Dive Brief:
- To celebrate the launch of its spring-summer 2024 collection, Hugo Boss debuted its virtual store Boss House Bali on its website, per a release.
- Hugo Boss on April 17 also took over a luxury villa in Bali. The in-person Bali experience will first be available to Hugo Boss Experience members, VIP customers, media and influencers from the Asia-Pacific Region. It features gourmet dining, cooking classes, wellness workshops and active adventures, per the statement. Attendees can also shop the new collection at the resort.
- The virtual villa, powered by Emperia, showcases the brand’s menswear, womenswear, footwear, accessory and fragrance collections. Shoppers can purchase items in the virtual store, discover holiday collections and book a stay at the in-person Bali experience.
Dive Insight:
Hugo Boss launched its virtual store to further its connection with the brand’s audience, per the release, fusing “style, tech, and innovation,” according to Nadia Kokni, senior vice president of global marketing and brand communications at Hugo Boss.
Using a gaming component, users can search for hidden letters that combine to make the phrase, “Boss Bali.” Upon collecting all the letters, players unlock a discount code able to be redeemed on their next purchase.
“We want to be close to our consumers, ensuring our finger is firmly on the ever-changing pulse of relevant, modern retail,” Kokni said. Season after season, we lean into innovation to find new ways to get closer to our consumers as well as to learn more, by offering enhanced shopping experiences that disrupt the norms, merging the essence of our brand ethos with cutting-edge digital advances.”
This isn’t the brand’s first virtual activation in pursuit of loyalty and engagement. To promote its denim-focused line, the retailer launched Planet Hugo on Roblox with interactive experiences and virtual clothing.
As retailers continue to find new ways to connect in-person retail to virtual experiences, the online store has popped up frequently in recent years. With the debut of Apple’s Vision Pro headset, brands like Best Buy, StockX and E.l.f. Cosmetics have launched their own experiences. Even with virtual experiences, retailers are still sticking to original store formats by mimicking them virtually, like Crate and Barrel, J. Crew and Elizabeth Arden.
