1. Emily Wiley 5/28/09
Prada
Surrounded by Abercrombie and Fitch and Mikimoto, Prada’s heavy stone building
makes a statement on 5th Avenue. Its iconic name draw everyone’s attention, some excited by the
possibilities of what is hidden inside, others intimidated by its iconic reputation. Walking into
the boutique, the window displays create a feeling of superiority, with an ad picture as a
backdrop to the mouth watering leather bags that are shown in the window. The main floor is
surprisingly open with mirrored columns on the wall, and a mirror backdrop to the shelves lining
the walls. The glass cases display bags, wallets, scarves, and gloves with perfume bottles gracing
the tops of the cases. The glass cases mainly consist in the center of the room, using the three
tiered effect to draw the consumer’s eye in. Three mannequins greet you at the entrance, each
wearing a simple white top, a wrap skirt that resembles a wind jacket wrapped around its waist,
and thick strapped, high heeled sandals.
Prada was created by Mario Prada, Muiccia Prada’s grandfather, in early 20th century
Italy. The first shop was opened in 1913 in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and sold leather
goods, bags, luggage, semi precious stones, crystals, ivory, ceramics, tortoise shell objects,
jewels, gold, silver, and walking sticks. In 1919 Prada became the official supplier to the Italian
Royal Family, which allowed them to use the coat of arms and the knotted rope insignia of the
House of Savoy into their logo.
Mario Prada’s luxury ideal is still incorporated into the boutiques today. On the Main
Floor of the 5th avenue boutique, the products displayed are mainly bags, perfume, wallets,
scarves, gloves, sunglasses, and shoes, all of which are lit up on mirrored shelves and in the glass

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cases. When you first walk in, the shelves on the walls include mainly large leather and casual
bags, and the glass cases hold clutches, scarves, gloves, and some bags. Perfume is stored on top
of a glass case in the far right corner when you come in, along with cosmetic cases. Prada
luggage serves as a stand to display merchandise as well. The shoes are held in the back behind
the partition of the staircase and elevator. They consist of leather, patent leather, and a variety of
other fabrics as dress and casual shoes, including heels, sandals and flats.
The marble staircase leads downstairs to the men’s only floor, where the same mirrored
backdrop and columns light up the room. The rolling rack holds a variety of men’s casual wear
combined with the same mirrored shelves and racks holding suits, cardigans, wind jackets,
polo’s, short-sleeved and long-sleeved button-downs, and casual slacks. Wallets, briefcases,
messenger bags and cardigans fill the glass cases while one section of the wall is dedicated to
sunglasses. Walk behind the marble staircase, and men’s shoes appear. The shoes are mostly
dress shoes of a variety of blacks and browns, the same mirrored shelves hold the shoes, slightly
tilting them downward to allow the viewer to inspect the details.
Back upstairs 2 stories, on the mezzanine floor, there are Prada’s exotic items, including
shoes and bags embellished with semi precious stones or jewels, along with products made out of
snakeskin. Some products include both embellishments. This floor is smaller, with the same
mirrored shelves, shoe displays, and glass cases. Firm, velour couches are provided for a
comfortable place to sit while trying different products on.

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The next floor is dedicated wholly to the women’s department, where racks attached to
the mirrored shelves hold dozens of casual dresses, pants, button-down shirts, skirts, and jackets,
as well as suits, formal dresses and cardigans. Velour pink couches sit facing each other on either
side of the partition that holds the same staircase and glass elevator, along with mannequins
gracing the sides of the partition wearing elegant scarves, skirts, and tops.
The effectiveness of the displays draws the viewer in using the three tiered effect. The
mirrors lining every wall, shelf, and glass case allow the consumers to see themselves wearing
the product. There are also mannequins on every floor, modeling Prada clothing regardless of
the main consistency of products on the floor, whether it is clothing or accessories. The boutique
is overall very open, and the displays make it easy to see each product. The contemporary
lighting also adds to the effect by keeping every product well lit while the mirrors reflect the
room and the light, making each room feel bigger and brighter.
Coming into the store, the service was very nice. They did not necessarily greet us, but as
soon as we had a question they automatically helped us and were willing to go over the top to
make sure we were comfortable. The lower floor was especially helpful in allowing me to take as
many pictures as I needed, and offering to answer all of the questions that I needed to ask. As the
floors got higher, the service slowly got worse. On the mezzanine floor the sales associate was
on the phone the entire time we were there and soon left the room without offering any help at
all. On the top floor, I pretended to shop for a specific item, and the sales associate was
interrupted from our conversation and promptly left the room without a word to us, then
continued her conversation with another sales associate when she came back, completely

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forgetting that I was a customer in need. The sales associate was also suspicious of why I was
writing, which was understandable, but was impolite when it came to asking if pictures were
allowed, and was not fully focused on the customers. However, the bottom two floors had very
good service.
Prada’s target customer is very wealthy, since Prada’s price range varies from $98 to a
possible $30,000! It starts at the perfume as being the cheapest product up to the snakeskin bags
and the gowns that expand the price range tremendously. My original vision of the store was one
created from the boutiques in Dallas where they do not welcome all customers if they do not fit
the image of their ideal customer. In New York, the sales associates were much more welcoming
to all customers, which helped to change image in my mind. In Dallas, there are not many
customers in the Prada boutiques, while in New York the store was very popular and there were
many customers actually buying the products, which is also rare back home. The most unusual
department was the mezzanine floor with the snakeskin and the semi precious stones, mainly
because there was an entire floor dedicated to the most expensive items in the boutique. The
store’s overall display was the most impressive due to the light, airy atmosphere that strikes the
customer as they walk in, providing a feeling of luxury while keeping it friendly. The sales
associates were very welcoming on the main floor and were eager to help if it was necessary.
This boutique was very unique, due to the mirrored walls and the glass cases. Overall, Prada
provided a very wealthy atmosphere that engulfed the consumer in the best ways possible.