You have 0 items in your cart
The shopping experience is undoubtedly one of every woman’s favourite pastimes, perfected by alluring shop windows and rails of beautiful garments that call out to you. Retail therapy is renowned for making you look and feel good and when your purse is full of receipts, you know you’ve had a successful shopping trip. Today we want to welcome our newest neighbours who have arrived to top the shopping experience. The 24th of July marks the opening of the Chanel pop-up store in the iconic Covent Garden piazza and as soon as the doors opened, we couldn’t wait to pop in and indulge in all the label’s luxuries.
Pop-up stores, otherwise known as flash retailing, are temporary locations where brands build up a rapport with customers by offering an exiting, interactive and unique environment to shop in. Through promotion and raised awareness, pop-up stores gain a large interest from consumers and generate hype around their products. Over the last few weeks, Chanel have done just this. From the Chanel branded taxi cars parked outside the store, to the mosaic-like countdown on the front of the Chanel website, the French luxury house has had everyone on the edge of their seats and saving their pennies, eagerly awaiting this seasons newest products.
We took a visit to the store earlier today and were greeted by an array of charming colours which oozed from the impressive displays of nail varnishes, lip glosses and eye shadows. As we gazed over the beguiling nail colours (Orange Fizz in particular – we loved this color), we were approached by a friendly staff member who informed us of the manicure and make-over services they offer. Once you’ve chosen your favourite make-up palette, you are invited to the beauty room downstairs where professionals will apply your chosen products and transform you into a Chanel lady. An offer too good to refuse! However, the one thing the shop lacks is space. For quite a small shop there was a lot of staff and as expected, customers, meaning you couldn’t quite shop in a relaxing environment. Although the petite size is fitting with Covent Garden’s infamous boutiques, perhaps in a larger venue this pop-up store would truly excel.
For those of you who will be visiting London for the Olympics, make sure the Chanel pop-up store is on your itinerary, but if not, fear not – the store is going to be open until the 27th of December 2012. Up until then there are plenty of reasons to visit including a Chanel treasure hunt, educational workshops, consultations with leading Chanel make-up experts, facial and pamper sessions, an outdoor area dedicated to recreating the look and atmosphere of being backstage at one of Chanel’s catwalk shows, and a festive treat for when Christmas is upon us.
Marni Banks
