Creative Circle International

What Creative Circle International does

Creative Circle International AG is a privately held Swiss-headquartered retail design and brand experience agency founded in 1995 by Claudine and Patrick Schaffer, operating from its headquarters in Bern. The firm serves luxury brand clients across vertical sectors — with concentration in watchmaking and jewelry, and meaningful presence in beauty, fashion, and hospitality — through four wholly owned regional hubs: Creative Circle International AG (Bern), nomax.studio AG (Geneva), Creative Circle US LLC (Los Angeles), and Creative Circle Asia Limited (Hong Kong), plus a Dubai presence serving the Middle East. Over 30 years, it has accumulated >1,001 retail projects and 31 named luxury brand references including Audemars Piguet, La Prairie, Maurice Lacroix, Bucherer, Omega, Bvlgari, Boucheron, Carl Bucherer, Eterna, Moser, Michael Kors, and Polaroid.

The company's offering is organized as four integrated service pillars — Design & Architecture, Craft & Production, Visual Merchandising & Packaging, and Rollout & Global Execution — delivered as project-based enterprise professional services with custom-quoted engagements tailored to scope, geography, and duration. Revenue is generated through professional services fees across the design-to-delivery lifecycle, including brand strategy, spatial and immersive environment design, engineering and prototyping, in-store visual merchandising, packaging, and worldwide rollout coordination. Through nomax.studio AG (founded c. 2019), the group extends into immersive out-of-home brand activations, exhibitions, roadshows, and experiential retail modules.

The firm is founder-controlled with no external institutional capital, no recorded funding rounds, no active M&A, and no public listing. Pricing, headcount, and revenue figures are not publicly disclosed; commercial activity is driven entirely by direct enterprise engagement, reputation, and a portfolio-led content presence at creativecircle.group. The GTM motion is relationship-driven enterprise field sales targeting brand decision-makers (brand directors, retail operations executives) at premium luxury houses seeking physical brand-world transformations.

Name

Creative Circle International

Legal name

Creative Circle International AG

Website

https://creativecircle.group

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Creative Circle International AG is a Swiss-founded, founder-led retail design and brand experience agency serving luxury watchmaking, jewelry, beauty, and hospitality clients across four global hubs with integrated design, craft, visual merchandising, and global rollout services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Luxury Retail Design Services

NAICS

Interior Design Services (54141), Advertising Agencies (541810), Graphic Design Services (541430)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM), Packaging & Brand Identity Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAN)

Keywords

• Retail design services
• Luxury brand experiences
• Spatial brand design
• Visual merchandising services
• Global brand rollouts

Headquarters

HQ city

Bern

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Design & Architecture: Fees for comprehensive design and architecture services including brand strategy, spatial design, immersive environment creation, and design derivation. Project-based engagements with enterprise clients on long-term brand transformation programs.
2. Craft & Production: Engineering, prototyping, and high-precision production services that translate design intent into physical outcomes. Includes production management and quality control for luxury brand environments.
3. Global Rollout & Execution: Worldwide execution services encompassing strategy, design, production, and logistics coordination. Ensures consistency, efficiency, and control across markets for global brand rollouts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Creative Circle International is a luxury brand design and delivery group that provides integrated professional services across four pillars: Design & Architecture (reimagining physical spaces as destinations), Craft & Production (engineering, prototyping, and high-precision manufacturing of design intent), Visual Merchandising & Packaging (translating brand identity into touchpoints, displays, and accessories), and Rollout & Global Execution (worldwide deployment with aligned strategy, design, production, and logistics). The firm also operates Nomax.studio, an experiential division producing immersive brand activations, exhibitions, roadshows, and signature merchandising for global luxury brands.

Product overview

Creative Circle International is a global retail design and delivery group offering integrated services rather than a unified software product. The company provides four core service pillars: Design & Architecture, Craft & Production, Visual Merchandising & Packaging, and Rollout & Global Execution. Additionally, the company operates Nomax.studio as its experiential division focused on immersive out-of-home brand experiences, including brand activations, exhibitions, roadshows, experiential retail modules, and signature merchandising. The portfolio serves luxury brands across watchmaking, beauty, and hospitality sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Design & Architecture Reimagining physical spaces as destinations, combining interactive touchpoints, atmospheric design, and cultural relevance. Delivered for enterprise luxury brands across watchmaking, jewelry, beauty, and hospitality sectors.
• Craft & Production Engineering, prototyping, and producing with high precision; translating design intent into high-quality physical outcomes for luxury brand environments. Includes production management and quality control.
• Visual Merchandising & Packaging Translating brand identity into high-engagement touchpoints, including window concepts, in-store displays, packaging, and accessories for luxury brand retail environments.
• Rollout & Global Execution Worldwide execution services that align strategy, design, production, and logistics to ensure consistency, efficiency, and control across multiple markets for global luxury brand rollouts.
• Nomax.studio Brand experience studio creating immersive global activations that merge culture, architecture, technology, and craftsmanship. Services include brand activations, exhibitions and roadshows, experiential retail modules, and signature merchandising for luxury brands.

Quantifiable outcome

• 31 renowned brand references and >1001 retail projects completed worldwide
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Winkreative: Luxury branding and design consultancy led by Tyler Brûlé, serving fashion, hospitality, and premium lifestyle brands globally. Comparable in luxury-only positioning and integrated brand-to-environment delivery.
• Universal Design Studio: London-based design practice working across hospitality, retail, and brand environments for premium clients including Ace Hotel, Aesop, and Stella McCartney. Comparable boutique-scale luxury design firm.
• Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA): Global hospitality interior design firm specializing in luxury hotels, resorts, and branded residences. Comparable in luxury hospitality design and watch/jewelry boutique design (Richemont clients).
• Chute Gerdeman: US-based retail experience design firm focused on consumer environments, flagship stores, and brand activations. Overlapping service model with Creative Circle's Design & Architecture and Rollout pillars.
• The Yard Creative: UK-based luxury retail design and brand experience agency with clients including Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Harrods. Directly comparable in luxury retail visual merchandising and experiential design.
• StudioXAG: London-based creative agency specializing in luxury retail design, visual merchandising, and experiential installations for brands like Burberry, Dior, and Hermès. Directly comparable in scope (design + production + rollout) and luxury client profile.

Broad incumbents

• Gensler: Largest global architecture and design firm with substantial retail, hospitality, and brand experience practices. Competes for large-scale luxury flagship and rollout mandates at the enterprise end of the market.
• CallisonRTKL: Global architecture and design firm with significant retail and luxury practice. Larger, more diversified competitor for retail flagship and global rollout work.
• FITCH (Landor & Fitch): Large global retail and brand environment design consultancy, part of WPP's Landor & Fitch group. Overlaps in retail design and brand experience but operates at much greater scale and across mass-luxury to luxury.
• Landor: Global brand consultancy with deep luxury client roster and physical environment design capability. Broader scope than Creative Circle but competes for the same luxury transformation engagements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/creative-circle-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Creative Circle International