By Tracy Wang
The Shops at The Bravern, a one-of-a-kind shopping paradise, offers ‘the luxurious of the luxury’ boutiques; though the luxury retail stores are already worthy attractions themselves, The Shops at The Bravern provides their consumers with much more than these boutiques, and strive to have a ‘truly mixture retailtainment’. Equipped right on-site are many other amenities, including Gene Juarez Salon & Spa, Life Time Athletic and some of the most high-end restaurants in the Greater Seattle region like John Howie Steak and Mariposa.
Completed with the most luxurious fashion, and a variety of amenities, The Bravern offers The Bravern Signature Residences that is right on top of the retail space. The Bravern includes ‘just over 300,000 square feet for retail space of luxury retail’; Regular visitors or people who choose to live in its Signature Residences would have made a unique lifestyle here.
With this retail space focusing on high-end retail, the boutiques (Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Prada etc.) are the base and the soul of this area. However, to create a more vibrant lifestyle for the visitors or consumers, The Bravern is constantly adding new boutiques, restaurants or amenities to the already-existing collection. ’Many of our stores are not only the only location in the Greater Seattle area, they are the only locations in the Pacific Northwest’, commented Matthew Klutznick, General Manager of The Shops at The Bravern. ‘Last year, the Sugar Factory, the high-end confectionary and restaurant, had its grand opening on the 2nd level across from John Howie Steakhouse, and sold Mariah Carey’s Christmas Factory candy line right on-site during opening. This summer, Dolarshop, the new hot pot destination, is set to open its door, and further caters to the Chinese consumers.’
Besides these exciting new dining destinations, The Shops at The Bravern also has some new additions of amenities and boutique. APM Monaco, a fashion jewelry brand influenced by Monaco and the South of France, has unveiled its first Pacific Northwest store at The Shops at The Bravern two months ago. Gene Juarez Salon & Spa, originally located a few blocks away, has moved to The Bravern, and Klutznick called this salon ‘the first of its kind’. Completed with a male and a female facility, Gene Juarez Salon & Spa at The Bravern is the largest branch location now. Other than the more relaxing salon and boutiques, The Bravern will have a Life Time Athletic Gym (approximately 40,000 square feet) open in spring this year.
Of all the luxury retail boutiques, some of the most popular are Hermès and Louis Vuitton. A lifestyle store, Hermès has many loyal customers, and it is a must-visit boutique here at The Shops at The Bravern. Louis Vuitton’s leather goods and accessories are also quite a success.
As for the consumer base, Klutznick said that ’Chinese consumers are the largest segment’; the Chinese consumers often know what they want before they come to the Bravern, so they do not hesitate much on what to buy. In order to ‘align ourselves with our customers’, The Bravern is currently offering Mandarin language and culture workshop to the sales associates to find out the best approach to greet and interact with Chinese consumers, and bring in the diversified Chinese culture to The Bravern as much as possible. Some services that are just for the Chinese consumers are already present; consumers who prefer to speak Mandarin can join The Bravern’s WeChat group, and get the latest news. The website also has a Chinese version, in which Chinese consumers can access the online information easily.
One of the steps The Bravern is taking to make The Bravern even more welcoming for the Chinese consumers is to hold a Chinese Lunar New Year event on Saturday February 24, 2018 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. A dragon and lion dance will mark the start of the celebration event, and several indoor family activities that both adults and children can enjoy. Children can learn on-site how to make Chinese lanterns, and have face-painters create an art piece on their faces. While children are busy enjoying all the excitement of the activities, adults can also enjoy flower arrangement activity led by a local artist. Besides participating in these Chinese culture-related activities, all the visitors will get to bask in the Lunar New Year luminous lantern decoration and exuberant atmosphere at The Bravern.
To take a step further, The Bravern has been in conversation with Chinese commercial real estate brokers, and appeared to be pleasantly surprised how much ownership is interested in entering into lease agreement to enhance our offerings to the Chinese consumers. The Bravern has decided to hold a Broker Open event in which it will invite around 30 Chinese American brokers to come to have presentation and conversation. Community outreach is an important step for The Bravern, and Klutznick is determined to ’let our actions speak’, and dedicate resources and effort in making The Bravern align even more with its consumer base.
Klutznick holds a Business Administration degree from Columbia College and has an impressive 30-year career in managing world class retail assets. He also sits on the Board of Directors of several government organizations.
For more information about The Shops at The Bravern, please visit https://thebravern.com/