brands have to position their stores in exclusive and high-status districts and
cities, which are at the same time commercially feasible. The prestige store
location reinforces the core brand values and the differentiated brand status of
luxury brands. Prestigious retail locations also attract and retain a niche-
customer base while satisfying their ego needs during shopping.
In Paris, prestigious luxury retail locations can be found at Avenue des
Champs Elysées, shown in Figure 4.1, and its environs, including Avenue
Montaigne and Avenue George V. This district is also known as the ‘Triangle
d’ Or’ or the ‘Golden Triangle’. Other locations are the historical Rue Saint
Honoré, which is considered the global luxury fashion industry’s foundation,
and its extension on Rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré and their environs. These
streets are lined with several luxury brands.
The same pattern follows in other cities such as London, where the
Knightsbridge area, including Sloane Street and Bond Street, is considered
the epitome of luxury store positioning. In Milan, the ‘Quadrilatero d’Oro’or
‘The Golden Rectangle’, which runs between Via Monte Napoleone and Via
Della Spiga, is the luxury retail district. It features the stores of Gucci,
Armani, Prada, Tiffany and Louis Vuitton, among others. New York’s presti-
gious shopping streets include Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue and their
environs, while in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills is the location of luxury fash-
ion brands. Tokyo’s Omotesando district represents the equivalent of luxury
store positioning in Japan, while other examples abound in several cities
around the world.
In addition to being located in high-status districts, luxury brands need to
be in the fashion cities of the world to ensure both brand visibility and
commercial viability. The fashion cities are those that have the highest catch-
ments of luxury consumers in terms of indigenous population and visitors.
They include Paris, Milan, New York, London, Tokyo and increasingly Los
chapter 4 79luxury retail design and atmosphereFigure 4.1 Avenue des Champs Elysées, Paris, a luxury retail heaven