Green – the name isn’t our vision but our values,” Young told Inside Retail. “Be ‘green’, ultimately to look after the future, but be ‘frank’ in all of our business dealings and how we operate,” he added. However, Young revealed that there is a double meaning to green that most people don’t know about: “That is to be ‘green’ at something – do something that you’ve never done before, and kind of give it a good old Aussie try, and you’ll probably be good at it,” shared Young.  “It’s probably going to take you 10 years. It doesn’t happen overnight but if you keep trying and turning up and being genuine, there’s a big chance you’ll get there in the end.” Frank Green’s world-first store at Chadstone is a physical testimony to that. The team have taken a decade of retail learnings and distilled it down into a destination and experience for customers. Not a store, but a world Much like the dozens of lids Frank Green has created throughout years of product research, development and iteration, the team are approaching the Chadstone flagship as a first prototype. The store’s walls are lined with 1600 Frank Green ceramic reusable bottles in chrome silver, made from 90 per cent recycled stainless steel – a tribute to the brand’s journey toward manufacturing all its stainless steel products with recycled material. “I wanted to create a space that was welcoming and inviting – but you’re literally stepping into a Frank Green product,” Paul Troon, Frank Green’s creative director, told Inside Retail.  “Creating this showcase of the stainless steel on the stainless steel, like, obviously, the material is so sleek, beautiful, and chic – but there is a real meaning and purpose behind it,” he added. “Obviously, the one-litre water bottle is our iconic bottle – so what better way to sort of show to the world, this is who we are and respect it.” Materiality is central to what Frank Green does, and its reusable water bottles embody that. The store’s structure and design perfectly mirror the brand’s obsession with function and style. Another big part of the store design is its creative use of space to visually merchandise all of Frank Green’s products, and for Troon, “discovery is everything”. “Customisation, personalisation, and systemisation is important for our customers,” Troon noted. “We’ve got all the data from our website on how many people are mixing and matching and making it unique to them.”  While the store’s walls are lined with products, including water bottles, coffee cups, and lunch boxes, the customisation station in the centre of the store invites customers to personalise their Frank Green purchase to make it truly their own. “And we’ll be able to do all the great monogramming that we offer online – translating that online experience to the physical space,” said Troon. Not a customer, but a community This year, Frank Green has one thing on its mind: community. Its world-first store offers the opportunity to interact with customers, and it is no coincidence that its first store opening is in Chadstone. “We’re Melbourne, born and bred – that’s where the idea of Frank Green came about, it’s in the DNA,” said Young. “We’re servicing the Victorian market, but so many tourists come through [Chadstone] as well… that’s exciting for us that there will be people from all over Australia and around the world,” elaborated Troon. For Frank Green, its relationship with Chadstone is not limited to a lease agreement; it works closely with Chadstone as part of its community.  “When we partner with someone, and this is a partnership, it’s got to be just more than a bit of paper,” said Young.  “We’re talking to them about evolving their sustainability journey and how we will also interact with all the other stores and brands that are here to help them with their sustainability journey,” he added. The Chadstone flagship will act as a hub for both Frank Green customers and employees – it is also the location of its newly rolled out ‘Sip Cycle’ program where people can drop off their retired reusable water bottles, Frank Green or not.  “We will look after its second life for you, and it will turn up in a really functional, useful product you can use every day,” explained Young. “How nice is that going to be when you recycle something and then in your next order, something beautiful turns up and gives you a real smile when you receive it,” he added.  Frank Green has yet to determine what the water bottles will be recycled into as yet, but he promises it will be designed beautifully and functionally. Beyond its new Chadstone hub, Frank Green is looking to activate its community beyond its hardcore Melbourne fanbase. “Later this year, we will work out a community program around rewarding, revering, and celebrating our customers as well,” Young teased. “It will be another program that comes out more generally around the world as well.”  For the team at Frank Green, this year will be marked by more customer interactions, turning up in other places around the world and releasing new products that meet the needs of modern consumers. “We’ve got to take Frank Green to our customers and get them to experience it. And who’s better to do that than ourselves?,” concluded Young. “Every decision we make is always what is the right thing by the customer and us as customers”.