LONDON, January 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
The Champs-Élysées in Paris is one of the most famous streets in the world and the most valuable retail artery in Europe. Come February 2013,
M·A·C Cosmetics joins the legion of luxury retail and fashion names
lining this exclusive strip with the opening of the brand's third global
flagship location following the success of Times Square and Fifth
Avenue, New York.
"As a trendsetting brand, we have been waiting for just the right
opportunities to present themselves in these fashion capitals," says Karen Buglisi,
Global Brand President, M·A·C Cosmetics. "We anticipate these to be
high volume doors for the brand, due to the large number of visitors
they attract from around the world. Each year, approximately 167 million
people travel to the Champs-Élysées." Business expansion model aside
(the fact that the 128 stores housed on the Champs-Élysées generate a
sales turnover of 1 billion euro per year
is hard to contest), as a branding strategy, M·A·C's decision to invest
in the Champs-Élysées is specific: in a move far ahead of the creative
and commercial curve of its competitors, the Champs-Élysées flagship
demonstrates M·A·C's ability to react and respond to trends in
consumerism in a manner unrivalled by any other cosmetics brand.
Firstly, Paris is internationally
synonymous with style and creativity, drawing a multicultural audience
impressionable to the city's fashion capital heritage. Every season,
between the fashion capitals of New York, London, Milan and Paris,
M·A·C supports over 200 shows, from emerging to established designers.
Living and breathing fashion and trend is an inherent part of M·A·C's
DNA. Opening a distinctive, prominent and impressive flagship store in
the fashion capital of the world only strengthens the brand's fashion
message and trend authority. Indeed, "our global flagship strategy
supports the idea that M·A·C behaves more like a luxury fashion brand,
but captures a much larger audience as a result of our commitment to
creating products that appeal to All Ages, All Races and All Sexes,"
explains Buglisi.
Secondly, the Champs-Élysées, particularly for the French, represents
the quintessential celebration location and global focus for the city.
No other locale in Paris can match the
visibility, traffic and prestige of an address on the Champs-Élysées.
"No makeup brand is more global and more equipped to cater to such a
diverse and important audience than M·A·C," adds Buglisi. "This new
flagship store will make an incredibly strong, very exciting brand
statement." Hence the 362m2 (total space) store, which M·A·C has
developed over two floors at 78 Champs-Élysées.
In respect of design, the Champs-Élysées flagship is unique. "There's
a look and feel to
M·A·C's design aesthetics but the cultural and
spatial context of every M·A·C store is always thought about
sensitively. We don't ever want to be 'cookie cutter'," explains James Gager, Senior Vice President, M·A·C Cosmetics. "Despite being in Paris,
we did not want to evoke anything particularly cultural with the store
design. The focus was on giving the structure a sense of magnificence,
working with the fact that architecture in Paris
is innovative and risk taking," he explains. "Which is why we decided
to make this amazing shell within the store," explains Gager of 'the
dome' - a cascade of black mirrors which plays with the grandeur of the
double-height space. The dome "reflects and refracts the graphic and
colour-saturated LED animations projected in the store, fragmenting
their shades and shape. The idea is that they generate a visual interest
at street level which captures the imagination and draws people
inside," he explains. "The rest of the store design is very simple, but
with the dome we wanted to gain attention in an appropriate way, to
create real 'wow' factor. M·A·C is a very theatrical brand and we wanted
to reflect that."
"Consumers in such high traffic destinations as the Champs-Élysées
demand spectacle and a level of elevated aesthetics. We therefore strive
to create unique spaces that individually feel important, inspirational
and striking," continues Gager. "It's about creating a memorable
architectural experience as much as a memorable M·A·C experience."
Always mindful of the brand's founding principal - All Ages, All
Races, All Sexes - over 30 makeup Artists will be working at the
Champs-Élysées with an international profile, relevant to a mix of
consumers via language, experience and background. The presence of so
many Artists is demonstrative of the fact that M·A·C is, first and
foremost, an artistry-led brand.
"We don't have 'beauty consultants'...we have Makeup Artists," confirms Gordon Espinet,
Senior Vice President, Artist Training and Development, M·A·C
Cosmetics. "What makes the M·A·C experience so unique is that we have
extreme diversity in the people who work with us. However, irrespective
of age, language, culture, background or ethnicity, they are all
genuinely passionate and talented makeup artists who have an innate
desire and ability to positively connect with consumers and constantly
rethink the potentials of makeup."
Vital to this point is M·A·C's ethos of internally promoting and
retraining its Artists, which equates to an extremely low turnover rate.
"We educate our Artists and certify them," explains Buglisi. "The
Artist behind the counter is our first customer: if you can convince
them and inspire them, they will share that with customers. Hence, what
we can offer to the consumer feels different from what the consumer gets
from another brand that has a higher rate of turnover."
Speaking to the fact that the Champs-Élysées recruits consumers from
all over the world, the product offering at the flagship has an equally
multicultural relevancy. In addition to the full M·A·C range (over 1200
SKUs including new colour collections and M·A·C store-only exclusive
collections), additional product collections with a global appeal,
previously only available to specific M·A·C markets, are also a
compelling offering.
With 360-degree consumer engagement via the ultimate in high-touch
and high-tech retailing in mind, the M·A·C Champs-Élysées flagship
features innovative retail experiences such as the first Lash Bar in France
(the full selection of lashes are displayed and back-lit on a vertical
surface at worktop height, enticing customers to play with their picks
of lash looks) where all lash-essential accessories and products are
readily to hand.
The 12 makeup stations (eight in a central hub on the ground floor,
two more in the VIP area and in the private makeup area) have a bespoke
feel with professional lighting and fully adjustable seating, while the
continual animation around collections makes for an immediate and
tangible way to step in and experience the brand. The focus is clearly
on attracting customers in and inviting them to stay. "We are trying to
be more cognizant of the customer who wants to play for a while," says
Gager.
The Champs-Élysées flagship will also serve as an industry event
space. Key functions include the flagship forming an 'industry hub' for
editorial broadcasting activity, filming and VIP appointments, hosting
PR events for bloggers and makeup applications for local and global
media during Paris Fashion Week, in addition to serving as a venue for
Masterclasses and M·A·C's seasonal Trend Presentations.
In keeping with the brand's strong alignment, and support of, the
industry as a whole, the store will tune in to M·A·C's strong
relationships and involvement with French cinema and film festivals by
participating in related events on the Champs-Élysées via in-store
animation, premiere parties and makeup appointments. With many of Paris's
famous nightclubs nearby, local French socialites will also be invited
in for pre-party makeup applications, complete with an in-store DJ on
occasion.
"What we have created with the Champs-Élysées's store - as with our
other flagships - is a unique and special retail experience," concludes
Gager. "Addressing the shopper is the best way for the brand to evolve.
As our flagships demonstrate, as our customers evolve, so will we. We
are a brand that always likes to keep moving."
M·A·C champs-Élysées at a glance
LOCATION
78 Champs-Élysées, Paris, France
HOURS
Open 10am - 10pm weekdays;
10am - 12am weekends,
360 days per year.
STAFF
34 Artists with an international profile
SPACE
362 sqm
ABOUT M·A·C COSMETICS
M·A·C (Make-up Art Cosmetics), a leading brand of professional cosmetics, was created in Toronto, Canada
in 1984 and is part of The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. The company's
popularity has grown through a tradition of word-of-mouth endorsement
from makeup artists, models, photographers and journalists around the
world. M·A·C is now sold in 79 countries/territories worldwide. Follow
M·A·C on Twitter @MACcosmetics (twitter.com/maccosmetics), become a
M·A·C fan on Facebook (facebook.com/maccosmetics), watch M·A·C videos on
YouTube and find our M·A·C Senior Artists at macartiststweets.com
(the above is a press release)
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