Over the past decade, the term “luxury” has been defined in more ways than one and now, it's used across almost every industry. In a world where luxury was once only associated with beautiful bags and handmade clothes, is now positioned alongside everyday products like toothbrushes and suitcases.
When it comes to editorial, Paul Munford noticed a gap. There was no central source answering today’s luxury industry questions and covering the trends. And that’s how the newsletter Lean Luxe was born. We chat with Paul on what’s next for luxury retail.
Trend #1: Treat retail as an outpost for experiences, not just a POS.
We hear it time and time again, all millennials want are experiences and it’s true. Many digitally native brands started in the physical world with what they deemed as “showrooms” - Glossier, Casper, Warby Parker, Everlane, the list goes on. These outposts were the first real-life spaces that allowed consumers to experience the brand. From Casper creating napping rooms to Glossier teaming up with San Francisco’s Rhea’s cafe, the outpost concept continues to be a crowd pleaser.
Trend #2: Join the club.
In an increasingly digital world, what everyone really wants is to feel a sense of community within a space. Years ago, most of the population would go to religion to fill this void, but today’s world craves something different. These “clubhouses” continue to pop up globally from The Wing to Rapha Cycling Club to The Ned in London. Paul doesn’t think this community space will be going anywhere and we will only continue to see more of these spaces launch around the world.
Trend #3: Pop-ups are no longer a novelty, they are a standard piece of the brand tool belt.
Increasingly, brands like Everlane, Away and MM.LaFleur use these temporary spaces to test out new markets and concepts prior to committing to a permanent store. Take Everlane for example, they prided themselves on never launching a physical store, but after dozens of pop-ups in New York and LA, they now have mastered the concept of what a store means for their audience and have launched multiple permanent locations that continue to have lines wrapped around the street.
Away used physical space as more than just a point of sale in London, New York, Paris and Berlin. They would host nightly community events and collaborate with like-minded brands to connect with consumers. Then you have MM.LaFleur who are testing out new cities like New York and DC with partnerships with leading department stores like Nordstrom. To say the least, short-term spaces are here to stay and will only continue to evolve from brand to brand.
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