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New Prestige Beauty Experiences Being Offered Across ELC’s Brands
Company Feature, Dec 28, 2017
In this experience economy, where service is playing an increasingly important role and authenticity is everything, The Estée Lauder Companies has been rolling out inventive retail concepts aimed at today’s beauty consumers. From the first standalone stores for Too Faced and TOM FORD BEAUTY in London, England to Western Europe’s first Estée Lauder freestanding store in Milan, Italy to the combined M·A·C Cosmetics and Bumble and bumble Makeup and Hair Studio in Dallas, Texas, the company is creating experiential, high-touch moments that cater to a shopper’s “be ready/always on” sensibilities.
The Too Faced store in London opened in late 2017
London is both a heritage market for ELC and a hot-bed of creativity and innovation for its brands. For the co-founder of Too Faced Jerrod Blandino, London has always been a source of inspiration. “When the opportunity came up for Carnaby Street — an iconic fashion, style mecca — I just jumped at it. It’s so completely Too Faced to be there. It’s fun, there’s energy, there’s color and there’s history. It just clicked,” said Blandino. The 585-square-foot store houses the brand’s entire lineup. Blandino designed the interiors “to be a bit like a Too Faced amusement park,” from the whimsical peach display for the highly-anticipated Peaches and Cream collection, to the Chocolate Bar for the brand’s chocolate-scented collections.
The first-ever TOM FORD BEAUTY store opened in November 2017
TOM FORD BEAUTY opened its first dedicated store in November in London’s Covent Garden and, according to WWD’s Rachel Strugatz, it is “everything one would expect from the designer.” The two-level, 1,400 square-foot boutique has rooms devoted to fragrance, color and grooming, where visitors will find the brands’ full range of products per category, as well as services. The store concept is based on the designer, Tom Ford's, vision. “The…client wants an emotional experience. They want to connect with our products in a sensorial way. They want to combine, mix and layer our fragrances and cosmetics to make them their own. Now they will finally have the perfect place to do that,” said Ford.
Estée Lauder opened a store on Via Dante in Milan, Italy
The Estée Lauder brand opened its first freestanding store in Western Europe’s fashion capital of Milan, in the city’s central Via Dante, marrying the elegance of this influential shopping street with engaging in-store technology and services. Consumers can utilize the Estée Lauder YouCam app available on iPads throughout the store to virtually try different shades of lipstick, or have the IMatch digital device find the perfect shade of foundation for their skin type. In-store beauty advisors offer a range of expert services, from quick consultations to one-hour treatments.
M·A·C Cosmetics and Bumble and bumble opened a combined makeup and hair studio in Dallas, Texas
Stirring things up in the U.S., the Company has paired two of its brand leaders in their respective categories to offer consumers combined services for the first time. Artists from M·A·C and Bumble and bumble have been collaborating backstage at fashion shows for years, but the M·A·C Cosmetics and Bumble and bumble Makeup and Hair Studio is the first-ever offering of both brands to the luxury consumer. The 2,200-square-foot space — recently opened in a high-end shopping hub in Dallas, a top beauty market — is half-express salon specializing in blowouts and makeup application and half-retail store. This fully integrated concept keeps the consumer at the center of the experience.
Given the experimental nature of the M·A·C and Bumble and bumble pairing in Dallas, the company will be closely tracking visitor behavioral trends. As express services are expected to grow in popularity, and retail environments aim to go beyond selling products, ELC will take the learnings from its latest launches to continue to reinvent and reimagine the retail experiences across its prestige brand portfolio.
