If I asked you to think of department stores what are some of the top that you think of?
Harvy Nichols
Selfridges
Harrods
Debenhams
John Lewis
House of Fraser
There are obvious differences between these stores, I'd personally place Harrods at the top and House of Fraser at the bottom in terms of high end/ mass market. This constructed structure of luxury means some brands will only have concessions in certain department stores.
(McGregor et al., 2018)Brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Prada may be in Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Harrods - definitely not in House of Fraser. Why is this? What sort of customer only shops in Harrods and not Debenhams?
The beauty scale seems to be slightly different. I know that Charlotte Tilbury, MAC and Giorgio Armani are in both Selfridges and House of Fraser. Does this mean that beauty has an entirely different scale to fashion.
Designer and high end beauty products can be seen as a gateway into luxury brands. A Giorgio Armani lipstick is £30 (still a lot for a lipstick), whereas their handbags and clothing is on average £1,000+. Therefore, Sally down the road may not be able to afford an Armani handbag but she can sure enough treat herself to an Armani lippie.
(Hmkm.com, 2018)In this instance by having the same beauty brands in different department stores you are reaching a wider demographic which helps to increase sales. However, if Chanel were in a House of Fraser in Lakeside, I doubt their turnover and sales profits for that store would match that of Selfridges or Harrods.
Image References
McGregor, K., Moran, G., Moran, G., McGregor, K., Brown, H. and Geoghegan, J. (2018). Creating a special place: How Selfridges is revitalising the store experience. [online]
Drapers. Available at: https://www.drapersonline.com/retail/creating-a-special-place-how-selfridges-is-revitalising-the-store-experience/7016282.article [Accessed 21 Nov. 2018].
Hmkm.com. (2018). HMKM - Selfridges Beauty. [online] Available at: http://www.hmkm.com/work/interior-design/content/selfridges-beauty/ [Accessed 21 Nov. 2018].