The Luxury Shopping Experience

All over the place, All over the same?

What do we want from high-end fashion brands?

Rarity, exclusivity, originality, personality, authenticity, relevance, sensibility, ethics, specialty, quality, durability … The list is endless as long as it conveys the same idea of unique and exceptional products within an amazing shopping experience and impeccable service.

In any case, high end or not, we don’t expect sameness, commonality, perishability… And above all, we certainly don’t expect luxury or high-end fashion to be all over the place, and all over the same.

There was a time when it was thrilling to go on a trip. One couldn’t wait to go shopping in the street of Paris, Milan, or New York, and to bring home incredible finds and exotic fashion. Nowadays, whether you go to luxury stores in the United States, Italy, or China, you will find the exact same stores, stocked with the exact same products displayed in the exact same way. Even worse, it is made to be this way! The global shopping experience, the expression of the brand is to be the same on all continents… When did a Japanese consumer and an American one become the same person with the same expectations on shopping experience? When did brands decide that the only way to grow was to open the same stores everywhere?

Fortunately, it is still possible to find some local high-end brands or stores that offer different shopping experiences according to their implementations. Aesop is one of them, selling the same product but creating a unique retail environment every time. It is also true for concept stores such as Merci in Paris or Dover St. Market in London or Tokyo.

The fact that the planet is much smaller than it used to be is great, but there must be an antidote to global uniformity. Creating location-relevant shopping experiences and products might be a way to bring more exclusivity and desirability to global high-end brands…