Retail store? Hotel? Coffee shop? These are simple concepts, and LA customers are not easy: they are more sophisticated, more socially conscious, and more aware of what food, sleep, and entertainment are consumers of many other markets.
That’s why brands have to sell a lifestyle. This is why so many brands are embracing the idea of a “concept space,” hotel, coffee shop, shop, gallery or event space that brings a brand to life through ideas of community and activity – and of course, through sales Product.
TOMS flagship
The TOMS flagship store, which opened in Venice in 2012, showed early on that the company is about much more than just selling slip-on shoes. Already the innovator in socially responsible brands, TOMS was founded to give back a pair of shoes to children in need for every pair bought. The company has expanded its business grounds to include glasses, lights, water, safe childbirth, and bullying prevention services to those in need.
But the Abbot Kinney store offers a lot more: it sells coffee, juice, and baked goods, and offers free WiFi and space for everyone, from startups to nonprofits. The space sells the company’s shoes, sunglasses, bags, shirts, socks, and Apple Watch straps. There’s a range of free community events each week, from yoga and live music to craft and movie nights. The shop is a natural way to spread the TOMS brand throughout the community without shoving the products down your throat. And the residents of Venice can feel comfortable shopping when they give something back.
Parachute home
Another brand that is taking the concept shop to the next level is the Parachute luxury household goods line. Long-time residents of Venice might never have expected a hotel to be built in their low-key neighborhood at an average of $ 840 a night. But they were wrong.
The one-penthouse Parachute hotel opened this October above the online retailer’s first store, which opened in May. Parachute’s line of products for bedrooms and bathrooms was designed in Venice, so it was natural for the brand to settle there.
“I think there’s something special about gaining and creating experiences where people can immerse themselves in the brand,” said Ariel Kaye, CEO of Parachute. “I’ve always believed the physical connection was really strong, but it really got us off the line to help us create these physical spaces where people can experience the brand in a really authentic way.”
Parachute home
The hotel envisions Parachute’s perfect home, from the pictures on the walls to the plates in the kitchen. “The focus is not on selling our products,” said Kaye. “The focus is on creating an environment in which people can create memories.”
There is a map on the bedside table that tells guests what they are sleeping on or what they are looking at. You can then take them to the store below for a discount on all purchases. Of course, the business has seen a surge in sales since the hotel opened. “We had a guest who said, ‘I don’t know I took my bathrobe off for the entire stay'” before checking out and buying one in the store.
According to Kaye, the hotel is currently “pretty full,” with guests who are fans of the brand or just discovering the line, as well as two to three private events a week ranging from dinner parties to baby showers to photo shoots and corporate retreats.
Hotel rates start at $ 650 per night for a two night minimum stay. Corporate pricing starts at $ 1,500, and the space can accommodate up to 75 people. The hotel has been so successful for the brand that it is already planning to expand the concept to other cities as it expands its range of goods to include other household goods. “It’s been very positive for the brand and made people see another side of us,” said Kaye.
Urban Outfitters print shop | Room 15 twenty
Hollywood, Space 15 Twenty in LA, had a slew of pop-up stores before Urban Outfitters made it its first concept store, mixing its typical retail trade with events, performances, art shows, and pop-up stores taking into account its thousand-year core base. Various recent events have included a fundraiser for the Guelph Youth Network, a flower arrangement, a sound bath meditation class, and free movie (The Goonies) and karaoke nights.
If you’ve always wanted to decorate your home like an Urban Outfitters catalog, the furniture line on display here is for you. The space is meant to be an all day shopping experience with everything you need in one place. Also available in the room: an umami burger, a hairroin salon and a pharmacy board shop.
Trixie Mattel | The theater in the Ace Hotel DTLA
And of course, Ace Hotel has been an innovator in combining its hotels with hip retail stores, droolable restaurants, or music clubs. But its downtown LA location is the first to house a theater, and an incredible one.
The United Artists Theater was originally created by silent film star Mary Pickford along with Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin and DW Griffith, who dreamed of creating a production house outside the studio system. The United Artists Theater has changed hands frequently in the course of its history, including as a Spanish-language film house and broadcasting station for the televangelist Dr. Gene Scott.
After a thorough restoration, the theater at the Ace Hotel opened in February 2014 to serve the thriving downtown LA arts scene. The space now averages 120 shows per year with over 200,000 tickets sold. While the hotel says the theater wasn’t a significant contributor to hotel occupancy, many theatergoers outside of town choose to stay at the hotel for the night.
The theater welcomes locals and visitors every evening and helps spread the Ace Hotel’s artistic vision. Every night of the week you will find a variety of events such as film screenings, comedy shows, dance shows, concerts and book readings.
Alo yoga
And of course, the LA corporate concept dream fits perfectly with the healthy lifestyle brand, a one-stop shop for juice, workout, and shopping. Alo Yoga knows the best way to sell $ 125 worth of leggings is to sell the lifestyle that goes with it. The light and airy flagship store in Beverly Hills is just a stone’s throw from Rodeo Drive. The staff is represented in the brand’s ultra-fashionable workout ensembles.
A café offers a who’s who menu of the LA organic food scene: cold-pressed raw juice, Health-Ade-Kombucha and Cafe Gratitude snacks. There is also Stumptown coffee, but only the organic variety. On the rooftop, yoga classes are offered every hour on the hour by some of the best teachers in town. ClassPassers can book courses there before canceling their monthly memberships.
Angelenos are used to the weekly pop-up concept stores trying to give a brand a makeover. But get used to your next Christmas party at a bedding store, shop for furniture while your hair cut, or start juice cleansing on your next yoga class. The space for business concepts is there – and you are the one buying.
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Ariston Anderson is collecting additional visa pages by writing about travel, entertainment and lifestyle for The Hollywood Reporter, the LA Times, BBC, CNN and Billboard. For Escape, follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
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