Kate Spade wants to re-enchant the physical point of sale
For its first speech in France, the New York brand 'Kate Spade New York' has chosen Paris Retail Week, a major annual gathering of French e-commerce, which is held at Porte de Versailles in Paris from September 12 to 14. A first step in France, where Kate Spade New York soon intends to open a point of sale. And it is the head of the design of the points of sale (VP Real Estate, Store Design & Construction, editor's note), Philip Rosenzweig who stuck to it. In an almost full room, this specialist in interior design and architecture laid the foundations of the philosophy that guides the brand in terms of the layout of its shops, which basically few French people still know well. . The brand currently only has a corner on the shelves of the BHV Marais. In the United States, Kate Spade New York is a hit. In 2015, it generated no less than 1.2 billion dollars in turnover, and it is progressing. It has 80 points of sale in North America and more than 100 internationally in 39 countries, and the brand has made a name for itself for its leather goods creations, but has greatly diversified its offer by also marketing ready-to-wear, shoes and housewares, etc.
No, to the standardization of shops
Philip Rosenzweig for his part, began his speech with a question about his future: “Will I still have work in 5 years? ". His idea here is simple: the evolution of trade in recent years is such that it is not impossible that the use of his skills will end up dwindling. And for good reason, Kate Spade has the particularity of having stores designed in a rather traditional way, that is to say with little digital presence, but with furiously trendy decoration. Some would call it 'Shabby Chic' decoration, but the brand goes much further, always adapting to the local culture, which means that the Japanese store in Tokyo does not have the same design as the shop located on Regent Street in London. Exit the standardization or standards expected of large chains, each store or almost is unique. A way to restore the prestige of commercial design. Stone floors for New York, wooden parquet in London, differentiated furnishings, presentation of variable products, corners dedicated to selfies, creation of books-novels branded Kate Spade but also, dummy objects to fill the last bag so much desired, and to check that the laptop fits in well… For Philip Rosenzweig, the role of the points of sale is to “highlight the values carried by the brand, and Kate Spade is aspirational and makes people dream”.
Digital is essential
Inspired for his physical points of sale, Philip Rosenzweig is nonetheless aware of the realities of the time, and the physical network which also includes a presence in outlets and duty free, is completed by a merchant site, and mechanics e-reservation and click&collect are well and truly operational. “The year the Internet became more democratized was the year Kate Spade became a brand,” he recalls. But digital is unavoidable. "Many consumers today did not know before the Internet, and these want to be able to buy in stores on their computer, on their mobile, etc", while recalling that the merchant Web, however efficient it may be- he still has a long way to go. "After 21 years of existence, Amazon continues to fight for its survival, but they ended 2015 generating $10 billion in revenue." In reality Amazon ended the year 2015 with 100 billion dollars in turnover, a small error of 90 billion, but under the influence of emotion and the temporary heat of the place, no one is held to the perfection. Because if there is one point on which Kate Spade embraces contemporary codes, it is on the question of social networks. 2.5 million subscribers on Facebook, 907,000 followers on Twitter, the brand is also present and very active on Tumblr, Youtube and also Pinterest. Proof that a priori, she has all the cards in hand to meet the same success in France, as in the rest of the world.
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