Remy Aims To Boost Luxury Sales With New Pop-Up Store Concept For Louis XIII

Rémy Cointreau USA has taken the marketing—and selling—of luxury Cognac Louis XIII to the streets. The company has launched a “pop-up” museum/store in New York City’s Soho neighborhood alongside luxury retailers like Louis Vuitton and Mont Blanc. The venue features the $2,400-a-bottle Louis XIII in a “private traveling museum, or gallery, with a gift store attached,” the company said. The location will stay in New York City for a limited time and then move to Los Angeles and Miami later this year.

Asked about licensing details surrounding sales at the venue, brand director Nila Vermiglio said the company has “partnered with key retailers to capture bottle sales at the venue” and that the operation is run by Rémy staff who “facilitate purchase requests.” Rémy wouldn’t name participating retailers or explain exactly how orders at the site are filled.

Luxury retailers like Sherry-Lehmann in New York and The Wine Merchant in Los Angeles say they welcome the education and brand-awareness generated by the Rémy effort but don’t see the initiative itself generating many sales. “I don’t think of Louis XIII as an impulse purchase, so I don’t see this as a (sales) issue,” said Sherry-Lehmann CEO Chris Adams. “I look at these stores as an effort to educate clients—hopefully lifting interest in it throughout the whole market.”

“I think it generates brand awareness, though I don’t think of it as competition,” says Dennis Overstreet, owner of The Wine Merchant in Los Angeles. “I can’t imagine that they’ll sell much Cognac at that price to pedestrian traffic.” Overstreet noted that luxury consumers tend to be more deliberate about their purchases and favor brick-and-mortar sellers with whom they’ve built relationships over the years.

“We’ve a created a virtual experience for consumers—creating brand buzz and awareness,” Vermiglio said. “We don’t consider this a traditional pop-up store. Retailers see this as a positive endeavor, as we’re educating consumers and generating loyalty for the brand.”

Tagged : Cognac, Remy Cointreau, retail

GET YOUR FIRST LOOK AT 2021 DATA AND 2022 PROJECTIONS FOR THE WINE AND SPIRITS INDUSTRIES. ORDER YOUR 2022 IMPACT DATABANK REPORTS. CLICK HERE.