Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/555392
communicating with social media makes our lives easier because you get instant reaction whether you're doing something right or wrong. Usually you hear much more about the wrong than the right, but it doesn't matter. It's information that is thrown out there by the thousands, which before, you had no way of knowing. It becomes an important element of how we react to our clients. BC: When we survey customers after a shopping experience in our own stores, one thing that's always consistent, and I'm always amazed that it doesn't change, is how they're hungry for more of the story. When you say, "What would have made your experience better?," it's always that they want to know more of the story. The story of the brand, or Coco Chanel, or that handbag.... Today brands are global, but how do you market to your customers differently from city to city? How does the product mix differ from store to store? PB: I think it's a matter of lifestyle, so yes, we do merchandise the stores very differently. For example, in Miami, they like a lot more color. VO: Believe it or not, we sell more shearling coats in South Beach than we do in New York City. So you have to be ready for surprises like that in every market. BC: We all just have one brand collection, so we don't create specifi c things for other markets, but we might tailor our assortments for them. But I have to say, if there's something that's really hot and key on the runway, it's hot everywhere, everybody wants it. So if it's very heavy- weight, and you're in California, you still have to have it. HB: Jewelry moves much more slowly than fashion; we don't have six collections a year. The trends in jewelry go from decade to decade. When you acquire a piece of high jewelry, there has to be a perennial aspect to it, that it's going to work for years and eventually become a family heirloom. Having said that, yes, you sell much more conservative, understated jewelry in Chicago. The Beats by Dre items are fun in Vegas. You'll sell more colorful jewelry in Florida than you do in other places. MZ: In Miami, where there's a more Latin infl uence, there are other aspects that depend on lifestyle. The Latin culture is much more about weddings. RC: The majority, about 65 percent, of our customers in New York are local. Las Vegas has also been very, very good. There's just a constant infl ux of tourists, both domes- tic and international, that continue to visit the city. And the beautiful thing about Las Vegas is it's not just about the gambling anymore, as everyone knows. It's really—it's an experience. You have some of the best restaurants in the world there, you have great hotels, lots of spa treat- ments. You look at the Mandarin Oriental. People are going there for relaxation, and it's hard to believe that you would use the words "relaxation" and "Las Vegas" in the same sentence. But you see that now, and those are the experiences that people are creating for these visitors. How has corporate sustainability factored into the marketing of your brand? HB: It's part of our DNA and part of what we do. The jewelry industry in particular has been, should we say, targeted more than others. It forced the industry in general and then the individual companies to send out the message that this isn't the way we do things. PB: Younger generations, and particularly the millennials, are very interested in sustainable practices and ask a lot of questions about where you're sourcing materials, or how you're producing. All our companies that have from LEF brands. But it's the students in the Master Class—who each work on a design and marketing case study prepared by a luxury fi rm—who may see their efforts make it to the marketplace. This year, for instance, participants involved in a Lalique case study repurposed the iconic Mossi vase design as a shot glass. Other groups created My Travel Games—a game carrier for Loro Piana's gift collection—or responded to Van Cleef & Arpels's challenge to produce jewelry with a spring theme. Ketty Pucci-Sisti Maisonrouge, president of LEF, notes that the Master Class "allows students to experience why a true collaboration between design and business is the basis for success in the luxury industry." Some of the results are so spot-on, they're picked up by the fi rms. One LEF team transferred Hermès's Balcon du Guadalquivir porcelain pattern to an enamel bracelet. Today it is an Hermès best seller. —Suzanne Charlé 104 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM Dior handbag FROM LEFT: Barguirdjian, Cirkva, Ottomanelli, Baxter, and Zouhairi. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNA DEMIDOVA (HERMÈS, PANEL); COURTESY OF LOUIS VUITTON (AKHOB) The Hermès Balcon du Guadalquivir Collection.