I guess you’d say Prada can’t wait. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced South Coast Plaza, the sprawling luxury shopping mall in Orange County, California, to close its interior spaces, it did not just close. He switched components from his parking lot to advertising spaces for his high-end retailers.
Opened this month, the South Coast Plaza Pavilion offers an indoor and outdoor grocery shopping experience, in accordance with California’s strict coronavirus protection measures. Luxury suites in the mall’s garage allow consumers to make appointments with dozens of high-end boutiques. Brands are read as an A to (almost) Z of cutting-edge fashion (Alexander McQueen and Ann Taylor in Valentino, Versace and Vuitton and, yes, Prada), handbags and suitcases (Coach in Rimowa), jewelry (including Baccarat, Bulgari, Harry Winston, Mikimoto and Van Cleef – Arpels), watches (A. Lange – Sohne, Piaget, Porsche Design, etc.)
Although it is in garage, with this pedigree, it is not a garage sale. Puh-lease. The Pavilion’s 14 suites are decorated in a chic style, with coffered ceilings with bright white walls, Persian rugs, designer furniture, samples and mirrored trays, potted plants and new orchids. Meanwhile, the garage walls are open to the California sun and a heating and air conditioning formula can come into operation as needed.
“This is an herbal extension of our indoor spaces and amenities that consumers expect,” says Debra Gunn Downing, general marketing manager at South Coast Plaza, while allowing our consumers to shop safely on the user in an open space. adjusting the air. »
Here’s how it works: consumers call individually and ask to see the items, and schedule appointments within the pavilion (suites are shared between outlets in one-hour increments). Upon arrival, visitors are greeted in a reception domain and escorted to the planned suites. Staff and visitors wear masks and practice social estrangement, and the pavilion provides hand sanitizer. Once a guest leaves the suite, it is sterilized before the next appointment.
The effects are “extremely positive,” Gunn Downing says. “From the middle of the week to the weekend, the suites are complete.”
“Our retail outlets have let us know that The Pavilion has allowed them to connect and offer new and old consumers a personalized shopping experience,” he says.
He adds that the Pavilion basically attracts “intentional buyers.”
“These are consumers who come to us because there’s something they need to buy and they need to buy it after seeing the products in person.”
South Coast Plaza, in the city of Costa Mesa, is the largest grocery shopping mall in the western United States, so giant that it calls itself a “grocery shopping destination.” Typically, 250 outlets and 30 restaurants operate under your roof. Although indoor outlets are closed due to the pandemic, in addition to the pavilion, some shops with tickets remain open, as do many of their restaurants with seating.
I think I ended up as a Forbes contributor because I’m the only Wharton MBA that’s become a writer. I grew up in New England and worked in finance in Tokyo.