a separate graphic ‘device’ to suggest the product type as upmarket and established that would provide extensibility and could be easily applied across their diverse range of products.

In the ad campaign we wanted to recreate a Valletta scene from the 50s to further emphasise the established brand element and an aspiration to quality. The facade itself although extensively restored, was not changed from its original design and we felt that cigars, fine wines and even cosmetics fitted perfectly with the 50s theme.