When it comes to luxury retail, being a thriving business means so much more than just selling expensive products to a wealthy clientele. As Vogue Business wisely notes, it’s all about “connecting with communities through shared interests and offering unique experiences.” 

The creation of private shopping clubs, which allow clients to access everything from personal shopping and styling appointments to trunk shows and other special events, is revolutionizing the high-end retail industry. Instead of just browsing a store, customers are forming close relationships with experts in the field, all while experiencing something unique and carefully curated. 

Here, we’ll explore how three of the luxury retail world’s most powerful brands, Saks Fifth Avenue, Harrod’s, and Brunello Cucinelli, are using private shopping clubs to actively engage with their customers in a way that builds lasting relationships. 

 

The Staying Power of Saks Fifth Avenue

Saks Fifth Avenue is actively working to expand their reach. The legendary luxury retailer is expanding their exclusive Saks Fifth Avenue Club across the country, with new locations in Austin, Fort Worth, St. Petersburg, Rancho Santa Fe, and Charleston, which just opened in April. Locations are chosen by using current customer insights to spot high-potential markets. By honing in on an area that could be a potential hotspot, Saks is using evidence-based data to spotlight potential sites for new business. 

In addition to opening inside Saks stores in various cities, Saks has teamed up with select hotels, resorts, and standalone suites, many of which are located within top-tier Marriott International brands like Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis Hotels and Resorts. As high-end customers head out to tropical locations for vacations of sand and sun, they’re given the opportunity to shop meticulously-curated collections hand-picked by style experts. This emphasis on personalization in an aesthetically beautiful environment is enough to keep customers coming back for more.

“The success of our standalone Fifth Avenue Club suites illustrates that luxury clients are increasingly seeking one-on-one fashion expertise tailored just for them,” Larry Bruce, president of Saks Fifth Avenue stores, said in a statement, Retail Dive reported. “We are proud to have cultivated a new, engaged client base and a skilled stylist team that delivers one-of-a-kind personal shopping and styling tailored to the unique lifestyles of our customers within each community.”

Clearly, the famed department store’s gamble has been incredibly successful: They’ve expanded in both 2023 and 2024. 

 

Fashion in the Far East: Harrod’s

Last year, Harrods launched their luxury retail club in Shanghai. The epitome of glamour, it features private dining rooms, a bar, lounge, outdoor terrace, and dining experiences from British chef Gordon Ramsey. 

A menu serving some of the world’s most sought-after liquors draws in customers, while ultra-premium services in aviation, real estate, interior design and personal shopping provide endless shopping opportunities. Private events and masterclasses hosted by brand partners extend their reach, serving “a curated community of discerning members.” 

Not only does Harrod’s club bring international dining, spirits, lifestyle and concierge services to a regional audience, but it also creates community by offering a space for wealthy individuals to enjoy experiences together. 

Of course, the opportunity to join is exclusive. Membership tiers start from RMB 150,000 (about £16,000) and go up to RMB 250,000. While these are expensive opportunities, this aura of exclusivity also boosts the desire for people to be members.  

 

European Sensibility: Brunello Cucinelli

Individual high-end designers are also going global with private shopping experiences. Luxury Italian designer Brunello Cucinelli established Casa Cucinelli in Milan, London, Paris, Tokyo, and a variety of other cities. 

In New York, The location boasts the “traditional aesthetic of New York City’s loft apartments,” with open-plan spaces and cozy rooms featuring “the quintessence of Italian craftsmanship and premium materials that celebrate an experience of conviviality, encounter and rest.”

 One insider described the invite-only spot as having “a library, a white marble kitchen counter, a fireplace and a walk-in closet. Luxuriously logo-less, taupe and camel-hued outfits from the brand’s current collection line the walls.” A beacon of aesthetic beauty, these spaces are cultivating private oases for a discerning buyer looking to find comfort outside their home. 

 

While private retail clubs are beautiful for the eyes, they’re also wise business decisions. Brands understand that a small group of customers are making the most purchases.

“If you look at the kind of standard distribution of where most of the profits are coming from, there’s a very small percentage of people who are generating a lot of those profits for those companies,” says Juan Manuel Gonzalez, founder and CEO of G & Co, a consulting firm that has worked with brands including Louis Vuitton and Burberry. “That very personalized, exclusive touch is going to go ahead and maybe provide a little bit more of that loyalty with the consumer, because they know that they can really have that profitable relationship with them.”

Whether these private shopping clubs are located inside a traditional storefront or luxury hotels, the feature that ties them all together is the personal connections they build with customers. 

While Saks Fifth Avenue, Harrod’s, and Brunello Cucinelli are three very different brands, each one possesses the ability to forge relationships through deeply intimate shopping experiences. These frequent customers are eager to return, and therefore become long-time associates of each brand. 

As retail organizations look to maintain consistent client bases, they need to learn to expand upon traditional shopping methods. When it comes to establishing active engagement with the public, private shopping clubs are the new frontier.