Akshara Manohar is a Strategist retail and brand consultancy Fitch. Her role includes mapping the clients brand, business landscape and uncovering consumer insights that lead to functional and experiential strategies. Fitch’s portfolio includes H&M, Ann Summers, Stella McCartney, Ford and Lego.
Here Manohar talks to Cosmetics Business about how to create the perfect flagship store and which brands are leading the way.
Akshara Manohar
What is a flagship store?
The term ‘flagship’ is of nautical origin; it refers to a ship that is the largest, fastest, newest, most heavily armed, most well known, or the lead ship in a fleet.
With that comes our understanding and expectations of what we mean when we say flagship store. It is usually the most unique and most experiential retail store in a brand’s portfolio.
What is the purpose and value of a flagship store?
The purpose of a flagship store transcends commerciality, size and quantity of footfall.
The purpose of a flagship store can range from showcasing the complete offerings and newest products supported by world class service, to a more specific purpose like building confidence around a particular target audience by selling a story, or celebrating a brand’s heritage.
One can never underestimate the value of a flagship store, if done right it has the power to capture new audiences and sustain old – it’s not just the quantity of footfall but quality too.
Essentially, they have the potential to become tourist destinations in their own right.
What makes a flagship store different from a regular retail space?
Some of the obvious differences we have noticed are:
- Different or exclusive product ranges and merchandise
- More service functions (e.g. custom
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