Managing the magic of luxury :
at 30 avenue Montaigne, it’s DIORissime!
30 AVENUE MONTAIGNE // This is where you can feel the heart of the Dior, brand beating, at 30 avenue Montaigne. It is here that Christian Dior wanted his brand to be born, to grow successfully, and this since 1946 and “nowhere else”.
What luxury masters better than any other industry is bringing to life the spirit of the past and the passions of the designer. It is about making history visible through the codes that are found there. I had the great privilege of taking a private tour to understand the strategic thinking of CEO Pietro Beccari and his architect Peter Marino.
The 10,000 square meter space is much more than just a place to sell luxury goods. It’s a friendly universe where you can experience the spirit of the brand, a place where we pay tribute to one of the greatest fashion designers and artistic directors of all time.
What are the codes that link the past and the present? What are the elements of the boutique that allow us to better understand the passions and convictions of Monsieur Dior?
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The omnipresence of art
Before entering the world of fashion, Christian Dior was a gallery owner. He had a deep admiration for works of art. This explains why there are 30 works of art in the new boutique. These works of art transform this space from a retail space into a museum where one can not only buy Dior’s exceptional products, but also stroll around, discover and admire this unique place, or even taste some food.
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The love of the garden
Monsieur Dior loved flowers, especially roses. In his house in Granville, Normandy, he had a rose garden that was a great source of inspiration for him. In the boutique, the rose is represented in all its facets. It is represented in the form of a giant sculpture in the center of the store. The rose is a watermark on the walls and is integrated into many of the bouquets of flowers throughout the store. One of the most surprising places is the winter garden with real flowers in the middle of the store.
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A passion for gastronomy
Yes, Monsieur Dior was a great gourmet. He even published a cookbook with his favorite recipes. Before every fashion show, he used to eat his steak with fries. It was his ritual.
To bring this passion back to life in the boutique, there are even two culinary venues: the gourmet restaurant run by chef Jean Imbert, the new chef at the Plaza Athénée, and a café where Dior pastries are served.
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A talent for creation and design
Everywhere in the boutique you can feel the soul of the fashion designer, the atmosphere of the workshop and the love for materials. Just behind the staircase that connects the first floor to the second floor is a wall with various typical Dior styles, backlit in white.
In the field of luxury, we know how to magnify spaces, show the beautiful and the aesthetic.
It is still at 30 avenue Montaigne that the workshops are located. Through a window closed to the public, you can see the “fitting room” for haute couture.
The success of this place is also the link between the physical representation of Dior taste and modernity. The integration of technology in this place makes the customer experience more efficient, without losing the human relationship. It is possible to know in real time what is being tried on in the nine fitting rooms.
The entire payment process is made more fluid thanks to cell phone payment methods. In any case, there are no more queues in front of the checkouts. Every salesperson who advises and sells will stay with his or her customer even during the checkout process.
For those who still want to pay discreetly, there is a cash desk away from the entire sales circuit, hidden in a small niche of the store.
Since today’s customers appreciate the customization of products, a space is entirely dedicated to custom-made finishes. The Book Tote bag, designed by Maria Gracia Chiuri, is a big hit. On an iPad, customers can create their own bags that they can pick up in less than two hours.
After the visit I had the impression that the architect Peter Merino and the CEO of the brand Pietro Beccari have succeeded in uniting the facets of a modern, friendly, surprising, complete boutique. It invites the customer to discover, to understand, to buy but also to dream.
The person who guided me for 2 hours through the boutique said with passion: “Here I live my dream in the house of dreams”.
What a beautiful testimony from a true brand ambassador. If you have already had the opportunity to listen to my conferences or read my book “Luxury Salesforces Management”, you will discover that the quality of the brand ambassador is one of the key qualities for success in the luxury industry. Indeed, the brands that succeed in developing brand ambassadors are the ones that will be the most successful in this ultra-competitive world.
Read the article directly on the Forbes website: https://www.forbes.fr/luxe/manager-la-magie-du-luxe-au-30-avenue-montaigne-cest-diorissime/
