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e-boutique and also topic store appointments through the website. These serv-
ices may sound quite obvious for a luxury brand but, apart from De Beers,
which provides a store appointment booking service from its website, not
many luxury brands offer a two-way client service package from the Internet.
Creating the luxury e-boutique
In February 2009, Valentino held a champagne cocktail reception at its
rue de
Faubourg Saint Honoré
store in Paris, inviting not only loyal clients but any
self-professed Valentino fan in the general public. Bally followed in the same
social gathering spirit a few weeks later, this time expanding the reception to
include a brunch and drinks that lasted well into the evening at its
Boulevard des
Capucines
store. Meanwhile across the pond in London, Selfridges was offer-
ing clients psychic help in the shape of “professional intuitive” style advice,
while Browns introduced a free shoe-repair service at its newly launched shoe
boutique on Brooke Street, and Liberty offered craft classes. In Milan, luxury
stores were enthusiastically whispering the offer of out-of-hours shopping
services, chauffeur-driven cars, house calls by personal shoppers, style advice
and all manner of concierge services. Prada decided to take the frenzy further
by inviting fashion industry personalities including Carine Roitfeld and Alex
White to dress its store windows in Paris, New York, London and Milan. All
of these initiatives point towards one thing - service and excitement. This is
not to say that luxury retailers previously lacked service offerings, but the cur-
rent slow economy has re-ignited the kind of creativity that targets the pocket
through surprises, excitement, entertainment and involvement. All these aim to
provide an elevated service that spells higher value for the client, which goes
beyond pretty products. Luxury retail has suddenly become about offering cli-
ents the emotional connection that they seek with the brands and lifting their
spirits in an environment that is wrought with recognition, respect and service.
The latter is currently challenging “location, location, location” as the most
important mantra in luxury retail. Luxury retail has also become less about
giving more of the same thing and more about an enhanced shopping experi-
ence and service. It has become less about placing the store “above” the client
and more about including the client “in” the store. Luxury retail has, in short,
become about optimizing sales and reinforcing brand positioning through serv-
ice, service and more service.
The surprising reality is that the level of attention currently being paid
to service is lacking in doses online. Even as e-retail is becoming common-
place in the luxury arena, brands continue to give little attention to offering
online shoppers the kind of tantalizing services that abound in retail stores.
Although the Internet renders a luxury brand more visible and exposed to
both clients and admirers, the general state of luxury e-stores remains unim-
pressive in comparison with the brands' offline presence. As highlighted at
