The New Luxury Focusing on Emotion
The retail world is evolving and creating professional figures to welcome customers. A new way of interpreting luxury that takes shape through unique and tailor-made experiences, accompanied by Intesa Sanpaolo's Exclusive Credit Card
Client Advisor, commercial transformation director, global travel manager. High-end jewellery, watch and fashion brands are creating new figures to give their high-end customers emotional and exclusive experiences. In-store, online and at their workshops. Evolutionary sales methods that give rise to Retailtainment. But let's take a step back.
The first to talk about Retailtainment was North American sociologist George Ritzer in 1999 in the wake of what, at the time, already appeared to be a paradigm shift away from the concept of the store simply as a place to shop. While it was lighting, music, visual merchandising and animation that disrupted the scene in those days, we have now arrived at direct interaction between potential buyer and product via hyper-technological apps, smart mirrors in the fitting rooms and even Artificial Intelligence. At the same time, along with the physical space, the figure of the personal shopper has also evolved considerably: nowadays we speak of Client Advisors, experts who first study the customer's outfits and tastes and then organize exclusive visits to boutiques with the possibility of private trunk shows.
A tailor-made profession for someone who, like Claudio Volontieri, has worked in the fashion world for more than 44 years. His CV lists beginnings alongside an explosive Elio Fiorucci, then Max Mara, Ungaro, Gruppo Coin and, last but not least, five years side by side with Giorgio Armani as Emporio Director and junior boutique in Via Durini. «They were all really important schools for me, but at Armani I understood the importance of the top client. There I was in charge of the Saudi Royal Family’s private orders, an area that paved the way to what I am and what I do today. For more than 25 years I have also been a consultant for the Casablanca Group, a luxury fashion leader in Venezuela with 10 boutiques between Caracas and Margarita Island selling only Italian brands. There, no-limit budget sales are a daily occurrence: customers are only received on appointment and we have also sold entire collections or one-of-a-kind pieces off the market. An example? A client of mine wanted a handbag created exclusively for Lady Gaga. The bill? 24,000 dollars. It's the same with jewelry. In Caracas as in Italy, where I deal with Gismondi 1754. Last year, an Italian customer on holiday in Forte dei Marmi asked me to accompany her to the Portofino boutique. The experience initially took place in the boutique and then on board a yacht, which took us to the cove in front of the San Fruttuoso Monastery. That lunch at anchor was unforgettable, as was the purchase in diamonds and emeralds made immediately afterwards!» The latest addition to Volontieri's portfolio is LuisaViaRoma, a luxury retailer that recently enlisted him into its team of Client Advisors - some forty worldwide - for its new space at number 22 Via Spadari in Milan. « It is an on-appointment-only showroom where each booking needs at least three days of preparation. The client expresses her wishes and the Client Advisor prepares collections and pieces to try on during the visit. It is then up to us to also suggest brands that we think will suit her personality. We do this mainly for fashion, accessories, jewelry and watches but also for the beauty, personal care and design sectors. The more we know the customer, the easier it is to kindle her ego!» Another location, different sales methods. At Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice, the first flagship address in Europe belonging to the DFS Group - the world leader in luxury travel retail - advice ranges from color analysis in the choice of make-up and the most suitable outfits to the Vip Room Watches reserved for those who aim for special pieces. In this way, the visitor, both at the Fondaco and at DFS duty-free shops at airports, is like a passing tourist, who, thanks to this valuable professional, can find his or her way around more easily and thus conclude the purchase. As for haute horlogerie, there is a lot of fun to be had: companies love to treat their top clients to exclusive occasions such as a tour of their headquarters to admire great master watchmakers at the workbench as they create collectors' items and limited editions that often fetch hundreds of thousands of euros. It is even done in the Vallée de Joux, in the Canton of Vaud, the heart of Swiss timepiece culture, where Breguet, Audemars Piguet, Blancpain, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Jaeger-Le Coultre are based. Here the journey actually becomes a full immersion into the history of a company that goes beyond the product. It is pure awareness at the highest level. Cross-contamination between sales and travel, which finds its place of choice in luxury hotels. An example is the Bulgari boutique located inside Villa Igea in Palermo, part of the Rocco Forte Hotels & Resorts world, which, upon request, sets up a personal atelier in the suite, where the guest is the absolute protagonist. In the jewelry world, historical brands are also testing unexplored territory. Cartier, for example, now boasts the latest generation of professionals on its corporate board: a Global Travel Retail Manager and Commercial Transformation Director, where “transformation” refers to operations such as the “Love is All” campaign launched between Christmas 2021 and April 2022, made for the Chinese market in an omnichannel version with unique interactive features designed exclusively for Far Eastern Millennials. The Cartier Karaoke Box and the Cartier Mini Program on WeChat allowed users to broadcast content and access the pop-up store created by the brand to support the communication campaign.
An Intesa Sanpaolo advertising message for promotional purposes. For the contractual terms and conditions of the Exclusive Credit Card, please consult the Information Sheet available at Branches and on the Bank's website. The sale of products and services is subject to the Bank's assessment.
The first to talk about Retailtainment was North American sociologist George Ritzer in 1999 in the wake of what, at the time, already appeared to be a paradigm shift away from the concept of the store simply as a place to shop. While it was lighting, music, visual merchandising and animation that disrupted the scene in those days, we have now arrived at direct interaction between potential buyer and product via hyper-technological apps, smart mirrors in the fitting rooms and even Artificial Intelligence. At the same time, along with the physical space, the figure of the personal shopper has also evolved considerably: nowadays we speak of Client Advisors, experts who first study the customer's outfits and tastes and then organize exclusive visits to boutiques with the possibility of private trunk shows.
A tailor-made profession for someone who, like Claudio Volontieri, has worked in the fashion world for more than 44 years. His CV lists beginnings alongside an explosive Elio Fiorucci, then Max Mara, Ungaro, Gruppo Coin and, last but not least, five years side by side with Giorgio Armani as Emporio Director and junior boutique in Via Durini. «They were all really important schools for me, but at Armani I understood the importance of the top client. There I was in charge of the Saudi Royal Family’s private orders, an area that paved the way to what I am and what I do today. For more than 25 years I have also been a consultant for the Casablanca Group, a luxury fashion leader in Venezuela with 10 boutiques between Caracas and Margarita Island selling only Italian brands. There, no-limit budget sales are a daily occurrence: customers are only received on appointment and we have also sold entire collections or one-of-a-kind pieces off the market. An example? A client of mine wanted a handbag created exclusively for Lady Gaga. The bill? 24,000 dollars. It's the same with jewelry. In Caracas as in Italy, where I deal with Gismondi 1754. Last year, an Italian customer on holiday in Forte dei Marmi asked me to accompany her to the Portofino boutique. The experience initially took place in the boutique and then on board a yacht, which took us to the cove in front of the San Fruttuoso Monastery. That lunch at anchor was unforgettable, as was the purchase in diamonds and emeralds made immediately afterwards!» The latest addition to Volontieri's portfolio is LuisaViaRoma, a luxury retailer that recently enlisted him into its team of Client Advisors - some forty worldwide - for its new space at number 22 Via Spadari in Milan. « It is an on-appointment-only showroom where each booking needs at least three days of preparation. The client expresses her wishes and the Client Advisor prepares collections and pieces to try on during the visit. It is then up to us to also suggest brands that we think will suit her personality. We do this mainly for fashion, accessories, jewelry and watches but also for the beauty, personal care and design sectors. The more we know the customer, the easier it is to kindle her ego!» Another location, different sales methods. At Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice, the first flagship address in Europe belonging to the DFS Group - the world leader in luxury travel retail - advice ranges from color analysis in the choice of make-up and the most suitable outfits to the Vip Room Watches reserved for those who aim for special pieces. In this way, the visitor, both at the Fondaco and at DFS duty-free shops at airports, is like a passing tourist, who, thanks to this valuable professional, can find his or her way around more easily and thus conclude the purchase. As for haute horlogerie, there is a lot of fun to be had: companies love to treat their top clients to exclusive occasions such as a tour of their headquarters to admire great master watchmakers at the workbench as they create collectors' items and limited editions that often fetch hundreds of thousands of euros. It is even done in the Vallée de Joux, in the Canton of Vaud, the heart of Swiss timepiece culture, where Breguet, Audemars Piguet, Blancpain, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Jaeger-Le Coultre are based. Here the journey actually becomes a full immersion into the history of a company that goes beyond the product. It is pure awareness at the highest level. Cross-contamination between sales and travel, which finds its place of choice in luxury hotels. An example is the Bulgari boutique located inside Villa Igea in Palermo, part of the Rocco Forte Hotels & Resorts world, which, upon request, sets up a personal atelier in the suite, where the guest is the absolute protagonist. In the jewelry world, historical brands are also testing unexplored territory. Cartier, for example, now boasts the latest generation of professionals on its corporate board: a Global Travel Retail Manager and Commercial Transformation Director, where “transformation” refers to operations such as the “Love is All” campaign launched between Christmas 2021 and April 2022, made for the Chinese market in an omnichannel version with unique interactive features designed exclusively for Far Eastern Millennials. The Cartier Karaoke Box and the Cartier Mini Program on WeChat allowed users to broadcast content and access the pop-up store created by the brand to support the communication campaign.
An Intesa Sanpaolo advertising message for promotional purposes. For the contractual terms and conditions of the Exclusive Credit Card, please consult the Information Sheet available at Branches and on the Bank's website. The sale of products and services is subject to the Bank's assessment.