Inside the Competition for the World’s Richest Shoppers: Backstage passes. Secret dinners. Exclusive invites. When you have everything, stores lure you with the things money.
In December, about 20 people sipped Champagne at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater as members of New York City Ballet rehearsed the Nutcracker. The attendees toured backstage and chatted with the dancers before decamping to Bad Roman, a glitzy restaurant, for dinner. They were all guests of Mytheresa, an online luxury retailer that has two stores in Germany.
A new era of one-upmanship has taken hold in luxury shopping, where retailers and brands are vying to outdo each other to attract and retain wealthy shoppers.
Mytheresa gets more than 1/3rd of its sales from just 3% of shoppers. At Neiman Marcus 2% of customers deliver 40% of sales. The brands are treating customers the way airlines treat frequent fliers and casinos treat “whales,” the highest rollers who get fancy suites, drinks and other amenities.
Gucci and Brunello Cucinelli are opening invitation-only boutiques. Louis Vuitton and Burberry are targeting the uber wealthy with hotel-suite-worthy dressing rooms. Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus are dialing up the perks with early access to exclusive collections and experiences. (cont’d in comments)
