Operations
grown our retail collection”, Rayner says “we’ve taken that model of working with a retail consultant, who is an expert in that market, to help us find the most exciting, striking, and unexpected pieces that highlight vendors, brands, and products from each local market that they would not likely find on their own.” As for ShopEDITION, the brand’s online presence, that was “developed as a response to guests wanting to take a part of EDITION home with them, whether that be the candles, scent products, or the robes,” Rayner explains. “Every product available on ShopEDITION is a piece that can authentically be touched, felt, seen and experienced at an EDITION hotel.”
In essence, then, there are two strands to EDITION’s retail approach. On the one hand, EDITION offers ultra-luxe hotel goodies, from bespoke Le Labo toiletries to EDITION scented candles, monogrammed bathrobes, and softer-than-soft bedding sets – and they are complete sets, meaning not just pillows, duvet, and linen, but mattress and base too, for ‘flawless sleep’ all year round. On the other hand, EDITION emphasises its products’ unique and regional craftmanship, which can only be sourced in site-specific hotel stores. The recent launch of EDITION’s Artist Series, however, brings a select number of these artisanal items to the online shopper. As Rayner explains, “we have now developed the Artist Series as a way to celebrate each local artisan community. Here we commission sustainably-sound artists and makers by taking individual expertly crafted pieces that play a functional role at our hotels, such as tableware or blankets, and make them available at individual shops and in the online retail space for visitors to really make a part of their lives.” It is a smart innovation, not only benefitting EDITION’s global customer base, but also the local businesses and individuals involved. As Rayner notes, “this series serves as a place for us to highlight the chefs, artists, and communities that truly make EDITION what it is [and] gives our artisans a platform to sell globally and communicate their own working methods. It’s great for EDITION to be the catalyst for that.”
Hotel Management International /
www.hmi-online.com
Softening the return to reality A lot has changed in the decade or so since the first EDITION store launched in Miami. In particular, the shift to online sales has expanded the brand’s customer base – and continued to provide boutique luxury even when many hotels were forced to close their doors during the Covid-19 pandemic. As Fluhr notes, “ShopEDITION launched before the pandemic, but during that time, our sales surged and we learned this was a way for our community to stay connected with us while the world was closed.” The pandemic has allowed EDITION to explore various opportunities to grow its offering with more limited edition items to keep people coming back.
Above: A satin weave technique makes wool threads look like brush strokes on a canvas.
Above left: A bespoke travel set infused with EDITION’s signature black tea scent.
“Every product available on ShopEDITION is a piece that can authentically be touched, felt, seen and experienced at an EDITION hotel.”
Sarah Rayner
So, what are EDITION’s plans for the future? “We’re building upon the success of the original Artist Series launch,” Rayner says, “and excited to introduce The Limited-Edition Artist Series. This next step will spotlight our top-selling favourites from each physical retail location, putting them on display not only across EDITION [stores] but also in our online shop. This marks a special opportunity for us to continue celebrating and supporting the incredible artisans and creatives who have been with us since the beginning.” There are also plans to expand the retail collection, and though Rayner cannot share these yet, she does promise the release of “a large-format four-wick candle with the beloved EDITION scent for the home”. Of course, the inevitable post-holiday blues are about more than crisp cottons and scented candles, and it will take more than retail therapy to repair that mindset. But the promise of soft bathrobes, memory foam mattresses, and down pillows might just soften the crash back down to reality. ●
39
EDITION
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53
