Dunhill flagship stores
28th November 2008
In these times of economic uncertainty lavish consumers look to timeless classics they know will hold their value and last for years, as opposed to flash-in-the-pan trends and glitzy impulse buys.
This is seen in the sudden increase in Rolex sales as Iceland's financial markets sunk, or the way the traditional tailors of Savile Row are weathering the crisis.
London-based men's clothing and luxury goods firm Dunhill, which dates back to the 1890s, is well situated to weather the fiscal storm in similar style thanks to their adoption of these same values. That's a very good thing as the company recently opened two new flagship stores, in New York City and London.
The 7,000-sq.-ft. NYC store, on the corner of Madison and 55th, replaces the old shop at 711 Fifth Avenue. Rpa:vision has created the design of the store in London's Mayfair. The store, called 'The Home of Alfred Dunhill', occupies 21,000 square feet of Bourdon House, formerly the home of the second Duke of Westminster. Altogether there are two floors of retail, totalling 2,500 square feet, which also includes a private members club with a restaurant, games room and four hotel suites.
It carries the full range of Dunhill's de luxe merchandise, including menswear, leather goods, accessories, writing instruments, watches, gifts and games. The lower level houses Dunhill's custom-made menswear and leather goods offerings, as well as a display of one-of-a-kind pieces from the firm's distinguished history such as Truman Capote's Dunhill tuxedo worn at his famed Black & White Ball in 1966, and original sketches of a Dunhill bespoke suit made for Frank Sinatra.
Bourdon House features a selection of elegant museum pieces from the brand's archives; a men's spa with two treatment rooms and a traditional gentleman's barber; a private screening room; and of course a bar. Sounds pretty good, no? The only question is, why didn't New York get a bar?
