On a More Positive Note...

After yesterday's post, I feel I need to highlight the positive, as well. Here are ten things about France that I didn't necessary expect…

1. Everyone wears scarves, even if it's not that cold.
   
2. Paying for a restaurant bill in France is extremely easy. Not only is the tip included on the bill, but the waiter carries a wireless card reader to ring you up at the table without ever running back and forth.
   
3. The convenient availability to cheese – really good cheese.
   
4. The Velib bike share system is totally charming. For a small fee, you have unlimited use of bicycles all over town. I was worried after an article in the NY Times last fall mentioned that 80% of bikes were damaged. That may be true, but the bikes are usable and rolling around Paris on two wheels is pretty fun. Oh, and there's no reason to worry about finding a place to lock up the bike because there are Velib stations everywhere.
   
5. The way the French take their leisure time so seriously. There is no "work-life balance" conversation in France, life always comes before work. There is no way to get errands done on a Sunday in Paris because almost every business except restaurants close.
   
6. The mustard packets you find at condiment stations are all spicy Dijon… there is no French's in France.
   
7. Gas prices are listed on the highway before you exit, so you can evaluate your options.
   
8. Patrons and shopkeepers greet one another and say goodbye upon entering and leaving stores. The "bon jour" and "au revoir" reminds me of the Ritz Carlton's motto: ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.
   
9. Provence, with the exception of Avignon (see previous post.)
   
10. Paris, all of it.

A Call to Arms: End Difficult Discounts

Last month, I destroyed my favorite (and only) pair black dress shoes by not using a shoe bag. My luggage scratched and nearly wore through the leather uppers - they are in need of replacement. I'm not one one to pass up an opportunity to shop and immediately started looking around for an appropriate pair of replacements. After falling in love with chukkas at Colette and brogues at Church's, I settled on a pair of sensible (but not too sensible) brogues within my budget. I found the shoes at one of Paris' most famed department stores, which shall remain nameless because I'm working on a project for them.

Yesterday, I decided to pick up the shoes. I heard of a 10% discount at the store for non-EU shoppers who present a passport and coupon. Along with the 10% coupon, there's a 12% tax rebate for purchases over 175€. After getting home from school, I found the coupon on the store's website, darted off to the copy store to print it up and headed to the store with my passport to buy the shoes. I tried on several pairs of shoes, which confirmed I liked the brogues best. With wedding season and potential job interviews coming up, I needed the shoes and was ready to purchase. I indicated as much to the salesman and presented my coupon.

It turns out I couldn't use the coupon – he pointed to the fine print, which pointed out that "red-dot" stores don't honor discounts or promotions. This was odd, since I was in the flagship store for the brand – how could a coupon for the store exist when you couldn't use it at the main store. What I didn't realize was this was a multi-brand boutique within the larger store... a "shop-in-shop." Unlike American stores, it's typical for French department stores to be mostly filled by concessionaires, whose employees, inventory and service policies are wholly separate from the larger store.  However the separation is unclear to customers.  Not only would I not be able to use the discount, but I couldn't even take the shoes to another register or section of the store, where I wanted to pick up some bed linens. This seemed like an odd arrangement for a department store aiming to bill themselves as the new capitol of luxury in Paris. Frustrated and a bit confused, I left without making a purchase.

This is a perfect example of the "difficult discount." You've seen these a million times... a seemingly generous offer designed to drive traffic into a store, which comes with heavy caveats. These are acceptable at mass retailers and airlines, where customers expect to jump through hoops for a good deal.  However, they're less palatable in the luxury sector because expectations exceed the experience.  In all likelihood if the coupon never existed, I would have made the purchase.  However, the experience became so uncomfortable and confusing because of the discount that I backed off.  I left wondering why the department store wasn't able to get all their lessees on board with a promotion that drove traffic for all brands.

My guess is the store would be better off not offering any discount and present a more consistent identity  than annoy customers with fine print, but perhaps the annoying coupon is a more significant source of revenue than I give it credit.

Road Trip

After a few weeks in the city, I was eager to get out and explore the French countryside I've heard so much about. Because I used to work for a wine retailer, I still had connections (albeit friends of friends) to a few vintners in Burgundy, home to fabled producers of fine pinot noir and chardonnay. Abby and I loaded ourselves and our things into a clownishly small Renault and made a beeline for Beaune and further south to Cotes du Rhone.

Beaune has its charms, however the region – much like its wine – is austere, not terribly accessible to neophytes and requires patience to appreciate. After getting a little bored with our options we headed to a more comfortable hotel in Lyon and then to Avignon. The town of Avignon is billed as a must-see attraction. The Palace of the Popes is lovely and we had a fabulous dinner at Numero 75, but we both were longing for examples of the fine living for which Provence is known. Frankly, we weren't terribly interested in seeing another church, palace or plaza ringed by cafés.

The last day of our trip we took the Twingo out for a spin along the wine trail of Cotes du Rhone. At last, we both thought, this is what we were after… postcard views of sun-baked vineyards over rolling hills, ancient wisteria-covered stone homes sporting happy blue shutters and restaurants filled with tanned patrons clad in perfectly-pressed linen outfits in soft shades of beige and gray. After exploring several tidy medieval hilltop villages, we settled into a lunch under dappled sunlight at a charming restaurant in Gigondas. After a vegetable tart with anchovy cream and mesclun, we ate dorade with a beurre blanc over a red-wine risotto. I drank a white from the town of Sablet, Abby sipped a rosé from Gigondas. Perfection.

Why Worry?

As Volcano Eyjafjallajökull continued to spew ash into the stratosphere, Abby and I ventured to Charles De-Gaulle to collect our rental car for a drive to points south of Paris. We stood at the rental counter as several businessmen from Cleveland pondered whether to spend 7,000 € on a one-way rental to Istanbul to possibly catch a flight home. "I've been in France now for a week and a half," he moaned. "I'm ready to go home."

I do recognize there are some situations for which not flying would present more than just inconvenience… sick relatives, missed family celebrations, etc. For the vast majority of these folks, being stuck in Paris for an additional three days is not a tragedy. Enjoy yourselves, already.

When Life Gives you Lemons...

Volcano got you down? Tired of waiting for Air France to rebook you? No seats on the Eurostar? Spending your days waiting for news of airport openings? Can't think of anything new to do in Paris?

Before spending a day waiting in vain at Gare du Nord or braving the 12 hour drive to Madrid to attempt catching a flight home, enjoy the amazing Spring weather we're having in Paris. Below are three suggestions for things to do if you're looking for something different.

• If the weekend crowds at Jardin du Luxembourg make you anxious, stroll down Boulevard Richard Lenoir, in the 11^th above Place de Bastille. A lovely park was built above the Canal St. Martin that houses playgrounds, pétanque courts, ping pong tables and countless benches. There's a nearby Monoprix on Avenue Ledru Rollin where you can pick up a table tennis set to get a game going.
  
• The weather is absolutely perfect for a nighttime coast down the banks of the Seine. No bike? No problem! You can rent a Velib, equipped with lights, anywhere in Paris and go for a ride this evening. Velib's website provides a map of stations detailing real-time availability of cycles and empty spaces. Getting a one-day rental pass is a little cumbersome, but worth the trouble. American M/C and Visa cards are unusable here because they lack "the chip" – use your American Express card.
  
• Think you've seen and done it all? City Walks: Paris Adventures on Foot… a deck of 50 cards detailing some wonderful and unusual walks around town are available at English-language bookstores. Each card has a map with a proposed route on one side, the other has a narrative guide. The cards are especially useful for the tourist who's moved beyond the Batobus and wants off the beaten path.

(photo courtesy of The New York Times)

Creation of 173 Boulevard Saint Germain

Below is an inside look at the making of the Ralph Lauren's Saint Germain store.  If you're in Paris, the shop is well worth a visit.

Bienvenue, Ralph!

Perhaps no brand's icon is as quickly and uniformly associated with "The Good Life" as the embroidered rider on his polo pony. It means wealth, leisure and Pimm's cup on the terrace in the afternoon. The story is instantly familiar: a Baruch college dropout working as a sales associate at Brooks Brothers started selling ties of his own design to downtown investment bankers. In several years he builds a multi-billion dollar fashion and retail empire. He was born Ralph Lifshitz, son of a house painter from the Bronx. You know him as Ralph Lauren.

The genius of Ralph Lauren isn't his merchandise, it's his merchandising. He has permanently changed the way we shop by building environments that sell a complete lifestyle. His creation of the Polo Mansion (aka: the Rhinelander Mansion) in 1984 on Madison and 72^nd is the most influential retail concept in the last 40 years. Here, you step into the home of some impossibly wealthy robber baron, wander the halls and acquire good taste. The formula is oft copied and Polo Ralph Lauren went on to create "mini mansions" in fashionable downtowns and tony malls throughout the world.

Today, Polo threw open the doors of its first mansion-store at 173 Boulevard Saint Germain in Paris. Yes, there is a women's store on Avenue Montaigne and his first Parisian outpost on Place de la Madeleine, but never before today has there been a Polo store in Paris which rivaled the Rhinelander. Abby and I rode our Velibs across the Seine to pay a visit this afternoon. Judging from the perfectly coiffed heads milling about us, we were joined by every doyenne in Paris for opening day. The store is laid out on five glitteringly appointed floors of palatial proportions. This isn't Hemingway's post-war Paris… this 17th century mansion is straight out of Edith Wharton.

Upstairs, a perfectly tailored salesman in a tweed jacket helped me discern the difference between two single breasted navy blazers (boring, I know – but a void in my wardrobe.) Following the Colette incident, I've been longing for black boots and thought I struck upon a compromise: a sleek pair of black chukkas that would work well with a suit or jeans (day-into-evening!) I asked a tall, handsome, square-jawed salesman if I could try them on in my size and pondered if I should also ask for his number. "These, sir, are made-to-measure." Out of my league… on both counts.

Abby and I were secretly hoping of running into Ralph, and dressed accordingly.  Regrettably, he was not in the store today. As I stood outside taking a photo of the facade, a well-tailored gentleman with a British accent cracked a joke that my photo was the only thing I'd get free from the store. Turns out I was speaking to Julian Griffiths, Senior Director of Operations for Polo Ralph Lauren in Europe – Griffiths was responsible for developing the new store. He explained that today was the culmination of a four-year labor of love - with heavy emphasis on labor. The mansion, once a grand address, had fallen into disrepair and was used for decades as a less-than-grand office building. The architects and designers had to clear away makeshift walls, rebuild the main stairwell, and completely redesign and replant the central courtyard.

The end product surpasses the Rhinelander store – the light is superior, the flow more conducive to browsing, the setting more splendid and something quite – je ne sais quoi – Parisian?

Photos courtesy of WWD Online

Capitol of Cool

Located within easy walking distance of several of Paris' most storied hotels: the Crillion, Bristol, Hotel Costes and the Ritz, Rue Saint Honore is the city's traditional luxury retail center. While it's been replaced in importance by the Avenue Montaigne and Avenue des Champs Elysees, which offer brands larger and brighter quarters, Saint Honore (aka: the Faubourg) still draws droves of black card wielding shoppers. The neighborhood, sandwiched between Jardin Tuileries and Place Vendôme, has given rise to the Parisian stereotype of the grande dame, dressed in a Chanel knit suit, taking her toy-sized dog for a stroll.

Colette, located on the corner of Sainte Honore and Rue du 29 Juillet, lies at the very heart of the Faubourg. In contrast to its neighbors, this store does not take itself too seriously. Colette, quite simply, is the Capitol of Cool in the world's fashion capitol. New York has Jeffrey, LA has American Rag and Fred Segal, but none of these approaches Colette in terms of identifying and pushing trends forward so often and successfully. The merchandising brings high fashion down to earth, with mannequins dotted around the sales floor like sculptures in a garden, allowing patrons a very close look at the details of garments. Never installed long enough to gather dust, the brilliant windows showcase new merchandise and inspire fresh desire in customers each week.

What I love most about the store is the variety of categories and price points on display. On the first floor are well selected, affordable goods for the home, including books, accessories and electronics, as well as sportswear, timepieces, denim, and a floor-to-ceiling lucite wall of sneakers. Upstairs, beyond the collage of (ahem) coital photography, are designer runway looks. You probably won't find any Prada or YSL here, this is the territory of what is and who is "next." Alexander Wang, Viktor & Rolf and Raf Simmons are featured as prominently as more established labels. I found a great summer-weight cotton blazer by Michael Bastian and a pair of black dress boots – sadly (or divinely,) my student-abroad budget does not afford a 1,700€ jacket and the boots were not available in my size.

The Water Bar, located on the basement level, conducts the most naked sort of thievery of any cafe in Paris. The restaurant serves 57 different kinds of calorie-free Eaux to an assortment of painfully self-conscious, whippet-thin fashion types. If you want your water to leave you with a hangover, try a bottle of the "Bling," which hails from the mountains of Tennessee, is served in a Swarovski crystal bottle and will set you back 50€.

Service Recovery at American Airlines

A few weeks ago, I was treated to a more than four-hour ground delay on the tarmac in Philadelphia on my American Airlines flight from San Francisco to New York.  High winds at JFK were to blame for countless delayed flights.  

After waiting for several uncomfortable hours, we were deplaned in Philadelphia at about 10:00PM.  Because the delay was weather-related, we were offered no compensation for rooms that night.  The crew of flight attendants did a wonderful job of handling a lousy situation out of their control.  The gentleman in the seat next to me and I rented a car and drove to NYC that evening (so I could catch another AA flight to Hong Kong the next morning.)  Many of the remaining passengers were stranded and had to re-board the same flight early the next morning, but only arrived at JFK at 12:30 PM, more than 24 hours after they departed San Francisco.

Naturally, I wasn't pleased with my experience and wanted to fire off a note of complaint, but the website offered no email address or phone number to call.  The auto-entry complaint form on American's website would not capture the information properly, so I ended up having to fax a letter to Dallas. 

To American's credit, they did actually respond with a thoughtful note and offered me something to ease the pain.  Had this response come the day after the incident, I probably would have been fairly satisfied.  However, it’s taken almost four weeks for American to respond.  Other airlines responded to passengers quickly by firing off notes from the CEO and offering travel vouchers.  If the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights were in effect at the time, American would have had to shell out $27,500 to each passenger on the flight - not a small sum considering I was in a nearly full 767.  In retrospect, this is a pretty lame response.

April 9, 2010
Dear Mr. Skelton:
I've received your letter and am very pleased to respond. I hope you don't mind, but I've
taken the liberty of doing so electronically.
As you are very well-aware, high winds in the New York City area resulted in unsafe
landing conditions. Thus, we diverted the flight to Philadelphia, planning to resume the
flight once conditions had improved.
Moreover, while on the tarmac, we recognize that parking sooner at a gate would have been
much more preferable than waiting for such a long time on the tarmac. Initially, our plan
was to re-fuel and depart (which obviously did not work out as we planned). However, I
would like to assure you, your comments have been taken very seriously and have been
forwarded to the appropriate personnel for internal review and improvement. Thank you for
taking the time to describe, from a customer's perspective, how that situation unfolded.
Having explained that, and although you did not request any, I would like to extend
compensation for that experience. With that in mind, I have placed 15,000 Customer
Service bonus miles into your AAdvantage® account. You should be able to confirm this
adjustment in 48 hours when reviewing your account via our website.
Although compensation of any kind will not change what occurred, we wanted to demonstrate
our concern for what happened in a tangible way.
On the other hand, I would like to thank you for your kind words regarding our crew. You
were very thoughtful to include you praises for them in your correspondence. I am certain
they will be very pleased to learn their efforts did not go unrecognized.
While I know you are disappointed with our service, Mr. Skelton, I hope you will give us
another opportunity to prove traveling on American can be a pleasant experience. I am
confident we can do a great deal better.
We welcome all customer feedback. The next time you feel something deserves our
attention, please email us via AA.com at www.aa.com/customerrelations. We'll receive your
comments without delay and get back to you as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
XXX XXX
Customer Relations
American Airlines

As long as we're on the subject of poor performance by airlines, I just saw this hysterical complaint letter to Richard Branson reprinted by the UK Telegraph.  It's much more entertaining than my letter.  Thank you, Greg Young.

Old is the New New

It seems a bit odd to be living in a servants' quarter studio and be writing about luxury goods, however everyone at school is positively obsessed with them. Job opportunities with brands like Chanel, LVMH, Hermès, etcetera are mentioned in the most hushed and reverent tones. Luxury goods are taken very seriously here – in fact, during my first class session at ESSEC we discussed the role of luxury goods in ancient rituals.

France is fortunate the business has held up through the credit crisis. Luxury firms dodged a bullet as consumers in the United States, Europe and Latin America tightened purse-strings over the last 24 months. Lucky for these firms that the brand message of prestige and exclusivity that ceased to drive sales in western markets still resonates with the emerging upper-middle class in China and India. If you're unclear on what I mean, think about prominently logoed products (big polo pony shirts) that created instant recognition and the "it bag" phenomenon that drove luxury handbag sales in the US from 2004-2007.

For western markets, brands are shifting to a message that emphasizes heritage and craft. Luxury products, from leather goods to timepieces, are sold with the promise of becoming heirlooms – timelessly tasteful and durable enough to withstand generations of use. Brands are reaching for history, even Jimmy Choo is reviving a "greatest hits" line of footwear from its relatively young 14 year-old portfolio. Recent Louis Vuitton campaigns hit on travel themes and connect with the house's legacy as a luggage maker. Hermès reminds customers of its origins as a saddle maker by including horses in their imagery.  Ads for Patek Philippe feature multiple generations of beautiful and aristocratic-looking Europeans.

If this doesn't sound all that new, it's really not – the pendulum is just swinging back. The same game-plan was used during a pullback in demand in the early 1990s, brands have shifted gears into a battle-tested communications strategy. However, because luxury goods consumption was not near as high nor distribution as complicated as now, the stakes have never been higher.