If you’ve ever visited or happen to live in a city known for its luxury shopping, then you will almost certainly know of a few stores that serve as landmarks in their own right. Some of the most stunning buildings in cities like New York, Paris, and Milan are modern shops belonging to high-end fashion brands, usually created by a superstar luxury designer like Peter Marino.

Naturally, these buildings can be breath-taking and a joy to visit, but they also cost these brands a huge amount of money – far more than purchasing an existing building to use for their store. So why do brands known for clothing and accessories want to invest in architecture like this for their flagship retail branches?

Creating A Buzz

One of the first reasons is that a new and exciting building will create a buzz in any city, so when a brand wants to launch with a bang in a place where their rivals already have amazing looking shops, a beautiful new landmark can be the way to do it. Flagships tend to be unique to their cities, so Chanel’s flagship branch in Paris looks very different to their one in San Francisco – aside from their iconic branding – and so a new store becomes a part of the city landscape that people can’t help but be curious about. This brings publicity and shoppers to the door.

Unique Experiences for Customers

Most people who buy things from these brands are already fans of their products and design, but as well as that, they are high-end shoppers who value the experience of shopping as well as their purchases. This is why they shop at beautiful, luxurious stores rather than simply ordering the same stuff online (potentially for less). Shopping at a store that is basically a work of art is a nice experience, and when visiting a new city, there is a new and unique store to visit. One may not think to visit the same shops that are in your local mall when traveling, as there seems little point, but when there is an interesting and glamorous flagship store in a stunning building most fans of the brand will want to experience shopping there.

Elevating the Brand

Whether you think brands like Chanel, Dior, and Gucci are the ultimate in design and luxury or are just brands that sell overpriced things to rich people, you almost certainly know of them as brands that are famous for high-end clothing, accessories, fragrances, and cosmetics. They naturally get endless coverage in fashion magazines, but with these buildings, they are able to also elevate the brand from something only those concerned with fashion regard as special.

Architecture and art blogs and magazines regularly discuss these buildings and their interiors. This gives a sense that these are brands that care about beauty and design as a whole; they are not merely selling bags and perfume.

Flagship stores can be absolutely incredible these days, but while expensive, they do give a lot of kudos to the brands who commission them.

Brought to you by our friend, Carol.