Fashion Brands
Fashion brands are following in the footsteps of luxury brands such as Dior, Prada and Ralph Lauren in offering shoppers new retail services as part of their customer experience. The latest example is Tapestry, which sells brands such as Coach and Kate Spade, and has expanded into the food and beverage sector to increase contact between its brands and consumers.
Why is fashion retail taking on the challenge of the food and beverage industry? What kind of benefits does it have?
Coach and Kate Spade cafe
Kate Spade, which is expanding its wholesale business in the Middle East, has entered the food and beverage industry to connect with brand loyalists and find new customers. For three months until June, they will be running a pop-up cafe at Bloomingdale’s, a luxury department store located in a shopping mall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“With our pop-up cafe, we are testing a new lifestyle concept for Kate Spade, providing a fun experience and creating an emotional connection with our brand’s fans,” said Kate Spade New York chief executive Liz Fraser, in an interview with Fashion network.
The cafe will serve food and beverages ‘infused with the joy and essence of Kate Spade,’ as reported by Fashion network, a website specializing in fashion information. Examples include coffee in original packaging featuring the brand’s trademark spade, and sweets adorned with stripes and polka dots in Kate Spade’s signature colors of green, black, and cream.
Sister fashion brands are also undertaking similar initiatives. In March, Coach opened a restaurant and coffee shop in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. These locations pay homage to New York City, the brand’s birthplace, with a replica of the city’s famous yellow cab suspended from the ceiling, and the brand’s logo prominently displayed throughout both establishments.
Creating a concept outside of my area of expertise in Fashion Brands
Why are so many fashion brands moving away from their core business of fashion and focusing on creating concepts in the food and beverage field? Last summer, luxury brands like Dior and Jacquemus lit up Instagram feeds by opening beautiful restaurants in popular European summer destinations such as Saint-Tropez, France, and Capri, Italy. Ralph Lauren is also famous for opening more and more coffee shops around the world.
Opening a restaurant might seem quite unexpected for a clothing and accessories brand. However, in the post-pandemic retail world, there is a breath of fresh air with fashion brands increasingly thinking outside the box and creating unique experiences for their target consumers. Operating a branded restaurant offers many benefits for fashion retailers. It allows them to expand their brand beyond traditional stores and products, engage with customers in new ways, and foster long-term brand loyalty.
This naturally helps increase brand awareness. Having a restaurant close to stores and products can lead to future purchases. Another obvious benefit is increased social media exposure. Concept stores require significant investment to become memorable, beautiful, and enjoyable places designed specifically for posting photos on Instagram and TikTok.
Creating a distinctive store enhances your brand’s reach and recognition. Simultaneously, it increases asset value and aims to attract younger audiences to visit these restaurants and brand stores, expanding interaction with a broader audience. Other fashion brands are likely to follow Coach and Kate Spade’s lead. As summer approaches, more brands are expanding their offerings with pop-up stores and unique eateries, enhancing brand appeal and equity while engaging consumers in ways that encourage return visits.
Expanding into the food and beverage industry has become a popular strategy as retailers seek to provide unique and meaningful customer experiences to stay competitive in their core business areas. What will fashion brands do next to entertain and attract customers?
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