Savills has noted a significant expansion of luxury brands in holiday destinations. Some brands have gone as far as creating limited exclusive collections. Armani Neve is available in ski resorts such as Courchevel, St. Moritz, Crans Montana and Megève, "LV By the Pool" has two pop-up boutiques, exclusively located on the island of Zuma Mykonos. Prada has introduced the ASPENX collection inspired by Aspen in Colorado. In addition to the establishment of new stores by major brands such as Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), Richmont, and Armani, designer labels like Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Burberry, Bvlgari, and Zimmerman have also joined the trend.
"The main reason for the expansion of luxury brands in mountain and summer holiday destinations is the increased desire for travel among high-net-worth customers after the pandemic. As a result, luxury store openings in resort markets doubled between 2022 and 2023; compared to the average global trend before the pandemic, the growth was almost fourfold," says Lucie Hanuš, Marketing Manager at Savills.
This increase is a factor of both brand demand and increased supply as luxury resorts and hotels increasingly look to maximise their real estate by creating retail opportunities on campus to satisfy their guests’ needs. Pop-up stores provide a multifaceted approach that make the temporary presence of the brand in a holiday location a memorable and shareable experience for customers.
Earlier this year, Louis Vuitton opened two pop-up boutiques at Zuma Mykonos, which stocked its limited, exclusive summer collection. But it didn’t start and end with the retail launch, with the brand also rolling out its takeover of the resort’s pool location as part of its LV By the Pool campaign; this entailed the printing of the world-famous monogram on sun beds, towels and even the pool itself. Locating and aligning with the resort markets also allows brands to expand their ranges and product offerings – a great example being the Armani Neve range which was backed by a pop-up property strategy covering European resorts including Courchevel, St. Moritz, Crans Montana and Megève.
It's not just retail pop-ups taking holiday locations by storm. Savills research into alpine destinations reveals that Aspen, Colorado, has the highest number of permanent luxury stores, with nine major brands from Ralph Lauren to Van Cleef & Arpels, Dior and Louis Vuitton. Over the pandemic, luxury retailers that once looked to the alpine destinations for seasonal pop-ups started progressively committing to larger, long-term brick-and-mortar spaces; new entrants include Balenciaga and Overland Sheepskin Co. Pent-up demand for the luxury ski lifestyle both on and off the slopes has been a significant factor in this trend, with Prada launching ASPENX – a limited-edition collection of athleisure ski clothing and accessories inspired by Aspen.