The art of selling the dream online

At a recent dinner, I had the privilege of being in the company of several luxury professionals, including the creative director of a major luxury brand, the CEO of a PR firm, a fashion journalist and the owner of a Parisian atelier that creates exceptional luxury accessories for major international luxury brands. Among the interesting conversations of the evening was talk about a newly launched luxury leathergoods and accessories brand and its approaches to communications and public relations. When someone asked about the brand’s store location in Paris and around the world, I replied that the brand had a global online store on its website, from where its collections are retailed and shipped worldwide, in addition to plans of a store-in-store opening at Galeries Lafayette and other department stores in Europe. My highly respected table companion then said pointedly, “Yes I know that they have the Internet and all that stuff but I meant to know where the real store is located.” I was quite lost as to what to answer to this comment because he had obviously not understood me. The implication of this statement is that the e-boutique of the brand in question was not considered as a “real” retail location. This unfortunately remains the stance of several luxury brands despite the likes of Louis Vuitton, Tiffany’s and Gucci which continue to generate substantial revenue online.