Although Saks Fifth Avenue is scrapping its signature holiday light show this year, the luxury retailer is getting into the season via other marketing channels.
To start, Saks Fifth Avenue will still decorate the windows of its New York City flagship, but this time, it will include special designs to mark the store’s 100th anniversary. The company is also publishing an online and in-store holiday gift guide of nearly 1,900 items, including a Jo Malone candle and Montblanc headphones. What’s more, Saks Fifth Avenue will host a limited-time Ralph’s Coffee shop in New York City, and its e-commerce arm, Saks, is providing inspiration for holiday party outfits on its editorial hub, The Edit. (Saks Fifth Avenue split its brick-and-mortar stores and website into separate businesses in 2021.)
Saks is also selling “holiday experiences” that customers can buy to benefit the Saks Fifth Avenue Foundation, the company’s mental health nonprofit. Offerings include a $1,500 private shopping session at Saks Fifth Avenue, a $5,000 Omakase dinner from Hoseki and a $7,000 seat to a taping of “Saturday Night Live.” Already, the company is seeing “a ton of interest” in the experiences, “more than we have in years past,” Emily Essner, chief marketing officer at Saks, told Modern Retail. One of the more popular options — to feature your dog in an online campaign for $10,000 — is close to selling out. While this is the fifth year Saks is offering “holiday experiences,” its “SNL” option is new as Saks looks to make the experiences “even more relevant,” Essner said.
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