Vuitton Vault

VIP rooms aren't just for night clubs, as demonstrated by the vault room at the new Louis Vuitton store in Tokyo. Simply MASSCLUSIVE, dah-ling!

There’s a pleasant overlap between Springwise and our other newsletter, TRENDWATCHING.COM. Which is why we’re forever urging you to sign up for that one as well, if you haven’t already done so. Take, for example, our MASSCLUSIVITY trend: “The more access consumers have to quality, MASS CLASS goods and services (the DVD player in your living room probably doesn’t differ too much from the one Madonna’s children use to watch Lilo and Stitch), the more they want exclusivity and status of a different order. The kind that visibly sets you apart from the masses and gives you access to privileges most others won’t get.” MASSCLUSIVITY is at the root of many new business ideas, favored by large and small companies alike. In this month’s (free!) edition of the TRENDWATCHING.COM newsletter, you will find Sony’s new Qualia consumer electronics, the Boston LimoLiner (a luxury bus offering passengers, amongst others, a permanent WiFi connection) and Puma/Karmaloop.com’s exclusive ‘Freedom Trail’ shoes. As a Springwise-bonus, consider this MASSCLUSIVITY idea from the new (and much hyped) Louis Vuitton store in Tokyo. Part of Roppongi Hills, Tokyo’s hottest, USD 2.25 billion, 11.6 hectare entertainment and retail complex, the venue is a take on the area’s nearby clubs and bars. Centered around a ‘dance floor’ (the main shopping area), the store also boasts a Bag Bar, a Shoe Salon and a Luggage Lounge. Vuitton takes things one step further, though. In line with VIP rooms at clubs, Vuitton features a polished staircase that leads customers to a vaultlike room, incorporating a wall of steel compartments resembling safety-deposit boxes. Inside the boxes? A handful of super-expensive watches, rings, and jewel encrusted bracelets (source: Fortune). How’s that for mixing a shop, a museum, a club, a bank and God knows what else?

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