Building Luxury Brand Loyalty via Exclusive Experiences

Store openings for big luxury brands are typically glitzy events reserved for celebrities, fashion insiders, and press. But when Valentino, the Italian maker of $6,980 cocktail dresses, $2,195 handbags, and $445 espadrilles, opens its next boutique in New York later this year, the company plans to invite some regular customers to mingle with the stars—and charge them for the privilege.

Like many of its peers, Valentino has discovered that to-die-for pumps are no longer enough to keep sales on the upswing. Instead, top-end fashion retailers offer experiences alongside their wares, expecting that customers who have visited a workshop or met the designer will develop stronger ties to the brand. “Everything has become more experiential,” says Dante D’Angelo, brand and consumer development director at Valentino, which Qatar’s Mayhoola for Investments purchased last year for about €700 million ($936 million). “It’s a new way of providing exclusivity, making customers feel important, unique.”