Fashion Marketing: Contemporary Issues, Second edition - Pr School

The international flagship stores of luxury fashion retailers 283
exposure stimulates luxury brand purchasing at the local level. As a caveat
to this apparently symbiotic relationship, the role of the independent stockist
may become less tenable in the future as a result of the increase in the number
of provincial stores directly operated by the luxury brand retailers in the UK
(Foster, 2004).
Flagship stores also provide an important place for the luxury brand to
be promoted to luxury fashion opinion formers. The importance of celebrity
endorsements and close associations has long been recognized by luxury
fashion companies (Breward, 2003), and the flagship store provides the
opportunity for celebrities to be feted and then photographed as they leave
the flagship with their possibly free gratis products. Other than providing a
space to host celebrity events, the flagship store also provides the opportunity
for the company to showcase their entire collections to the fashion press –
especially at the launch of a new season.
The creation and nurturing of positive relationships with the fashion press
is critical for the luxury fashion brand. And while editorial coverage within
the leading monthly fashion magazines is determined by the brand’s level of
advertizing spend with that publication, newspaper coverage is more at the
discretion of the fashion editors and writers. In an effort to influence these
fashion reporters, many luxury fashion companies will establish and staff a
local Press Office. The purpose of this office is to represent the brand to the
local media through the provision of corporate photography (that can be used
for publication); corporate and product information, as well as press samples
of their ‘must have’ products of the season which can be used for photo shots.
Working in conjunction with the Press Office, the flagship store because of its
placement within the primary fashion districts, ensures that the brand remains
in the memory of local fashion reporters.
It should not be forgotten that the flagship store plays an important role in
creating and maintaining customer loyalty. Through such initiatives as exclusive
fashion shows, private shopping evenings and public relations events –
such as book launches – the flagship serves as a place where the relationship
between the brand and the key customer is established and enhanced. Within
this context, the Armani Group recently announced that 5 per cent of their
flagship customers generated 52 per cent of sales. Using a year’s worth of
credit card data, Armani found that unlike other businesses where 20 per cent
of customers account for 60 per cent of turnover, for the company, the figure
was 80 per cent (Ody, 2005). Consequently, the Armani Group is committed to
a strategy which encourages more frequent flagship store visits by its highest
spending customers.
Flagships: blueprint for store development
As a naval term, a flagship was the most impressive and important, and
its purpose was to lead and direct the lesser ships in the fleet. It is not farfetched
to suggest that the luxury fashion flagship store plays a similar role