1. Store and Customer Service Analysis

2. DNA
• Haute Couture, French chic
• First fashion house to launch ready-to-wear
• Slimane altered DNA by imagining Yves as
young designer
• Bold, Provocative, Edgy
• Art & Pop culture influence
CODES
YSL Logo, Tassel, Tuxedo, Smoking Jackets,
Trouser suits, Leather Biker Jacket, Androgyny,
Safari Jackets, Floral, Embellished Silk, Sheer,
Black and White
STORE CODES
Minimalist, Monochrome Black and White,
Contemporary, Marble, Mirrors

5. Best Practices
• Door opened by a smiling doorman
• Security present and attentive
• Uniform professional dress
• Well lit display
• Numerous sales associates available
• Offering of refreshments
• Eye contact with customers upon entrance
Worse Practices
• Demographic profiling of customers
• Inconsistent greetings from security and sales
staff
• Very few clients and many SAs at the door:
slight confusion as to who to approach.
• No immediate welcoming phrase, only a nod
• Bag and coat check not always present
• Consistent language barrier
First impressions: entering the store

6. First approach by the Sales Associate
Best Practices
• Open-ended questions:
“What brings you into the store today?”
“Do you see anything that interests you?”
“What kind of bag are you looking for?”
• Nice ice breaker: SA complimented our
French after we said we were not fluent
• Another sales staff politely asked in English if
we would like a drink
• Waited until we stopped at a section to start
the conversation
Worse Practices
• “Let me know if you need any help” then walked
away before we could answer
• SA spoke in French despite us stating we don’t
speak French
• SA waited until a question was asked, only to reply
“yes” and step back again

7. Best Practices
• Expert knowledge of the brand and materials:
explained that tassel on handbags was a distinctive
feature, “very YSL”
• Knowledgeable on how different product categories
connect to the current season
• Able to provide detailed information on the style of
the collection, the mood, different materials used,
how Hedi Slimane brought the classic YSL pieces
(eg. tuxedo jacket) to today's modern style
• Asked us relevant questions about the gift
recipient, in order to provide appropriate
suggestions
Worse Practices
• The answers seemed very ‘protocol’: she had
limited information
• Couldn’t completely explain the difference
between the materials: said calfskin was softer
than regular leather but didn’t know why
• Knew only about the “it” bag in the collection but
knew very little about the other bags
→ Thanks to the SA, we all left the stores having
gained more information about the brand
SA professional knowledge

8. Best Practices
• Immediate welcome, which eased any intimidation
• Professional look: dressed in black, hair tightly
pulled back
• SA quickly found another SA who spoke English
• Went to the stockroom to get the color we wanted
• Offered us to try on the bags and observe how it
looked on us in the mirror
• Stayed with us throughout the shopping
experience and escorted us to the door
Worse Practices
• Sharp and condescending replies:
-Client: “Where is your new collection in handbags?”
-Stoic SA:“Well that depends on your budget, which
color you like, and what size you like.”
• Did not leave her post behind the counter
• Very reticent to open any bags, did not ask us to try
any on
• Awkward silences: the SA was waiting for questions.
We had to lead her
• Did not escort us to the door, yet the store was empty
SA attitude
→ Attitude largely dependent on demographic audience:
Less polite to younger clients & more attentive to the African American male adults

9. Best Practices
• Confident and self-assured behaviour, in
line with the company DNA
• Attentive
• Constantly smiling
• Polite, not judgemental
• Patient: allowed us to look at all the bags
before taking them back
• Provided helpful feedback
Worse Practices
• Talked while we kept carrying bags in both
hands: we felt restricted
• Blocked our view in the mirror
• Laughed at us when we asked for catalogue,
telling us to check online
• Only offered her namecard to one of us (group
of 2 people)
• Clear discrepancy in service: offered
champagne to one customer vs.
water/coke to another
SA human skills

10. Best Practices
• Enhanced desire (took price out of the equation)
• Built excitement (very famous YSL tassle)
• Rapport building, connected on a personal level
• Played on emotion, spoke as though we already
owned the product by making us visualise it as part
of our wardrobe
• Proactive: gave us options
• Objection handling
• Tactile
• Expert Opinion
.
Worst Practices
• Mechanical, following protocol
• Rushed
• No personalisation
• Not interested in the person, just the sale: “Buy
it or get out” mentality with the youngest group
SA selling skills
→ In most cases, the SA increased our connection to the brand and enhanced our
desire to buy

11. When we said we were not buying
Best practices
• Remained friendly
• Tried to understand the reason and adjust the offer
(offered a cheaper bag)
Worse practices
• Didn’t hide her disappointment: took a silent pause
• Tried to convince to buy by bringing up the prestige
of the brand and legitimize the price of the item:
discomfort
• Lost interest in us right away, ran to get her
namecard signalling that the conversation was
finished
When we asked for a reservation
Best practices
• SA made me feel it was a wise decision to ask
for a reservation, since it was a product worth
reserving
Worse practices
• Showed that she didn’t believe it was a serious
reservation
• Rushed me to make up my mind fast by telling
me that a reservation only last a few days
• The service must be different with a regular
customer
Staff reactions

12. Best Practices
• Offered to walk us out
• Sincere “Have a nice day”
• Insisted on the fact that I would be welcomed
back to the store any time
• Showed some interest for a bracelet I was
wearing and complimented on it
• The doorman was very nice, good eye contact
Worse Practices
• Made me wait when a more “regular” client
came in
• Her farewell implied that she wasn’t expecting
me to come back for my reservation
• I saw the SA acting in a better manner with a
higher-buying potential client: frustration
Last impressions

13. APPENDICES

14. From Yves Saint Laurent
to Saint Laurent
• Hedi Slimane eliminated some best-selling items from previous
collections and the animal prints that were signature Yves Saint Laurent
pieces.
• Parisian refinement and sophistication was replaced with Los Angeles
rock ‘n’ roll
• Approachable and wearable: Basic ‘everyday’ items such as tailored
jackets, bikers, bombers, denims
• Classic “investment pieces” that don’t go out of style and are
competitively priced
• Slimane opened up the brand to a younger clientele. The brand targets
self-assured and strong-minded individuals.

15. Musical Muses
Collaborations with musicians since 1971. Association with rock stars such as Marilyn Manson, Courtney Love, and Kim Gordon.

16. Store and Merchandising

17. When we asked a SA which one was “the Yves Saint Laurent colour”, she replied: the blue Majorelle,
and explained to us the history behind it (see next slide).

18. Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent was born in Oran, Algeria in
August 1936. Interested in visiting more of the Maghreb, he discovered
Marrakesh with Pierre Bergé in the 1960s, when it was still secret to the
French luxury industry.
They were appealed by the vibrancy of the colours (namely the Majorelle
blue), the sophistication of the design, and the refinement of the Morroccan
architecture.
Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé acquired the Jardin Majorelle (top
picture) in 1980 to prevent it being turned into a hotel. Together, they
created the only Berber museum in the world, inside Les Jardin Majorelle.
- Les Jardin Majorelle became a popular tourist attraction and had an
influence on contemporary garden design, most notably for its key
color: the blue of workmen's overalls
Yves Saint Laurent’s ashes rest in Marrakesh. There is a monument for him
in the Majorelle gardens (bottom picture).

19. References
Biography.com, Yves Saint Laurent Biography
http://www.biography.com/people/yves-saint-laurent-9469669#later-years
Business of Fashion (2012) “Making Sense of the YSL Retrobranding”
http://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/the-secret-of-saint-laurents-success-saint-laurent-hedi-slimane
Cartner-Morley, J. (2012) “Yves Saint Laurent to be renamed by creative director Hedi Slimane”, The Guardian, June 21
http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2012/jun/21/yves-saint-laurent-renamed
Cole, S. (2015) “Saint Laurent, Yves (1936-2008)”, Encyclopedia
http://www.glbtq.com
Mellery-Pratt, R. (2015) “The Secret of Saint Laurent’s Success”, Business of Fashion, March 5
http://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/the-secret-of-saint-laurents-success-saint-laurent-hedi-slimane
Porter, L (2014) “YSL: Yves Saint Laurent’s Marrakesh”, The Telegraph, March 21
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/africa/morocco/marrakech/articles/YSL-film-Yves-Saint-Laurents-Marrakesh/
Shean, E. (2012) “Saint Laurent sparks consumer curiosity with punk rock campaign”, Luxury Daily, April 5
http://www.luxurydaily.com/saint-laurent-sparks-consumer-curiosity-with-punk-rock-music-campaign/
StyleFrizz (2012) “Saint Laurent Paris. New logo, same Helvetica Font”, July 25
http://stylefrizz.com/201207/saint-laurent-paris-new-logo-old-helvetica-font/
YSL Company website, http://www.ysl.com/corporate/fr/saint-laurent-store-locator/