French luxury retailer Louis Vuitton has officially entered the restaurant business with the opening of its first-ever outlet in Japan on Saturday. The company opened its new Le Café V and Sugalabo V inside its new flagship retail store in Osaka.
Louis Vuitton's new high-end restaurant and café are situated on top of its latest Japan outlet dubbed the Louis Vuitton Maison Osaka Midosuji. To ensure that it serves the best food items to its high-end customers, the company hired well-known Tokyo restaurateur chef Yosuke "Suga" Sugalabo.
The famous chef, whose restaurant was named as one of the best in the world by France's La Liste restaurant guide, curated the menu items for Louis Vuitton's high-end eateries. The restaurants were opened just a day after the opening new Louis Vuitton Maison Osaka Midosuji.
Architects Peter Marino and Jun Aoki designed the massive new showroom, situated within a four-story building. The Japanese nautical theme, which includes Japanese cargo ship-inspired white sails all around the shop, is meant to celebrate Osaka's seafaring heritage.
East Asia, particularly Japan and South Korea have become critical markets for major luxury brands in recent years. LVMH CEO, Bernard Arnault, had previously stated that his company plans to heavily invest in their East Asian operations in the coming years given the success of their brand in the region.
Louis Vuitton is the latest high-end retailer to enter into the restaurant business, following in the footsteps of rivals such as Ralph Lauren, Tiffany & Co, and Nordstrom. Ralph Lauren was the first to incorporate a restaurant into one of its retail branches back in 1999, dubbed the RL. The company has since opened several branches of its restaurants in its locations in London, New York, and Paris.
In 2017, Tiffany & Co launched its Blue Box Café inside its flagship store in New York's famous Fifth Avenue. The launch of the café was a big success for the jeweler as it had managed to somewhat updates its image and brand.
The strategy to add food and beverage options inside retail stores immediately became a sound strategy for those who have to been struggling to increase sales. As of the moment, major retailers that have incorporated restaurants in their shops include Urban Outfitters, Crate & Barrel, and Lululemon.
Industry experts explained that adding cafes and restaurants has become a good strategy to increase in-store traffic. These establishments often become meeting points for people, who eventually are lured into shopping. The restaurants and cafés also become valid excuses for people to shop inside brick and mortar stores instead of on their laptops.
