The Value of Luxury Retail and Corporate Flags

Flags are used by companies and stores for a few reasons beyond just having something to fly in the air. A company will spend many hours and a lot of money on their flag’s design because a flag is a company’s way of portraying itself to the rest of the world. The design function a flag provides is one of the most important elements of retail stores and corporate strategy.

The design of a flag refers to the elements of its aesthetics like colors, layout, size, decorations and lighting. The effective combination of these elements results in enticing and captivating clients and consumers in the hopes of higher purchase probability. A brand is an identifiable entity that makes specific and consistent promises of value and results in an overall experience for the consumer. This entity can include names, terms, signs, symbols, designs, shapes, colors or a combination of these elements. A flag may be the first presence of a brand that consumers or clients encounter. The purpose of this flag is to let consumers or clients identify with the products or services of a seller, differentiating them from those of competitors, and thereby provide value to the consumers. Flags have become an integral part of luxury retailing especially in fashion and this is crucial for representing brand identity and meeting the expectations of shoppers. The store is often the first point of real physical contact between consumers and brands.

 

 

A brand’s identity is communicated through the store concept with signs, floor layout, product displays etc., creating and harmonizing a brand image that leads to an internal judgement of the brand by consumers. This branding concept highlights the importance of a flag for retail stores. If a consumer sees the flag outside the luxury store and visits the store afterwards, they would expect synchronicity between the image that they already have in their mind based on the flag and what they see and experience in the store. The flag is like the cover of a book and the store is the actual book contents. The story should be in accord with the cover.

 

 

A luxury retail or corporate company caters to a niche consumer and advertisements are tailored towards a specific consumer market. The advertisements are a means of communicating the brand’s story, starting from history and development to personality and image, including products and services. For example it is common to find the flags of luxury stores in streets like Bond Street where most of the consumers in full time employment use public transport in and out of central London daily. Luxury brands achieve a strategic objective by hanging their flags where the target consumers commute. Another example could be Newbury St, where consumers regularly commute or work in and around Back Bay area of Boston.