Nov. 06--Clarins on Friday plans to unveil its new beauty counter at Macy's on State Street, which will be the only location in the country to feature the French skin care brand's private "cocoon chair."
Clarins, which says it has been investing heavily in Chicago, its fastest growing market in the U.S., aimed to create a "Clarins island in the middle of the busy State Street beauty floor," which itself recently underwent a major renovation.
Clarins' new counter features "clean, comforting architecture" and three oversized LED screens that will display information about new launches and the plant-based science that has been the 50-year-old company's calling card.
It also will showcase the cocoon chair, available in some locations in Asia but not elsewhere in the U.S., where customers can get a complimentary skin consultation and personalized treatment with a modicum of privacy, as the sides of the chair wrap around. Clarins has private "retreat rooms" for skin consultations at its counters in other Chicago department stores, but not in Macy's State Street.
Clarins Chairman Christian Courtin-Clarins, during a rare visit to Chicago last month to emphasize the brand's commitment to the market, said more education, better seating and more sampling -- common at makeup counters but less so in skin care -- are among the strategies Clarins is employing to cement its relationship with customers. It has increased spending on education for its beauty advisers by 61 percent in the past year.
"One of our competitors is the Internet," Courtin-Clarins said. "We will survive with an extremely customer-oriented store."
aelejalderuiz@tribune.com
