MILAN - Rinascente has serious beauty ambitions.
On Monday, the Italian department store said it has signed a long-term lease for a landmark site next to its flagship building overlooking the Duomo Cathedral here, with plans to turn it into a new beauty destination for the Milanese public and tourists alike.
More from WWDThe historic venue, known locally as 'Odeon', previously housed cinema halls and has been a cultural meeting point for citizens here for decades before finally closing last year.
Rinascente CEO Pierluigi Cocchini said the company will renovate the location and open the "Rinascente Odeon Beauty Hall" by May 2027.
The plan is to bring under one roof all the established beauty brands currently on display on the ground floor of the Duomo unit, as well as the indie labels showcased in the Beauty Bar in the annex. In doing so, the area dedicated to the beauty category will triple, as the new hub will cover 32,291 square meters over three floors.
In addition to housing more than 300 makeup, skincare and fragrance brands, the new space will offer makeup stations and cutting-edge beauty treatments curated by brands on the first and second floors.
As reported, the department store tested consumer interest in this experience side by launching the Beauty Fair initiative earlier this year and repeating it with a second edition last month. The format involved both established and independent brands hosting pop-ups to showcase their latest collections, limited edition or customizable products and offering free treatments, workshops and masterclasses to customers.
"We were already strong in beauty, but now we have the opportunity to be even stronger," said Cocchini. "This is such an important category, a traffic builder and one that has been showing positive momentum for a few years now. Brands that already have a beauty business are further strengthening it, and those that don't have one are launching it," the executive continued, underscoring the key role of cosmetic products in providing consumers with a more accessible initial access to luxury brands.
"Then there are the indie labels, where new names are added every day. We had them in our Beauty Bar, but we didn't have any beauty treatments for example, so that would be an interesting part to explore too. This is a broader, 360-degree approach to the category, going beyond just selling products."
According to Cocchini, the new space is expected to attract 3 million visitors in its first year. "In Milan, our beauty sales currently reach 50 million euros. We expect these to grow to 80 million euros in the first year since the opening of the new hub, with the aim of reaching between 130 and 140 million euros once this space is fully equipped," said Cocchini.
With the new destination, the retailer is targeting Millennial and Gen Z customers, as the latter are expected to represent 25 percent of its customer base in five years. In the last 12 months, 36 percent of Rinascente Duomo customers purchased beauty products, with one in three customers being Gen Zers.
The retailer commissioned architect Marco Costanzi and his studio of the same name to renovate the new location while respecting the original design, which dates back to the 1930s. "We went through a similar restyling process when we opened the Roma Tritone [unit] in 2017, after more than 10 years of work," Cocchini recalls. "We will take the same approach to this historic building: we will show respect for the place that houses us and seek to improve it by combining historic features with modernity."
Costanzi, who has already restyled the Rinascente department in Florence and recently worked on Dior's new headquarters in Paris, kept the details of the new interior concept under wraps, but it is clear that the space will not only retain a stylistic link with the previous use, since in the basement four cinema halls will continue to function. To further enhance the amenity, 7,500 square feet will be dedicated to a dining area, with a bar on the ground floor and a more extensive destination on the second floor.
Cocchini underlined that the new project will also have a domino effect on the main building of Rinascente. The area previously focused on beauty brands will be revamped and repurposed to expand the accessories, watches and jewelry categories, doubling the current retail area for these segments to 21,527 square meters.
"Our total investment will be around 40 million euros, split into 30 million euros for the Odeon plan and 10 million euros to renew the ground floor, in a project we have called 'Grand Floor'," Cocchini said, underlining that a further €10 million will be invested by beauty brands who will enter the new hub to set up their stands.
The Grand Floor project, also expected to be unveiled in 2027, will allow the retailer to increase sales of the above-mentioned categories from the current 200 million euros to 370 million euros in the first year of the new layout .
"The accessories category is a huge strength for us, but at the same time a weakness when we look at the available square footage for each brand," said Cocchini. "The problem with Italian department stores is that our cities are medieval or go back to the Renaissance, so the spaces cannot be compared to those in Paris or London," the director continued, comparing the total area of Rinascente Duomo of 22,042 square meters . while in other European capitals they are three to four times as large.
The jewel of the department store, Rinascente's flagship in Milan, attracts an average of 8.3 million visitors per year and generates around half of the company's total turnover. The retailer, which is controlled by Thailand's Central Group and has a network of nine locations in Italy, reached the 1 billion euro turnover mark last year and reported a 16 percent increase from 2022 and a 14 percent growth from the record year 2019. Sales grew in all product categories, with a particular emphasis on luxury accessories and beauty, which increased by 28 percent and 30 percent respectively.
"Despite the two wars and a crisis in the luxury world, I think we will beat last year's record. The next three months will be crucial as our sales are up about 1 or 2 percent [versus last year]so let's see what happens," Cocchini said.
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