Forget the Urn
I just got around to watching the documentary, Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s, and besides being a guilty pleasure, it was a fabulous tutorial on what makes a great brand. I wanted to say that quickly before all the men bolted out of the room (come back!). It’s about an iconic department store with fascinating stories, devoted customers, and loyal/dedicated/knowledgeable/creative employees with an eye for talent and a sixth sense for knowing what customers want even before they know they want it.
Bergdorf Goodman is a store without equal. It houses “the aspirational dreams of people all over the world” and attracts some 160,000 visitors each month.
But like most businesses, it had humble beginnings. In 1899, in a New York Garment District Shop, young apprentice Edwin Goodman had the good fortune to meet the talented tailor Herman Bergdorf.
Goodman perfected his tailoring skills at the feet of the Master, and the two discovered they really enjoyed working together. Five years later, the business began to prosper and the boss decided to sell it to his (very lucky/very savvy) 28 year old apprentice before setting sail for life in Paris.
Now at the helm, Goodman put into play several game changing moves that would define the Bergdorf Goodman store we know today.
He filled his shop with off-the-rack selections (better known as Ready-to-Wear) as opposed to couture clothing. Tea cups dropped all over town but customers continued to beat a path to his door.
With success, Goodman picked up stakes in 1928 and moved his store “uptown” to the richest street in the world – Fifth Avenue, between 57th and 58th. There he built a Beaux-Arts style store on the former site of the first (of 10) Cornelius Vanderbilt mansions.
The store became a lab for new designers, “a place to be chosen.” It demanded exclusive lines from its chosen ones, and jump started many of their careers. Everybody got rich in the process.
In the 60s, there was Halston, a simple hat designer who became a Super Star dressing Jackie Kennedy (and sadly, designed the suit and hat she wore on November 22, 1963).
Today, there’s Ready-to-Wear legend Michael Kors, discovered by Bergdorf’s creative director as she passed by his shop window and immediately recognized raw talent.
Known for attracting “the most discerning clientele in the world,” Bergdorf’s delivers a personal brand of service that has earned some of its personal shoppers between $400,000 -500,000 in annual commissioned take-home pay (now the men are paying attention…).
Not too tough to do when your customers are…
…John Lennon and Yoko Ono buying 70 fur coats brought to their New York apartment late one Christmas Eve (…give minks a chance…)..
…First Ladies (Kennedy/Obama) stopping by for their Inauguration gowns.
…Elizabeth Taylor ordering 200 pairs of custom made white mink ear muffs to give as presents.
Yet Bergdorf’s prides itself on being accessible to everyone.
Its famous window displays are a must–see destination. Privileged New Yorkers gawk alongside tourists and wide-eyed children.
Point of fact, Bergdorf’s redefined window displays by creating fantasies behind glass. They are a much anticipated theatrical experience assembled in the dead of night by seriously creative, wacky people working behind shrouded windows. Vignettes so over-the-top they are “perceived as hallucinations” (and not just by New Yorkers).
And in keeping with its trendy heritage, Bergdorf Goodman’s has its own magazine, website, blog, and daily shoe app (“the most important shoe salon in the world”).
Creativity, influence, exclusivity and obsessed customers. A brand that has it all.
