{"id":454765,"date":"2022-05-29T23:32:37","date_gmt":"2022-05-29T20:32:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/luxury-stores-still-limiting-crowds-post-covid-and-wont-admit-why\/"},"modified":"2022-05-29T23:32:37","modified_gmt":"2022-05-29T20:32:37","slug":"luxury-stores-still-limiting-crowds-post-covid-and-wont-admit-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/luxury-stores-still-limiting-crowds-post-covid-and-wont-admit-why\/","title":{"rendered":"#Luxury stores still limiting crowds post-COVID \u2014 and won&#8217;t admit why"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a27619089355\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a27619089355\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/luxury-stores-still-limiting-crowds-post-covid-and-wont-admit-why\/#%E2%80%9CLuxury_stores_still_limiting_crowds_post-COVID_%E2%80%94_and_wont_admit_why%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Luxury stores still limiting crowds post-COVID \u2014 and won&#8217;t admit why&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CLuxury_stores_still_limiting_crowds_post-COVID_%E2%80%94_and_wont_admit_why%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Luxury stores still limiting crowds post-COVID \u2014 and won&#8217;t admit why&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>COVID-19 is waning, but shopping for a Louis Vuitton bag, a Chanel suit or a pair of Gucci loafers increasingly means standing in line outside a boutique \u2014 and luxury brands have been conspicuously tight-lipped on why.<\/p>\n<p>Most elite labels leaned into \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ointment shopping\u201d during the height of the pandemic, citing the need for <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a> distancing. But as the threat from the virus recedes, some including Cartier and Harry Winston continue to impose the new policy.<\/p>\n<p>They also have failed to convince shoppers and experts alike of their reasoning \u2014 if they bother to explain themselves at all. Major brands including Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Cartier didn\u2019t respond to calls and emails from The Post about their persistent use of stanchions in front of store entrances, where queued-up shoppers are quizzed by \u201cgreeters\u201d about prospective purchases before entering. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-14-Chanel-line.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Customers waiting in line to enter a Chanel store.\" class=\"wp-image-22444247\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-14-Chanel-line.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-14-Chanel-line.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-14-Chanel-line.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Chanel said it will open \u201cprivate\u201d stores for its top customers next year.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe recommend booking an appointment prior to your boutique visit, as walk-ins may experience extended wait times,\u201d Cartier\u2019s website advises, without elaborating. <\/p>\n<p>According to experts, roped-off customers can mostly thank a relentless epidemic of smash-and-grab robberies rather than social distancing for ramped-up crowd controls nationwide, including in New York, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco and Seattle. Theft got so bad last year that Beverly Hills hired two private security firms to patrol Rodeo Drive. <\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, at the Westchester Mall in White Plains, NY, where robbers ransacked a Louis Vuitton store in February, the boutique\u2019s doors were closed, with stanchions inviting shoppers to queue up outside.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-17-line-with-greeters-and-guard.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"A luxury boutique entrance with greeters and a guard.\" class=\"wp-image-22444285\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-17-line-with-greeters-and-guard.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-17-line-with-greeters-and-guard.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-17-line-with-greeters-and-guard.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Some luxury boutiques question customers before they enter the store, asking what they are looking for.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Jeffrey Greenberg\/UCG\/Universal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A pair of greeters wearing headsets \u2014 flanked by a pair of beefy mall security guards \u2014 asked customers whether they were there to pick up an order or to shop. Shoppers were let in only when an associate was ready to accompany them inside.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey don\u2019t want customers looking around the store without a store employee with them,\u201d a sales associate told The Post.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/smash-and-grabs-27-beverly-hills-cops.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Cops in Beverly Hills standing outside a jewelry store that was robbed.\" class=\"wp-image-22444408\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/smash-and-grabs-27-beverly-hills-cops.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/smash-and-grabs-27-beverly-hills-cops.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/smash-and-grabs-27-beverly-hills-cops.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Beverly Hills hired private security companies to patrol after smash-and-grab crime surged this year.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">MEGA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Luxury brands have managed to obscure the embarrassment of the situation partly because making it difficult to enter their stores \u201ccreates an aura of exclusivity,\u201d says Steve Dennis, a Dallas-based retail consultant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost of these stores aren\u2019t crowded anyway,\u201d and the lines are getting longer in states like Texas, \u201cwhich didn\u2019t particularly take COVID seriously,\u201d said Dennis, author of \u201cRemarkable Retail: How to Win &amp; Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe new nightclub, in its own weird way, is getting into a Dolce &amp; Gabbana store on a Saturday,\u201d adds luxury retail consultant Melanie Holland. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-15-Gucci-line.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"A Gucci store in San Francisco.\" class=\"wp-image-22444449\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-15-Gucci-line.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-15-Gucci-line.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-15-Gucci-line.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Gucci is among the luxury brands where customers are asked to wait in line before entering stores.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-18-2nd-Gucci-line.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"A Gucci store in Miami attracting a customer line.\" class=\"wp-image-22444479\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-18-2nd-Gucci-line.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-18-2nd-Gucci-line.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-18-2nd-Gucci-line.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>luxury boutiques across the country, including this Miami Gucci store, limit how many customers can enter at one time.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Jeffrey Greenberg\/UCG\/Universal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Last week, a Chanel executive provoked chatter when he disclosed in an interview that the company plans to open \u201cprivate\u201d boutiques in Asia next year for top clients. Chanel is hiring 3,500 new employees for the initiative, which experts say could be adopted in the US.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur biggest preoccupation is to protect our customers and in particular our pre-existing customers,\u201d Chanel\u2019s chief financial officer Philippe Blondiaux told Business of Fashion. \u201cWe\u2019re going to invest in very protected boutiques to service clients in a very exclusive way.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>In response, fashion blog<em> <\/em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.highsnobiety.com\/p\/chanel-private-stores\/\">Highsnobiety <\/a>questioned \u201cWhat, exactly, do Blondiaux and Chanel want to \u2018protect\u2019 its customers from?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Holland speculated that Chanel may be looking to keep its wealthy clients from becoming targets for thieves after they leave stores. But big spenders also aren\u2019t typically walking in off the street, she adds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople who want to spend $25,000 for a small dress don\u2019t want to stand in line,\u201d Holland said. \u201cThose customers are probably making an appointment with their personal shopper \u2014 they know that line isn\u2019t meant for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-13-Louis-Vuitton-line-1.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"A line outside a Louis Vuitton store.\" class=\"wp-image-22444538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-13-Louis-Vuitton-line-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-13-Louis-Vuitton-line-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-13-Louis-Vuitton-line-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Some luxury stores are still requiring customers to make an appointment to shop.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As previously reported by The Post, Madison Avenue boutiques on the Upper East Side in Manhattan including Chanel, Prada and Carolina Herrera are dimming their lights, locking their doors, and opening by appointment only in a bid to deter a wave of brazen daytime shoplifters that have terrorized the glitzy thoroughfare this year. <\/p>\n<p>In February, a team of seven thieves strolled out of The Real Real on Madison at 71st Street\u00a0with nearly $500,000\u00a0worth of handbags and jewelry.<\/p>\n<p>In the wake of such heists, there is simply a \u201cnew lack of trust\u201d on the part of retailers \u201cabout who is walking through their doors,\u201d said Susan Scafidi, founder and director of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law School.<\/p>\n<p>In practice, most luxury brands assign a sales associate to each customer or group. The days of walking into an exclusive boutique and \u201cbrowsing\u201d without an associate shadowing you are largely over, said one sales rep.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, staffers at upscale boutiques including Chanel, Gucci and Burberry are being armed with talking points for inquisitive customers, some of which sound plausible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are still dealing with shipping delays from Paris and you don\u2019t want everyone to come in and to notice that the store doesn\u2019t have the latest styles,\u201d a sales associate at a boutique operated by a major luxury label told The Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou want to be able to tell them one-on-one that the pieces are on the way,\u201d the associate added.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/05\/29\/luxury-stores-still-limiting-crowds-post-covid-and-wont-admit-why\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Luxury stores still limiting crowds post-COVID \u2014 and won&#8217;t admit why&#8221; COVID-19 is waning, but shopping for a Louis Vuitton bag, a Chanel suit or a pair of Gucci loafers increasingly means standing in line outside a boutique \u2014 and luxury brands have been conspicuously tight-lipped on why. Most elite labels leaned into \u201cappointment shopping\u201d&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":454766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/lines-at-luxury-stores.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1653841935&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[56453,129731,87617,75716,4998,5086,75327,70804,87228],"class_list":["post-454765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-gucci","tag-5-29-22","tag-burberry","tag-chanel","tag-crime","tag-louis-vuitton","tag-luxury","tag-shoplifting","tag-shopping-malls"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=454765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=454765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=454765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}