Samsung has opened a coffee store, Macy's is going to build a sky garden?

Follow the caf é (Wechat official account vdailycom) and found that Beautiful Cafe opened a small shop of its own.

Speaking of flagship stores, it is a kind of "high-end" existence in everyone's mind.

For example, Macy's 's flagship store in Harold Square in Manhattan is a landmark and can be called a "view" of New York. Many tourists go to Macy's department store even if they don't go shopping in New York, just like when they go to Beijing, they have to go to Wangfujing.

For example, the famous toy store FAO Schwarz flagship store on New York Fifth Avenue is also a must for almost every tourist to New York, with a history of more than 140 years. There is a huge piano in it, which attracts a lot of tourists and becomes the scene of many films. Woody Allen's 1995 "non-powerful aphrodisiac" (Mighty Aphrodite) and 1998 Tom Hanks starring "Big" were set here, and Tom Hanks danced on the piano, making the flagship store famous.

But the bad news is that these flagship stores will be a thing of the past.

FAO Schwarz announced the closure of the 140-year-old flagship store on Fifth Avenue in 2015.

J.C. Penny, a department store, recently announced the closure of its flagship store in New York for rental.

Ralph Lauren also announced the closure of its flagship POLO store on Fifth Avenue in New York this spring. Ralph Lauren signed a 16-year lease at a cost of $400m in 2013.

Toys R Us, the world's largest retailer of toys and infant products, has not renewed its lease since its lease expired in January 2016.

In February this year, fast fashion brand Zare closed its flagship store at Le Sen Shopping Mall in the heart of Chengdu, which is also Zara's largest flagship store in China.

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In short, retailers are now "close" to flagship stores. Physical stores are in the doldrums, flagship stores are usually in prime locations, and rents are not cheap, and it is understandable to close stores.

The next question is, does the retailer have to open something offline when the flagship store is closed?

According to a recent survey by the International Association of Shopping Centers (International Council of shopping center), 56% of online shoppers in the United States believe that retailers still need to have physical stores, after all, there is no online experience. This has also prompted retailers to close large flagship stores and instead create experience stores that do not have to be large, but can bring an interactive experience.

Although Macy's has not closed its flagship store, it has recently been reported that it plans to build another park above the flagship store in Harold Square, a little bit of a hanging garden, with restaurants, shade and benches on it. Consumers can really realize their dream of "shopping and eating". After visiting Macy's, they will go up for a meal, and then stroll around the park. I spent a wonderful day at Macy's.

In 2016, Samsung also opened a brick-and-mortar store similar to the technology showroom, Samsung 837, with news media headlines describing the Samsung 837 as a super store selling coffee.

Here you can see a variety of Samsung products and technologies, such as an oversized screen, which, according to Samsung, is mainly used to play large events such as Oscars and Grammy, as well as a selfie studio. Users can find the best selfie angle here. In addition, it is said that there are cooking classes and music nights, but they don't sell products anyway.

This fall, the National Football League and Cirque du Soleil will join forces to open a 40, 000-square-foot interactive showcase store in New York's Times Square.

It seems that the flagship store should also become a memory. Cherish the flagship store around you. Maybe one day it will be gone.