PEEKABOO is a new retail brand of children’s footwear which is another one in the series of projects being implemented by MILDBERRY for Kazakhstan company Global Beauty.
The goal of the projects is to introduce modern retail brands with a thought-out ideology and integrated identity into the markets of Kazakhstan and other CIS countries.
Traditional retail models such as open-air markets and small stores not affiliated with any chains dominate in the retail industry in many CIS countries. The number of modern retail brands in these markets is very limited so far. Specially commissioned research demonstrated that the consumers are not only ready for new retail standards but also want to have more modern and comfortable stores offering a good range of products.

Market research and surveys of the target audience helped us better understand the most important features a retail brand must have and, based on this understanding, MILDBERRY developed a brand platform, a brand name, identity, interior design, retail equipment design, navigational aids and, in cooperation with Nico Engineering, a full set of engineering documentation. At the moment MILDBERRY is adapting this set to use in CIS countries.

The name PEEKABOO successfully solved a task of developing an easy-to-remember brand with a European touch, the brand that would be easy to promote in some CIS countries. PEEKABOO is not the simplest of words, it’s rather abstract, but its three resonant syllables and repeating vowels have great potential for a brand targeted at children; the word can be used in games, poems or visualisations. And that is why it was selected from hundreds of other more “refined” and less “ambiguous” words.
The visual representation of the name, the PEEKABOO logo, is a centipede that reminds one of footwear and is close to how children view the world. The solution, which now seems obvious, was the result of a stroke of inspiration. Shortly before the project one of our art directors visited the Sulawesi Islands where he spent a lot of time watching tropical centipedes, marvelling at the variety of their colours, types and sizes. It was his impressions of those centipedes that formed the basis for the new logo. The centipede became not just a graphical symbol but also a live character, the face of the stores. It is also blended in nicely in the store interiors in the form of specially designed sofas, which quickly became real centres of gravity for the customers. Thanks to this image as well as to careful colour and font refinement we have managed to create an on-going holiday/playroom atmosphere in PEEKABOO stores.

One can always find difficulties in the introducing of a full-fledged brand into a market that is not used to the modern standards of marketing communication. On the one hand, there are few powerful competitors here, and, on the other hand, you can never be sure that these new standards will be immediately accepted. Nevertheless, when the first store was opened in Aktobe (Kazakhstan) even the wildest of our hopes and expectations were exceeded. The store became an overnight runaway success.
The bright, fresh, playful style of the new retail chain immediately drew the attention of customers, immediately making it one of the main anchors in Kazakhstan’s retail centres. The brand is being successfully used in advertising and packaging, always remaining recognisable. PEEKABOO stores are now being opened in all the major cities of the republic.
At the moment MILDBERRY is continuing to cooperate with GlobalBeauty to develop this and other retail brands.