Kate Spade New York has their hand in many types of luxury items these days, from handbags to clothing to fragrance to stationery. Their website claims the brand has 175 shops internationally. Something else they have? A great new retail strategy.<\/p>\n
Consumers for the luxury brand can look forward to a change in their experience. According to Business Insider, the new experience is called a \u201cguest journey\u201d and the sales associate is now their \u201cmuse.\u201d
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However, the names are just the start of the changes. The associates (muses) are tasked with not just \u201cmaking the sale,\u201d but first and foremost to engage with the Customer. In other words, the muses must determine how the Customer wants the experience to go that day, and then deliver that version of it. Muses will now also greet the guest only, but they won\u2019t show product unless asked specifically to do so.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll be honest, today we are exploring the experience of an industry I know NOTHING about, women\u2019s fashion. But I do know enough to see that there is a great benefit to making the Customer feel like they are on a journey\u2014particularly when they are spending the kind of money they are at one of these shops.<\/p>\n
Luxury brands, more than most, have set an expectation in the minds of their Customers, and it\u2019s as high as the prices on the merchandise. By revamping the Customer Experience<\/a> to reflect the brand value of luxury, Kate Spade is joining the ranks of Apple and Lululemon.<\/p>\n One key for a luxury brand is called \u201caspiration.\u201d When retailers of luxury brands talk about aspiration, they refer to the value the brand name implies in the mind of the consumer. Aspiration is what drives a woman that sees a Kate Spade bag in the window of the shop to figure out if she can stand to eat noodles for the next month to pay for it. Aspiration means that consumers pay a premium to be a part of the brand, and are thrilled about it.<\/p>\n However, to remain aspirational, a brand can\u2019t be too popular\u2014or too accessible. Michael Kors, an equivalent brand for women\u2019s fashion (or so I\u2019m told\u2026) is suffering from too much of both<\/a>, and it shows in their sales numbers. To maintain their aspirational status, Kate Spade is pulling back from discounting and flash sales this year, a gutsy move in an economy that is still in recovery mode for many.<\/p>\n They also want a younger vibe. Their millennial-focused Kate Spade Saturday Stores closed last winter, but the line will continue in the Kate Spade New York Stores. They have a great new campaign with actress Anna Kendrick, called #missadventure:<\/p>\n