Brilliant! I just recently read that Bentley and Astor & Black have teamed up and are offering every customer that buys a new car a bespoke suit. If you have ever had the privilege of going through the bespoke process, it’s easy to see why this incentive is so fitting. Not that I know what buying a Bentley feels like, but I’m sure that’s pretty cool too. Incentives have always been a huge part of shopping, specifically in the holiday season, with mid-tier giant department stores. You know that weekend bag you use all the time because someone you know bought Nautica cologne a million years ago? The formula works; sometimes you want the bag more than the cologne. Why not incentivize the luxury retail world? Given, it has been done with huge ticket items like Ferrari giving you custom luggage or Astor & Black’s bespoke suits with a Bentley purchase. Let’s be real here; if I’m spending the deficit of a small island country on a car, I’d like more than a logo keychain.
I’d love to see more gifts or collaborations, like the Astor & Black/Bentley venture, within the high-end shopping world. If you spend a hundred dollars on a Balenciaga perfume, you can get a little coin purse with signature hardware, but if you spend a thousand dollars on a Balenciaga bag you get…nothing. If an ultra high-end tailored clothing company like Brioni gave away a tie with the purchase of a $5,000 suit, the thought would go a long way. The fact is, whether you are rich, poor, or somewhere in the middle, “gift with purchase” is always music to one’s ears.
Especially in the current downturn, people need a little nudge, a little something that will help justify the fifteen hundred bucks you’re spending on your new boots. “Oh really, Wolford is teaming up with Jimmy Choo and giving away tights with every $500 purchase?” No, not really, but it would be nice. Everyone wins. The customer leaves happy, Jimmy Choo sells shoes, and Wolford may get a customer to fall in love with a product that they wouldn’t have tried otherwise. High-end cross marketing gift with purchase; it has a nice ring to it. A gift with purchase can be the new black. Even the uber-rich love a price tag that reads: $0.
Edited by: Gina Conforti
