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In-Depth Information
website is one of the few retailers that moved from a pure-play e-retailer to a
real physical store located at 22, rue Saint Sauveur in Paris.
Although every luxury brand worth its salt should own an online boutique,
those that currently have no e-retail activities have, however, not committed
any crime. It is not imperative to create an online store at the same time as
launching a website but it becomes a death sentence if there are no plans to do
so in the medium term. The goal, of course, should remain making shopping
fun for the client through content and interaction both online and offline.
The discount dilemma
Every fashion season ends with whispered messages passed among luxury
industry insiders. These messages make their rounds quietly but surely from
journalists, buyers, clients, associates, friends to those considered as the
“people” that luxury needs to keep its juices flowing. They are not whis-
pers that recall the magnificence of the collections or the new talents to be
courted and revered; neither do they contain juicy details of the latest drug
or sex-related scandal in the luxury community. These whispers are the form
in which information on the private sale events of luxury brands are passed
around. The dates, time, location, collections and access are divulged and
this information is kept among the “happy few”. From Place Vendôme to
Avenue Montaigne, Pont Neuf and Champs Elysées, the locations could be
far apart but the purpose remains the same - to dispose of the unsold stock at
discounted prices in a private and hush-hush environment. The invitations to
these private sales have become as sought-after as those of fashion shows and
their appeal as high as the front-row seats at fashion shows. When brands like
Hermès, Dior or Chanel hold their private sale events, the lines at the entry
point are formed hours before the indicated start time and stretch for miles
although each attendee is supposed to have a personal invitation and guaran-
teed entry. The case is no different in the luxury automobile industry where
the practice of price-cutting is a continuous practice that doesn't follow sea-
sonal patterns. Luxury brands have managed to turn the disdained practice of
price discounting into an art form and have guarded the confidentiality sur-
rounding the private sale events from the public, that is until now.
The current slow economy and subsequent decrease in shopping expendi-
ture that it brought about has led luxury brands to rethink the question of
price discounting. In the frenzy of confusion that followed the credit crunch
of 2008, several brands were pushed to adopt flexible pricing policies. Since
then, price reductions have started to show up in the stores, albeit in dis-
creet corners, while additional offers are being tactfully proposed to clients
who have the potential to spend large amounts of money. In September
2008, a new chapter was opened on the price-discounting scene. Christian
Dior decided to hold a public seasonal sale for several weeks (actually, for
