The Interview: Diptyque's UK MD on its new flagship boutique
Diptyque has opened the doors of its new flagship boutique on London's Sloane Street, bringing its range of luxury fragrance to shoppers in Chelsea.
The new boutique is Diptyque's largest store in the UK and the second boutique to be designed in the brand’s new retail concept.
In this interview with TheIndustry.beauty, Amanda Morgan, Diptyque's UK & Ireland Managing Director, speaks about the new flagship boutique, what makes it different to existing stores and why Diptyque is continuing to invest in physical retail.
Why have you chosen Sloane Street as the location for Diptyque’s flagship?
Opening our new flagship boutique on Sloane Street is an important moment for Diptyque, positioning the brand in the heart of one of the most prestigious shopping streets in London. The Chelsea area is also home to a large portion of our existing clients, offering us the opportunity to closely connect with our loyal community and welcome new customers.
How is the flagship different to Diptyque’s other boutiques?
Just like our Spitalfields boutique, we’ve collaborated with dedicated artists to create special focal pieces unique to the boutique. For the flagship, we’ve worked with French artists Clare Basler and Redfield & Dattner, artfully exhibiting their panoramic hand paintings in the space. You won’t be able to find the same artwork at any of our other boutiques!
How is Diptyque’s new retail concept present in the space?
The boutique has been designed in-house by our talented team in Paris and takes inspiration from the Maison’s rich heritage. Each new retail concept evokes the look and feel of a beautiful Parisian apartment, whilst drawing inspiration from the local area. For the Sloane Street flagship, it’s reminiscent of classic Parisian architecture and takes inspiration from Edwardian cornices and details that surround the space.
What are some of the features you can highlight in the flagship boutique?
At Diptyque, we always focus on showcasing our impeccable art of service – providing an immersive experience and a very personal touch. As the largest UK boutique, the flagship provides a much bigger space to offer our clients a dedicated private consultation area, for a guided sensory journey of one-to-one fragrance fittings and brand exploration. The large space also allows us to fully showcase our coveted Decoration collection and new fragrance refill service.
As Managing Director, what involvement did you have in the creation of the new boutique?
We have been searching for a store on Sloane Street for many years, we took our time to ensure that we found the perfect space and location. Upon completion, I worked closely with our talented store and architect designers in Paris and am part of the store execution journey, every step of the way. The most exciting of course is the opening and seeing our customers in-store discovering the new space.
How do you feel about the boutique opening?
We are very excited to have found the perfect boutique and environment for Diptyque, to be able to offer both the local community and visitors our elevated brand and service experience, and the space to host exclusive events and services. Personally, it’s been a journey, with a lot of teamwork and collaboration, which I am always proud to be involved in.
Having also opened a boutique in Spitalfields this year, why is Diptyque investing in physical retail?
We are focused on offering immersive experiences and personalised touches, so it’s important for us that we can connect – on a human level – with our community in our boutiques and retail spaces for a full sensory, luxury experience, whilst also aligning our customer journey across all touchpoints.
Are there more boutique's on the horizon?
We still have a lot of opportunity in London and the wider UK market. Our Sloane Street flagship is a great example of waiting to find the right space in the right location, and we are excited for Diptyque’s future stores.
Read TheIndustry.beauty's detailed look at Diptyque new UK flagship boutique.
