“To love beauty is to see light.” – Victor Hugo Just back from a fascinating series of retail conferences in Europe, including the Ebeltoft Group meeting in Paris, I also took the opportunity to see some truly inspiring retail from specialised category retailers. The Parisian city streets are abundant with retailers focusing on creating magical experiences which are increasingly targeted to a specific audience. Visiting many cities in the world such as Sydney, and you see a prec
inct environment. That is, the shopping centres are the home of speciality and department shops, the galleries are separated, as are the restaurants, and we consumers tailor our entertainment needs and wants accordingly.
By contrast, Parisian life is the synthesising of all these wonderful customer experiences housed in some of the world’s most magnificent architecture.
I have posted a series of retail photos to ourPinterest account including one shop that bears a special mention, Colette of Paris.
Colette is the most famous Parisian concept store, located at 213 rue Saint Honoré: one of the fanciest streets in town.
This Paris retailer is cool, you are cool when you walk through its curated ranges of fashion and merchandise, and above all, you are cool when you are seen to be cool.
This shop houses the definition of curated collections. Cross merchandise ranges and changing displays every fortnight, with the focus consistently on elegance, sophistication, and simply being cool. Take in the upper floor chic fashion, mid-level music, books, clothing, stereos, or novelty gadgetry, or relax downstairs at the Water Bar (carrying more than 40 different brands of bottled water).
This shop is cool, and emphasises the admired aesthetic of attitude, behavior, comportment, appearance, and style, influenced by and a product of the Zeitgeist. More simply put, it is a shop that captures an intangible atmosphere of being cool in the Parisian way.
Happy fit retailing
Brian Walker
Founder & CEO
Retail Doctor Group
Brian is a retail consultant, commentator, author and the Australian representative member of Ebeltoft Group. Find out more at www.retaildoctor.com.au or 02 9460 2882.
