Hospitality is the new black: Retail turning to new ways of serving customers
More and more, as I walk around town and read about new openings, it’s clear that brands used to selling “stuff” are looking to find other routes to connect with customers besides their usual brand offering. It seems like the ongoing trend for retail brands, especially in fashion, is to open hospitality ventures, whether directly attached to stores or as separate locations. This isn’t an entirely new phenomenon (what is, really?) - Ikea has its famous Swedish meatballs, and the Bulgari hotel opened back in 2012 as part of an extensive line of hotels linked to the eponymous luxury brand - but it seems to be a trend that is here to stay, perhaps accelerated by the need to maintain footfall on high streets in the e-commerce, post-Covid age.
Interestingly, this is happening across tiers of brands. Dior recently opened its atelier as an uber-luxury hospitality suite, designer Anya Hindmarch has a cafe as part of her ‘village’ of shops, whilst more accessible premium brand Camper now has a hotel in Barcelona, for example. Food service seems to be more prevalent and accessible as a choice, with clothing brands such as Arket and Maison Kitsuné extending into the space. These aren’t merely stores that serve a coffee, but self-contained brand extensions that serve as broader experiences of the lifestyle the brands promise through their clothing. Meanwhile some hospitality brands, such as Soho House, have moved into creating retail & product offerings, further highlighting the importance of selling a whole lifestyle experience above all, not just things.
On-brand treats at Anya Café
There is great opportunity here for brands, particularly in the face of increasing consumer consciousness about sustainability and circularity, and the ever-growing trend for spending on experiences over things. If brands who have for a long time been selling physical products want to stay relevant as consumers look to rental and resale (especially fashion brands, with a seasonal expiration date), hospitality ventures open a door to keep consumers coming in, buying into the brand, and spending money, in a new and more experiential way.
Arket café
However given the range of experiences consumers have access to, brands need to do this right for it to be successful. Hospitality brand extensions should have something meaningful to say about the rest of the brand and be an authentic expression of brand identity through their design and service offering. They should allow customers to more fully experience the life that they envision entering when they purchase any other product. Arket Café, for example, has a clear vision and set of values that inform the pared-back design and simple, vegetable-forward food offering - seasonal, sustainably-focused, using just what’s needed - which in turn gives greater credibility to the minimalist Scandi lifestyle customers buy into when they buy a new outfit next door. Likewise Café Kitsuné, with its neat, light wood paneling and french patisserie reinforces the fused French-Japanese influences of the founders and the brands aesthetic, whilst demonstrating a focus on elegance and attention to detail that extends from a tshirt into a miniature cake. Rather than simply adding an espresso machine to a shop, each brand can think about what type of space and hospitality offering fits with the brand world they have already begun creating.
Not only is this an opportunity for brands to broaden their offering, but it’s also an opportunity to have fun with expressing the brand identity through in new creative outlets. What would the brand smell and taste like? What materials and lighting could bring out another side of the brand’s personality? How fast or slow would the service be? How would it sound? Each of these elements can impart a new level of meaning, and provide a new way of physically experiencing a brand - which is all the more valuable in an increasingly digital world.
