LEAP Global: Tea Breaks, Design & Makes
At LEAP Global, we like to mix world-class retail design with a bit of conversation —and essentially, plenty of tea.
Today, we’re sitting down with Ben, one of the co-founders at LEAP Global, to explore the journey behind LEAP and how it has grown into the retail design and engineering studio it is today.​​
We’ll cover who we are, what we do, our mission and values, and maybe throw in a few fun FAQs to keep things light.
Who Are You & the LEAP Management Team? (Including Furry Friends)
At LEAP Global, we’re more than just colleagues—we’re a close-knit team that has worked together for over 17 years. While we come from various backgrounds, one thing unites us: we’re passionate about retail environments. Some of us have deep roots in branding or retail, while others bring technical and manufacturing expertise.
This blend of experience makes us unique, giving us the ability to see things from all angles.
The team includes Ben, who, in addition to running the business, leads the design and retail side of things, as well as managing clients, drawing on his background in industrial design and retail interior design. Then there’s Gareth, who co-manages with Ben and is an expert in manufacturing and project management, with an incredible network of suppliers and a knack for solving problems on the fly. Iain heads up the technical team, ensuring everything we design is functional, mass-manufactured, and delivered to perfection. His partner-in-crime, Terry, focuses on our UK clients, working tirelessly to bring projects to life with his vast technical experience.
Matt, our client director, is another key player, ensuring we deliver to our clients’ expectations. Customers love him for his hands-on approach, managing projects with the kind of energy and passion that’s hard to find.
Of course, we couldn’t function without Sharon, the vital glue that holds everything together. From commercial and finance to logistics, she keeps us all in check.
We have a phenomenal extended LEAP family of consultant engineers, eco-experts, and global production gurus, extending the team by a further nine partners (and growing).
Our furry friends are a vital part of the team. Maggie, Jarvis, and newest recruit Rainey keep the office lively, reminding us to take breaks and keeping us all on our toes.
What Does LEAP Do?
LEAP is all about bringing retail environments to life. We specialise in design, engineering, prototyping, and manufacturing, working closely with global brands to ensure that every fixture and space we craft not only looks fantastic but also functions seamlessly for both customers and staff, whilst importantly, also minimising its environmental impact.
From concept to execution, we handle it all. Whether we’re designing an entirely new retail space or prototyping a custom display, we focus on delivering solutions that are practical, sustainable, safe, and aligned with our clients' brand strategies. And when it comes to manufacturing, we ensure that what we create can be scaled up for global distribution with absolute consistency—whether that’s in London, LA, Dubai, or Tokyo.
How Was LEAP Global Born?
Like many great ventures, LEAP Global was born out of necessity. Ben and Gaz had been toying with the idea of starting their own company for a while, but the real push came when the business in which they were previously employed, went into administration. Faced with the reality of losing their jobs, they made a bold decision: to create a company built on their combined experience, passion, and a shared vision.
It was a “leap of faith” for everyone involved—hence the name! It was also a leap of faith for our wonderful clients, whom we had relationships with from our previous lives. For them to take a chance on us starting something new and unproven was really humbling, and we remain so grateful for their confidence in us. It’s something that still drives us daily.
In a matter of days, LEAP was up and running, with clients who believed in the team’s capabilities and as a small, close-knit group, were bursting with passion at the seams.
Highlights from 27 Years in Retail Design
With over two decades of experience in the retail design industry, Ben and the team have seen it all. From designing flagship stores for major global brands to reimagining smaller retail environments, each project brings its own set of challenges and triumphs.
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One standout moment? Delivering consistent retail environments for a global sportswear brand across multiple continents, ensuring that every detail—from fixtures to fittings—was identical in every store, whether in the UK or China. Ben also has a passion for supermarket retail and the unique challenges it brings, as well as its wider impact.
Why LEAP? Our Mission, Values, and Culture
LEAP is more than just an agency. We liberate our clients from the traditional constraints of manufacturing, helping them bring their concepts to life while maintaining control over the process. Our detailed technical drawing and specification packs are industry-famous and lie at the heart of our approach. They allow for global consistency and portability, so whether you’re opening a store in Beijing, San Francisco, or Cambridge, you know the brand experience will be the same.
Our mission is simple: to do right by our clients, people, and the planet. Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword for us—it’s at the core of everything we do, from the materials we use to the processes we follow.
At LEAP, we believe in doing things differently. We are independent, and our mission is to free clients from the constraints of traditional retail design, enabling them to explore new ideas and push boundaries while keeping sustainability and inclusivity at the forefront.
We value collaboration, creativity, and, above all, doing what’s right. Whether we’re developing a flagship store, a small retail fixture, or a mass rollout store scheme, we approach every project with the same level of dedication. Our culture is built on engineering, innovation, trust, respect, and a shared passion for creating incredible retail spaces.
Our engineering prowess acts like a Swiss Army knife, offering the ultimate combination of innovation, value, portability, safety, sustainability, quality, and consistency. Even before we begin, we prioritise end-of-life management, eco-friendly materials, and sustainable manufacturing processes. Depending on the brief, we also infuse design principles such as standardisation and modularity into our approach.
Why LEAP? Our Mission, Values, and Culture
Our client list includes some of the biggest names in global retail. We work with Adidas Global, Tesco, and many others, delivering everything from custom retail displays to entire store environments. However, we also pride ourselves on helping smaller brands find their footing, providing them with the same level of care and attention as our larger clients.
LEAP’s Core Process – Ensuring Satisfaction and Success
Our core service revolves around Design Development & Innovation, centralising intellectual property and freeing your designs from manufacturer limitations. Each step ensures quality and consistency, empowering your customers’ retail experience with greater control.
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Design Engineering & Innovation Our process prioritises sustainability from the start, integrating eco-friendly materials and modularity to ensure innovation, value, and consistency.
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Prototype We test each concept thoroughly before full-scale production, ensuring every solution is functional, safe, and ready for market.
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Trial Trialling refines the process further, allowing us to finalise specifications for fair, transparent tendering. Decoupling engineering from a specific factory or process ensures the outcome isn’t limited or biased by any individual manufacturer’s capabilities.
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Global Sourcing Support: We provide ongoing support, helping you choose the best vendors and liaising with them to maintain consistent quality and standards worldwide. We can even visit your production partners globally to ensure the standards we develop are met. We do this with our team here in the UK, or we work closely with our partner and good friend Clive, who is based in Asia.
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Design, Support & Communication: We manage the evolution of your specifications, providing documentation, installation manuals, and end-of-life guidance, ensuring the investment in the design is maximised.
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Sustainability is embedded in every phase, ensuring your project reduces environmental impact from concept to life beyond retail.
LEAP’s Core Process – Ensuring Satisfaction and Success
At LEAP, our industry-leading drawing packs are the cornerstone of what we do. These detailed, comprehensive documents provide retailers and manufacturers with everything they need to replicate designs accurately, no matter the location. This allows for competitive and fair tenders from any chosen supplier, locally or globally, giving you full supplier freedom.
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From the first prototype to the final rollout, our technical drawings ensure consistency, precision, and quality across all projects—whether it’s a single store in the UK or a large-scale global installation. By maintaining exact specifications, we free our clients from manufacturer limitations, ensuring they get the best value and performance while retaining complete control over their brand's identity and execution.
Key Trends in Retail
Retail is evolving, though perhaps not as fast as we’d expect. However, we’ve seen some significant shifts in how brands and customers interact. Apart from sustainability, which is now, rightly so, an essential part of every retail strategy, several other key trends are shaping the future of the industry.
One of the biggest trends is the shift towards experiential retail. Shopping online has been revolutionary, but nothing can match the experience of real interaction with a product and real people who are passionate about the product and great customer service. Outside of the day-to-day shopping missions, customers no longer just want to browse shelves or pick up items—they’re looking for immersive, memorable experiences that connect them with products in a meaningful way. This can range from interactive displays to virtual reality experiences, but the key is services that make customers feel valued.
Thanks for hanging out with us for a little insight into LEAP Global. We hope you enjoyed getting to know the team and our journey so far. If you’d like to learn more about what we do or you just want to chat about design, prototyping, or anything in between, our inbox is always open.
Stay tuned for more stories, and maybe pack a snack for the next one!
