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"What if Stores Charged Admission?"
I've been to Ami Arad's Wingtip club a few times. We've co-hosted an event or two with them, including a dinner for our 10th anniversary, and while it's not really my thing, I could see this "club" experience being the way forward for some high end retailers. @dieworkwear and @GusW - are you or do you know guys who are part of the Wingtip club?
https://www.businessoffashion.com/a...il&utm_term=0_d2191372b3-e3ab1c1431-419717661
I can see, for example, the onsite MTM being exactly as you said. But it seems to me that even they can't fully avoid the commodities problem that we've all been talking about and that @gdl203 articulated best. The 10% discount tied into the membership probably makes the store competitive pricewise at retail, but I would like to know their sell through at retail, and then again at sales.I don't know of anyone who's part of that club, no. But a tailor took me upstairs once to have drinks and the venue is nice. (I am not part of the club).
I know I'm beating an old drum here, but assuming the Wingtip model proves successful in the long term, I think this is about what I mentioned earlier: augmenting the core of a product-focused business with a service that's localized and can't be digitized. That way, you compete with internet retailers. You can't digitize the experience of that lounge. It's very localized. It's a service (an experience). I don't know how "tied" it is to the core of their business, which is selling clothes, but it's an example of how businesses are finding creative solutions. And the solutions are tied to that services theme.
I can see, for example, the onsite MTM being exactly as you said. But it seems to me that even they can't fully avoid the commodities problem that we've all been talking about and that @gdl203 articulated best. The 10% discount tied into the membership probably makes the store competitive pricewise at retail, but I would like to know their sell through at retail, and then again at sales.
I mean, to be clear, you're always competing. Hermes is still competing, and they're probably the best example of a non-commodified product.
But that membership idea has to be tied into a new service. You can't just charge people at the door to go into Unionmade. It's not the membership idea here that's key -- it's the creation of a localized service.
That's where the article is, for me, at times frustrating. It's putting the focus on a membership fee, which gives people the idea that stores should just start charging membership fees. That's only true if you've come up with a unique service.
Taking your point a step further, a some commodities when paired with a service, can be sold at a higher price. The obvious example is liquor. I can be at home drinking my Four Roses, but if I got to any bar of a high enough caliber that they are serving Four Roses, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be paying at least 2x the market price, and the better the place, the more I can expect to be charged. It seems like the important thing is that the good or service cannot be enjoyed off premises, like MTM. Wonder how that could translate to other things, or if it could. We are unlikely to end up with special makeups of of every model, in small quantities, after all. The only retailers who can make that work, with every third party brand, is rare.
I mean, to be clear, you're always competing. Hermes is still competing, and they're probably the best example of a non-commodified product.
But that membership idea has to be tied into a new service. You can't just charge people at the door to go into Unionmade. It's not the membership idea here that's key -- it's the creation of a localized service.
That's where the article is, for me, at times frustrating. It's putting the focus on a membership fee, which gives people the idea that stores should just start charging membership fees. That's only true if you've come up with a unique service.