After a full day of company visits we were packed and ready to move onto Los Angeles, but not before visiting upscale department store, Bergdorf Goodman on 5th Avenue. We were met by David Battane, Training Manager of Bergdorf Goodman and were lucky enough to be escorted through the store before it had opened for the day. As we moved through the store, David told us about the history of Bergdorf's and how the building was initially known as an upmarket apartment complex called Marble Row. And gradually over the years the Bergdorf Corporation purchased the apartments and renovated the building into what stands there now, the flagship Bergdorf Goodman store. David talked openly about how they pride themselves on the longstanding relationships they have with the major fashion houses and how they are often credited with discovering new fashion designers. Before he became well know, Bergdorf took a chance and gave Zac Posen a small section of their store to see how it would fare and that is often the story of the designers they 'discover.' The layout of the store is dependent on sales and customer demand and brands such as Lanvin and Oscar De La Renta are examples of this, with Bergdorf's starting with a small run in a corner of the store and due to demand increasing both brands now take up prominent floor space.
As we moved into the Chanel section, David told us how they sell more Chanel suits than the Chanel store just down the road. This, he said, came down to their equally longstanding relationships with their customer base. Despite the fact that many of the brands stocked at Bergdorf have their own boutique stores, particularly in the New York area, Bergdorf's can rely on their history of good service to keep customers coming back. For their most loyal customers, they offer an 'order in advance' style service, where the store offers the top-tier customers the option to have a private viewing of the merchandise before it's officially been put on sale. This top-end service is capped off with personal shoppers on most floors of the store and a custom designed evening wear section where many celebrities get their red carpet outfits from.
After our one hour tour we were all keen to head back to different areas of the store for some personal shopping time, as so we thanked David for his time and went exploring!
