Luxury Retail Quotes

When I became the CEO of Burberry in July 2006, luxury was one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world.

Within the first year of launching my company, Spanx, I decided to go over to England and cold-call Harrods, Harvey Nichols, and Selfridges the same way I had cold-called Neiman Marcus, Saks, Nordstrom, and Bloomingdale's here in the United States.

Diesel is the only example of a casualwear or sportswear company that became a luxury brand.

My girlfriend is a fashion designer. She has her own company called Rachel Antonoff. She is doing a collaboration with Urban Outfitters right now, a shoe collaboration with Bass. She sells to Barneys, stuff like that.

When you enter a Ralph Lauren store, it's almost cinematic, as though you're walking through someone's home.

Retailing has become fiercely competitive. Today there are many large global fashion companies who have opened up mono-brand stores in major cities around the world. When I first opened my boutique in New York, in 1985, there were almost no other European luxury brands present with their own stores. Now Fifth Avenue is packed with huge stores from major Italian and French labels.

I hate Gucci,' said Francis. 'Do you?' said Henry, glancing up from his reverie. 'Really? I think it's rather grand.' 'Come on, Henry.' 'Well, it's so expensive, but it's so ugly too, isn't it? I think they make it ugly on purpose. And yet people buy it out of sheer perversity.' 'I don't see what you think is grand about that.' 'Anything is grand if it's done on a large enough scale,' said Henry.

Like Disneyland, luxury retailers have long had to figure out how to overcome customers' natural inertia. Unlike less pricey stores, they tend not to attract idle browsers who make impulse purchases.

As I have written before, one of my favorite parts of my job as CEO of Moda Operandi is the opportunity I get to explore international fashion scenes to discover new talent, and then being able to introduce these designers to our community of fashion-savvy customers worldwide.

It's not unusual for a luxury company to be born from a single product and then diversify. Louis Vuitton began with luggage, and Gucci with leather goods.

When I look at a Ralph Lauren store, it is not a store: it's an experience.

I don't believe in naming clients to get press. I hated it when I was a couture client. If the dresses don't sell themselves, there is something wrong.

I thrive with fashion and shopping and imports and things like that. It gives me a rush. I love Barneys New York and Neiman Marcus and all the top-of-the-line houses.

I think the relationship is very tenuous between fashion and art. Many designers have built relationships with artists, which is not something I personally did. But it's true, sometimes you see artists working for a designer or a brand on some specific project or taking care of their environment and making an amazing store.

I was in a very fancy, high-end boutique where the sales associates stand around like mannequins. I walked in and the first thing they said was, "Ooh it smells like booty in here" because they knew me from Scream Queens.

I've always been inspired by retail entertainment, whether Ralph Lauren or the Disney Store or Niketown.

People are saying fashion week is no longer just a press event, it has become a shopping event because of us.

Inspired by London's Savile Row, I wanted to bring an American curated experience for men to Madison Avenue... a place where they cannot only shop but explore.

I started getting orders from some of the leading stores Fred Segal, Bergdorf Goodman. I realized then that my bags were being noticed by the fashion world.

I worked at Bergdorf Goodman doing interior decoration.

Bergdorf Goodman is positioned at the very top of the luxury pyramid, and I think that as we go through this next phase of renovation, we're going to elevate it even further.

I'm a great fan of Bloomingdale's, and I'm a very loyal alumni of Parsons. I think what they do, what they've done, is amazing. They've educated some of the best American designers.

In 2004, we opened our first store in Manhattan. I installed a big window so people could see me making the chocolates. That store cost $1.8 million. It has a 45-foot-long chocolate counter and a hot chocolate bar made in Louis XVI style because that's when chocolate arrived in Europe.

My job is to sell clothes to very rich women.

I only like boutiques.