September 11, 2014
Exterior of Galeries Lafayette
French department store Galeries Lafayette has much to celebrate this fall with the upcoming anniversary of the National Association for the Development of the Fashion Arts.
To honor the 25th anniversary the retail store will host a capsule collection, a pop-up shop and an exhibition to celebrate the designers who have previously won the ANDAM prize. This focus on the designers will bring attention to the prize and the individuals who have been honored, as well as drive consumers to Galeries Lafayette to participate in the event.
"The capsule collection, the pop-up store with the 12 ANDAM winners and the "Department Store" exhibition all hit the right marketing silos while supporting one another’s efforts," said Sam Santarelli, executive vice president/creative at Brightline Interactive, Alexandria, VA.
"The pop-up store catches new consumers on the fly, while the exhibition provides added value to current consumers and the capsule collection touches all consumers, even the holdouts online, with something that they can only get from Galeries Lafayette," he said.
Mr. Santarelli is not affiliated with Galeries Lafayette, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Galeries Lafayette was unable to comment by press deadline.
Winner exhibition
The ANDAM fashion award is celebrating its 25th anniversary and the prize has partnered with Galeries Lafayette since 2003.
On Aug. 29 a showcase began with an exclusive capsule collection for the Galeries Lafayette. This will run through Nov. 15 and will be dedicated to the anniversary to highlight the young artists who have won an ANDAM.
Starting on Sept. 1, a pop-up store opened on the first floor to feature the exclusive designs from 12 ANDAM designers. Those featured in the pop-up will include designers such as Gareth Pugh, Maison Martin Margiela and Viktor & Rolf.
Pop-up shop
The pop-up shop will offer items ranging from coats and jackets to accessories. The limited-editions will be available in the pop-up shop until Oct. 4.
One last event will celebrate the anniversary with an exhibition from photographer Philippe Jarrigeon. The “Department Store” will be in Galerie des Galeries, the exhibition space inside the Paris location of Galeries Lafayette.
This exhibition will include still images and portraits of 15 previous winners.
Exhibition photo
Exhibiting department stores
Earlier this year, Galeries Lafayette hosted the touring exhibit Galerie F at its Haussmann flagship location in August.
Atout France’s Galerie F explained the origins of French brands, including Lancôme and Longchamp, detailing what region and city they started in. This helped the retailer promote French excellence, as well as educate consumers on some of the labels available under its roof (see story).
Department store exhibitions can shed new light on a brand.
For instance, London department store Harrods upped its status as a destination in Britain by hosting the first Biennale des Antiquaires antiques and art fair in the country.
The retailer invited the public to visit the exhibition in its fine jewelry room where brand partners showed their collections and vintage pieces. The event helped Harrods raise awareness for its newly installed Cartier, Chanel, De Beers and Boodles concept boutiques, its new Piaget boutique and the Harry Winston Salon (see story).
Exhibitions within department stores creates reasons for consumers to visit the store beyond the shopping experience.
"With e-commerce / mobile options keeping shoppers out of retail spaces, Galeries Lafayette is reminding everyone that they are still the king," Mr. Santarelli said.
"Galeries Lafayette’s three-pronged approach is a pretty nice 25th birthday present to itself, not to mention a shrewd marketing strategy," he said.
Final Take
Nancy Buckley, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
Share your thoughts. Click here
