Burberry New Beverly Hills Flagship Store Is A High-Tech Shopper's Dream Come True : MStarsNews

Burberry's new flagship store in Beverly Hills may be a high-tech shopper's dream come true. According to Christopher Bailey, the brand's chief creative officer and chief executive officer, his investment in technology at the Rodeo Drive location represents his ambitions to create a more personalized shopping experience across the entire brand. For example, the British heritage brand plans to create digital profiles of shoppers that sales associates can access right there in store.

Fashionista reports the four-floor, 22,000-square-foot store is a monument to Britishness at the corner of Rodeo Drive and Dayton Way. One of the talking points is the Burberry Retail Theatre, "the company's parlance for the 10 digital screens and 130 speakers that enable the store to become a retail movie theater for any video or audio content it chooses to beam from the mother ship in London." On the top floor, in the VIP salon, or Burberry Penthouse, screens can display live streams from anywhere.

In an exclusive interview with WWD, Bailey says his obsession is one of physical and digital seamlessness. Bailey explains "Burberry 1-2-1" as "really about having a more intimate relationship with your customer so that you have longevity. If you are shopping on Rodeo or on 57th or in Beijing or London, we try to have one database so we are looking after you the right way and start to learn what you like. It's not dissimilar to the concept we were talking about between the physical world and the digital world. We don't want countries or cities to be a barrier to having a personal relationship to a customer. We have something called BPC - Burberry Private Clients - where associates build up this relationship with a customer, and they share this information and say, 'She's going to be in Beijing next week and she's a size this and loves this, and she loves this bag collection. Maybe show her X, Y or Z. She's staying at this hotel - maybe we want to send her something.'"

Last week, he reiterated his other key goals for Burberry, which included greater personalization at both retail and at wholesale clients that carry the brand; expanding the fast-growing accessories offering and growing in underdeveloped markets.

"I feel very lucky because I'm able to work in all the worlds that I love," he said during the interview. "Architecture I'm passionate about, and we can build stores. Music I'm very passionate about, and we can work with musicians. Film I'm very passionate about, and I can work with the most extraordinary filmmakers. Technology I'm incredibly passionate about, and I can work with the leaders there. We are able to play with all these different worlds, and they are all embedded into the company. But next week, I'm at our factory in England with all the beautiful Victorian looms. It kind of goes from high tech to the most beautiful handcrafted materials and products. I call it my fast-fast-slow-slow philosophy. I love the speed of technology, but I love how slow the craftsmanship of weaving a piece of cloth is, and I love it when those worlds collide because it's what I'm interested in."

MStars News recently reported Burberry went all-out for its holiday campaign this year. As promised, Romeo Beckham, Victoria and David Beckham's 12-year-old son, returned for a second stint as the face of Burberry. Fashionista says Romeo adds charm to Burberry's dreamy holiday campaign. The accompanying video, entitiled "From London with Love," features dancers spinning in ball gowns before a mock cityscape of London. Check it out below: