Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/419349
Chanel has boutiques at both Wynn Las Vegas and its adjoining property, Encore, with a focus on fine jewelry. Guests of The Forum Shops at Caesars are invited to enjoy personal shopping services through the center's concierge (702-893- 4800; forumshops.com), and more than 25 languages are spoken here to accommodate visitors from around the world. Exclusive product presentation can be arranged at retailers including Burberry and Van Cleef & Arpels, while tailoring and private fittings are also available at more than 15 of the center's top luxury boutiques. Stop by the Grand Canal Shoppes at Venetian and Palazzo's concierge desk (702-414-4500; grandcanalshoppes.com) on the ground level for more information on private shopping appointments, in-suite and after-hours showings, and courier services like package pickup and delivery. A large number of the retail center's luxury boutiques offer custom amenities of their own, including multilingual sales associates and personal shoppers for guests of Venetian and Palazzo. At the concierge desk at The Shops at Crystals (702-590-9230; theshopsat crystals.com), guests can arrange translators, personal shoppers, and in-store showings, and the 500,000-square-foot center is considering adding an all-new VIP lounge. Almost every store at Crystals features multilingual sales associates, and larger retailers, like the center's two-level Louis Vuitton boutique, offer dedicated concierges of their own and private fitting areas, with refreshments and even nonshopping entertainment. Private shopping may as well be the standard on the Esplanades at Wynn and Encore (702-770-7000; wynnlas vegas.com); in fact, it's relatively common for some of the most in-the-know fashionistas to schedule their consultations here. In between jetting off to New York, Paris, London, and Milan twice a year to see the latest designer collections, many of the Esplanades' luxury buyers are based on-site and are available to share their expertise with guests who arrange their services through the resort's concierge. For You? AnYthing Here are just a few of the personalized services that Vegas's best lifestyle centers offer to uncomplicate the retail experience. photography by barbara kraft (chanel); opposite page: photography by Melissa Valladares erwise they'd clean out the whole store." And because Vegas attracts such a cosmopoli- tan (not to mention deep-pocketed) clientele, its shops are usually built larger to accommodate broader selections of "seasonless" apparel, foot- wea r, a nd accessor ies. T he resu lt? Desig ner boutiques that look more like high-end department stores with multiple f loors, ramped-up ready-to-wear collections, and even lux- ur y ser v ices div isions to dea l w it h V I P g uest s. "It can be a very difficult mar- ket to buy for because you have people com i ng i n from all over the world—all different sizes, all different seasonal timing," Matraki says, "a nd ever ybody is always leaving in an hour." It's t hat sa me sense of urgency that impels Vegas ret a i lers to create f u l l- f ledged luxury shopping experiences for their client s. Free-f low ing Cha mpag ne, pr ivate f it- ting lounges, after-hours showings—they're all de rigueur for luxury retailers who understand the importance of forging exclusive relation- ships. "As much as people think everybody's t ra nsient , t hey're a lways back in tow n," says Matraki. "And some of my stores here do almost 25 percent of t heir business over t he phone. When you build that kind of relationship with a customer, t hey t r ust you so much t hat t he moment the new collection comes in, you can just put it in a box and ship it." For ret a i ler s, t here's a t least one happy consequence of t heir focus on t he expe - r ience: Veg a s ha s been unscat hed by online shop - pi ng, wh ich ha s i n some cases devastated traditional malls. In a world where con- su mers now va lue conve - n ience just a s much a s quality, we've somehow mas- tered the complicated art of making a visit to a brick-and- mor t a r bout ique more appealing than a five-minute Web t ra nsact ion—a nd dra- mat ica l ly reva mped ou r city's identity, turning it into a luxury shopper's paradise, to boot. "You k now, we have t he best rest aura nt s, shoppi ng centers, enter t a i n ment , concer t s," Matraki says. "If you want to gamble, go ahead and gamble, but you don't have to. Retail com- pletes t he ex per ience because now we have something for everybody." V 112 vegasmagazine.com