Retail has undergone a series of reinventions that has left it all but unrecognizable to fabled emporium merchants like Harry Selfridge. For the records, here’s a brief, high-level, skeptic’s overview of retail’s recent devolution.
- The Peril of One for All: First, the reduction in full force of ear-to-the-ground buyers who are able to discern commonalities and differences in local tastes from the commoditized efficiencies and price negotiating leverage of mass purchase decisions with well-known logos.
- The Lack of Expertise: Then, the cutting-to-the-bone number of on-the-floor sales professionals, the outsourcing of sales training, and mono-focus of associates of brands now paying ‘rent’ for their boutiques within the store.
- The Triumph of Digital: Next, the triumphal announcement of the revitalization of the chain’s website into an ecommerce site with AI-driven chatbots to ‘assist’ and confuse the consumer.
- Decline and Fall: Then, the announcement of the new dawn, stating the obvious that it makes so much sense to close underperforming stores.
- Retailtainment: Then, the euphoric announcement from mall redevelopers that a) new ‘experiential’ rides on the mall midway will more than offset the decline in shopper traffic; and b), the once-successful mall is better suited to be a community center, university campus annex, or new church.
Luxe brands realize it is more than fair to trust clients with their most scarce resource: Authenticity. It is becoming the essential differentiator. People want the genesis story of the brand, its inspirations, its current creative force, its – dare we say it? – relevance to them.
White Knights En Route
On the horizon we can almost make out the outline of a remarkable new posse riding to retailers’ rescue. At least to the rescue of the ultra-high net worth shopper. The composition of that remarkable crew of rescuers makes it clear: When consumers of prestige luxury goods are the ones you want to seduce, it’s best to have an effective wingman or woman. Thus, we see the glimmers of a new breed of collaborations and a focus on consumer education and expertise.
Knowledge is Power
Positive consumer knowledge about brands enhances loyalty. And loyalty drives sales. Take a look at the recent UBS Private Wealth House of Craft x Dior. Strange bedfellows? Possibly. This unusual but effective collaboration is staged under the banner of “craft.” Such an old-world, 20th century notion, right? I was witness on a recent rainy weekend afternoon in lower Manhattan, when the exhibition space at 30 Pine Street Studios was filled to the rafters with young and older connoisseurs all waiting to walk the gallery. They were also jamming the seating space to hear conversations with various éminences grises speak with profound knowledge of the pursuit of excellence. And by inference, or halo effect, UBS Private Wealth Management as well.
Summer rentals in the Hamptons may be down by 50 to 70 percent depending upon your source, but New Yorkers’ desire for an experience in luxe at the very height of fashion is alive and well. Standing room only, in fact. All this flies in the face of the conventional retail belief that consumers care only about price and convenience. Meanwhile this quest for brand knowledge is being monetized by a savvy private wealth management firm.
A new and perfectly clear syllogism emerges: Dior is a well-crafted, heritage brand chock-a-block with expertise, creativity and gorgeous results year after year. So too is your financial legacy with UBS. Knowledge is power. And wealth powers luxury knowledge.
A Luxury Education
What’s the difference between an ultra-high net worth woman and a bargain basement one? Money. What’s the difference between a fascinating craft fashion backstory and an offshore, low-cost producer story? Ditto. There’s real money on the table now in the education of willing luxe fashionistas. We can see it at Sotheby’s with its Sotheby’s Institute. Take a look at the master’s program at the Vogue College. Ultra brand Van Cleef holds regular educational webinars (online and in person) on the history of impossibly precious jewelry and gemstones through its L’École des Arts Joailliers located in Paris
A more playful take on brand educaton and understanding was undertaken by Hermès via its “Mystery at the Grooms” installation at Pier 36 in New York City in late June. Marie Driscoll, TRR contributor and adjunct professor at The New School, reports Hermès gamification works to “exemplify the modern path to brand engagement by turning spectators into protagonists in a narrative to find the missing horses. It’s magical!” The quest simultaneously reveals the artistry, innovation, quality and workmanship of Hermès silks, cashmeres, jewels, boots and handbags through an hour of escapism, suspending disbelief and pretending, along with seven-year-olds, to be a detective on the hunt for those rascal horses. Terrific fun – and when was the last time that word described haute luxe?
Education with a Purpose
Who are these brands educating? People who want to know more. Amateur connoisseurs who seek the deep, charming details of excellence and its inspirations. Brand gossip, if you will. The backstories. The tales of kings, queens and fashion divas. Certainly, few of these ‘students’ will go into retail. Rather, they are often high-end customers for fine goods who explore the details that brands and retailers used to train their sales professionals with to share in person.
These enriching educational collabs aren’t the attempted obfuscations of prior generations when Philip Morris and the Sacklers would hide behind museum wing endowments to cleanse their reputations through supporting the arts for the public good. These collabs aren’t the ‘pay attention to me’ promotional versions in which a sneaker brand claims the street cred of an athlete, or a snack brand elevates itself with a Selena Gomez to create a new Oreo flavor. No. These are pure plays based on the luxe shopper insight: She wants to know. And if she knows, knowledge is truth to purchasing power.
These educational programs are firmly grounded on the belief that more (knowledge) is better. Luxe brands realize it is more than fair to trust clients with their most scarce resource: Authenticity. It is becoming the essential differentiator. People want the genesis story of the brand, its inspirations, its current creative force, its – dare we say it? – relevance to them. We want to belong with a sense of self in our chosen culture. In a time when messages from nearly every source are suspect, when digital images can be manipulated into false meanings, when truth itself can be claimed and never proven, authenticity is the value which cannot be forged. Brands and retailers are having a tough time figuring that out, but other industries are taking it to the bank. Private wealth, art and real estate.
Tell Me a Story
What’s the difference between a luxe brand and a flop-sweat promotional one? Not money, this time. It’s having a story to tell. Plus, the imagination and wit to tell it compellingly. My daughter is a content creator for fashion and beauty brands. Daily, products arrive for her to unwrap and reveal on social media. Many times, it is from a well-known luxury brand seeking the word-of-mouth blessing an influencer provides. The flip side of the story? A profoundly commoditized sales rack in Macy’s with a $39.95 sign above it. No narrative to share with shoppers. No artisan backstory. No romance. No reason to make an emotional investment.
Desperately Seeking a Retail Future
Whomever in the middle of the retail muddle is able to trust and feed the shopper’s legitimate hunger to know more and have a story to share will win. If the days of knowledgeable sales associates are forever gone, surely there’s a pathway to celebrate and directly share the creative history, heritage and energy of brands which seek our investment in their offerings. Gen Z demands it. Private bankers get it. We need retailers who know the value of making relevant connections that enhance both collab partners.
