Do Fashion Brands Make Good Restaurants?

"Inside a temporary Manhattan Louis Vuitton flagship, a server sets down a monogrammed potato waffle topped with creme fraiche, caviar, and chives. A few blocks away at Tiffany & Co., tourists sip Champagne while nibbling on tea sandwiches.These scenes have become routine in New York. High-end brands are branching out by opening fancy restaurants. The marriage of luxury shopping and fine dining has oots in shopping culture. Early department store pioneers like Marshall Field's and Wanamaker's introduced tea rooms and dining spaces"

"Today, fashion brands are reviving this tradition with renewed ambition. Printemps, a French department store that opened in downtown Manhattan in March, features five food and drink spaces, while Giorgio Armani opened Armani Ristorante, a high-end Italian restaurant in its Madison Avenue store before the designer died. These culinary additions are strategic extensions of the luxury experience that keep customers immersed in the brand."

High-end fashion and luxury brands increasingly incorporate upscale restaurants and dining spaces within retail locations to extend the luxury experience and retain customers longer. This approach echoes department store traditions where tea rooms and dining areas encouraged prolonged visits and social gatherings. New York examples include Louis Vuitton's temporary five-story flagship with Le Café Louis Vuitton offering monogrammed dishes by chef Christophe Bellanca and pastry chef Mary George, and Tiffany & Co.'s Champagne and tea sandwich offerings. Printemps features multiple food and drink spaces, and Giorgio Armani opened Armani Ristorante. Brands use in-house dining to prevent losing customers to nearby restaurants and to keep spending within branded environments.

Read at Eater NY