The island of Capri is one of the most beautiful shopping destinations in the world. Where the glittering Tyrrhenian Sea meets the steep cliffed coastline, this jewel on the Amalfi Coast is famed for attracting the rich and famous for decades.
Its meandering streets are home to the best in luxury designer stores, nestled alongside local craft boutiques and perfumeries offering a truly unique shopping experience.
During the day the island attracts high footfall from day trippers, particularly East Asian shoppers, so how are brands standing out in this uber competitive market to attract a luxury consumer? We head to the island for a taste of La Dolce Vita…
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Dolce & Gabanna CASA
Dolce and Gabanna’s CASA store concept opened on the island in 2022, celebrating ‘the art of home living’…and what a celebration it delivers. A beautifully orchestrated vision of colour, pattern and glossy monochromatic displays, this is a best-in-class example of composition and balance within a small retail footprint.
Featuring contrasting collections from Blu Mediterraneo, Carretto to Leopard and Zebra prints, the combination of print, texture and pattern are delivered with an ordered sense of confidence through an ingenious creative approach.
Why it works?
Using sleek, glossy surfaces in monochromatic tones delivers a sense of order and structure to the store design, allowing the presentation of contrasting collections space to breathe. The panelled mirrored ceiling which wraps around the store helps gives a feeling of space, whilst reflecting natural light from the large windows and spotlights above.
Customers are enveloped in a colourful universe, with a beautiful blend of furniture, cushions and ceramics curated to deliver an unforgettable shopping experience- not to be missed.
Net
A bold streetwear experience amongst a sea of refined luxury, Net is a haven for sneakerheads. A simplistic colour approach of black, white and yellow delivers a modern, store aesthetic with definition. Instantly recognisable, the store uses illumination to keep focus on product, whilst footwear is merchandised in multiple locations away from its Jordan laden footwear wall, giving the opportunity for customers to easily shop across category. In-store screens display catwalk shows from designer collections, whilst there is a playfulness to the design with floating AF 1’s, Medicom style characters alongside a Palm Angels motorcycle riding teddy bear.
What caught our eye?
As we walked around the nearby streets to Net, a large crowd had formed to look at a display. The concept was simple, Net had taken an OOH space and turned it into a piece of must-see live theatre using the hottest products- Jordans and Yeezy. A rotating display with a simple call to action ‘u are on the DROP LIST’ led to crowds of shoppers reaching for their phones to film this ‘instagrammable moment’. An obvious miss was lack of retailer branding, difficult to see on the glass and by integrating the logo into the checkerboard design would have given the store maximum exposure.
In a world of heavy social and digital marketing it shows the power of physical activation in capturing an audience’s attention.
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Carthusia
A brand local to Capri, Carthusia uses pure, natural ingredients to create handmade limited-edition perfumes inspired by the island. Celebrating the brands 75th anniversary, window displays are adorned with beautiful paper flowers cascading over bottles and boxes echoing the unique patterned backdrop. With two stores located on prime retail streets in Capri, the brand takes advantage of the shopper packed streets by taking the sensory experience out of the store straight to the consumer.
Why it works?
By placing perfume bars with scent atomisers on the street in front of store windows, Carthusia make it easy for customers to sample scents in a self-serve manner without the need for store staff or messy sample cards. Using traditional tasselled perfume atomisers with glass lab style funnels creates an interactive, playful experience allowing shoppers the opportunity to try fragrance in their own time without the pressure of a sales assistant.
Prada
As you exit the funicular at the top of Capri’s centre, you are met with the crowds queuing to enter one of the most popular stores on the island. The store is a haze of mint pastel tones, with ornate textured walls creating a holiday vibe against a backdrop of the glittering sea. With arguably some of the most stunning natural backdrops in retail, the Prada store makes the most of its incredible views with large arched windows flooding the store with natural sunlight.
Why it works?
A bold chequerboard floor acts as the perfect antidote to the sickly-sweet mint walls and pastels within the collections. This is a great example of store design working alongside product to complement and enhance the shopper experience. With product offerings focused on raffia bags, resort shirts and bucket hats the stores merchandising is a lesson in knowing your audience and delivering right product, right place, right time… enhanced by the right retail environment.
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Pucci
A brand with instantly recognisable DNA, Pucci delivers a punchy store filled with graphic prints and popping colours. The store is a playful mix of bright bold colour blocking alongside oversized monochromatic prints paying tribute to the brands links with Capri, with its original store opening on the island over 70 years ago. By keeping colour zoned to the floor, the contrasting patterns from apparel and home wear collections work in synergy with the glamorous oversized photographs which adorn the walls.
Why it works?
By creating cohesion in the store design through the brands distinctive handwriting, clear site lines into store enhanced by perfectly co-ordinated mannequins tempt shoppers into the store from the street. The space has a playful energy, with unique localised products merchandised in the windows it gives the luxury shopper a reason to go into store, to purchase the ultimate in vacation souvenirs.
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