Perspectives
Luxury...a state of mind

Our cover model is doing more than looking at her luxury eyewear. She, herself, conveys the look of luxury.

My point is that luxury is as much about a look and a mindset as it is about a product or a price tag. Translating that to retail (and if you're dispensing high-end product, your feet had better be firmly planted in retail), it's all about customer service. It's about saying, "Sure, that frame is valuable, but it's not as important as you are."

With old notes in hand, I recently stopped at a dozen locations I'd visited on a mystery shopping expedition two years ago. I was curious to see if product mixes had changed, dispensaries updated, or the level of service altered.

What I saw got me thinking about luxury and premium product--topics that are the focus in this issue of EB. Of the 12 dispensaries, seven now carry more high-end product than before.

That means more than half realized they couldn't maintain the status quo and have added higher-priced product in order to move away from the middle. That was smart. But what was less encouraging is that only three of them have made any changes beyond adding the eyewear. One of the three has installed marble-like tile in its new high-end section. One has opened up what used to be a storeroom and turned it into a boutique area, and a third has spent more than $7,000 on updating its look to reflect a higher-end approach.

Those three locations get high marks for making investments to upgrade their image and the message they send to customers. But only two also invested in staff training. One revamped its approach and now takes control as soon as the consumer walks in. The second now stresses lifestyle dispensing and offers juice or coffee.

This shows they get it. They understand that if you want to sell high end, you need to treat customers as if they are special. And the smartest part of all is that they know the real key is to treat everyone that way. Not just the big spenders.

Sincerely,

Stephanie K. De Long, Editor-in-Chief