Dynamo LED Displays built a complete 3mm pixel pitch LED shopfront for Superdry at London Heathrow Airport: an LED arch over the store entrance, LED pillars with right-angle returns and LED soffits, all playing custom 4K content. It was Dynamo’s second full LED shopfront, following the Hour Passion store at Gatwick North Terminal.
Updated September 2026. Case study first published January 2018.
Project facts
| Client | Superdry, clothing retailer |
|---|---|
| Location | London Heathrow Airport, airside retail |
| Screen type | Complete LED shopfront: arch, pillars with right-angle returns, soffits |
| Pixel pitch | 3mm |
| Build | Custom LED arch assembled from individual LED modules |
| Content | Custom 4K content across every surface |
| Scope | Design, custom build, supply and installation by Dynamo LED Displays |
The brief: a shopfront that is the screen
Airport retail lives or dies on footfall past the door. Superdry wanted the Heathrow store to stop passengers walking to their gate, and a printed fascia was not going to do it. The brief was a shopfront where the entrance arch, the pillars and the soffits above are all LED, so the whole frame of the store becomes one moving image. Our shopfront versus window LED guide sets out when this approach beats a screen behind glass, and our LED shopfront page covers the structural options.
What Dynamo installed
A 3mm LED arch built from modules
Standard LED cabinets are rectangles. An arch over a doorway is not, so the Heathrow arch was built from individual 3mm LED modules fixed to a custom frame, which let the LED follow the opening rather than boxing around it. The same module-level build is how we make the shapes in our custom LED displays work.
Pillars with right-angle returns
The pillars either side of the entrance are clad in LED on their face and their sides, with a right-angle return at each corner so the picture wraps round without a dark seam. Right-angle returns need cabinets or modules that can meet edge to edge at 90 degrees, which is why the 3mm module build was used here too.
LED soffits overhead
The soffits, the underside of the fascia above the entrance, are also LED, so a passenger walking under the arch is inside the content rather than looking at it. Soffit panels are mounted face-down, so the fixing and cable routes are planned for access from below.
One piece of 4K content
Arch, pillars and soffits are driven as a single canvas with custom 4K content mapped to the real pixel layout, so a skyline that starts on one pillar carries across the arch and down the other side. Content is updated through Dynamo’s content management workflow rather than by visiting the store.
Current Dynamo options for an LED shopfront
The figures below are from the DX Series datasheet, the fixed-install range Dynamo specifies for shopfronts and windows today. All DX cabinets are front serviceable and support right-angle installation.
| Model | Pixel pitch | Module | Brightness | Cabinet weight | Suited to |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DX2.9 | 2.9mm | 250 × 250 mm, 84 × 84 px | 800 nits or more | 3.5 kg | Indoor mall and airport shopfronts |
| DX3.9 | 3.9mm | 250 × 250 mm, 64 × 64 px | 800 nits or more | 6.4 kg | Larger fascias viewed from across a concourse |
| DX HB2.9 | 2.9mm | 250 × 250 mm, 84 × 84 px | 3,000 nits or more | 6.4 kg | Street-facing shopfronts and windows in daylight |
Related Dynamo retail projects
- Arsenal FC store at the Emirates Stadium: window screens, internal walls and a custom LED ticker
- Canada Goose LED window displays
- Pretty Green LED window screens, London and Liverpool
- Hermès festive LED window displays
LED shopfronts: frequently asked questions
What is an LED shopfront?
An LED shopfront replaces the fixed fascia, pillars and soffits around a store entrance with direct-view LED surfaces, so the frame of the shop becomes one moving image. At Superdry Heathrow the arch over the door, the pillars with their returns and the soffits overhead are all 3mm LED driven as a single canvas.
Which pixel pitch suits an airport shopfront?
Passengers see an airport shopfront from a few metres across the concourse and then from arm’s length as they walk in, so 2.9mm to 3.9mm is the working range. Superdry Heathrow used 3mm. A finer pitch costs more per square metre and only pays back where people stop close to the surface, such as a window display.
Can LED wrap around a pillar or an arch?
Yes. Pillars are wrapped with cabinets or modules that meet at right-angle returns so the image turns the corner without a dark edge. Arches and other non-rectangular openings are built from individual LED modules on a custom frame, which is how the Superdry Heathrow arch was made.
How is content produced for a shopfront LED?
The arch, pillars and soffits are mapped as one pixel canvas, and the content is produced at that exact pixel size, in this case custom 4K footage, so nothing is stretched. The brand supplies the campaign film and Dynamo maps it to the surfaces and schedules it, with updates pushed remotely from the content management system.
Does an indoor shopfront need planning permission?
An LED shopfront inside an airport terminal or shopping centre sits on private land and is normally agreed with the landlord and the terminal or centre management rather than the local planning authority. A shopfront that faces a public street is different: illuminated advertising there usually needs advertisement consent, which Dynamo can help document.
Get a quote for an LED shopfront
Send us a photo of the store entrance, the opening dimensions and where the store is, and we will come back with a pixel pitch, a surface-by-surface layout and a written quote. Get a quote or call 020 3489 9878.
