Facing economic lows, we tend to seek refuge in sugar highs, as proven by the sales of candy during the current recession. The question is whether M&M’s really needed the boost. The multicolored candy is one of the most famous brands in the world. To support this brand awareness, “M&M’s World” opened its doors in Las Vegas, Orlando and New York. The New York store (on Times Square, where else?) is the largest candy store in the city. M&M’s World offers an experience much like a real-life version of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. Of course there is the world’s largest collection of M&M’s, spanning three floors and including the requisite merchandising such as souvenirs, toys en piggy banks. For candy lovers it is sensory overload, the sweet smell of thousands of M&M’s meeting you even before you can take in all the candy in its countless color variations. Of course you can taste. The M&M experience also includes an interactive kids section, a race car and a gigantic green M&M Statue of Liberty. It comes as no surprise that the store has become one of the biggest tourist attractions. To keep the store exciting and eventful, M&M’s is always looking to add new experiences. Recently, the store successfully partnered with “Shrek the musical” (inspired by the animated movies). The musical’s producers faced the challenge of performing in a theater a few blocks removed from the mass tourist traffic of Times Square, exactly the place where M&M’s World is a crowd favorite. The partnership materialized in the shape of “Shrek’s Swamp Shoppe.” In this section of M&M’s World, shoppers can buy Shrek memorabilia and can participate in a daily lottery offering winners the chance to buy musical tickets at bottom prices. The lottery is held at 10 am and attracts dozens of extra visitors to the store during what typically is the slowest moment of the retail day. This way Shrek gets the desired mass-exposure and M&M’s gets a new attraction as well as extra visitors. In the end, Shrek and M&M’s both lived happily ever after…

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Earlier this year, Giorgio Armani opened his new flagship store on New York’s famed Fifth Avenue. The city, already hard hit by the current retail slump, welcomed the Italian designer with open arms. Interview magazine wrote: “The store has been years in the planning, but opening it now is an enormous boost, not just to the city’s style but to its confidence.”

Celebrity friends-of-Giorgio Leonardo Di Caprio, Alicia Keys and Victoria Beckham were on hand to help celebrate the official opening of Armani/Fifth Avenue. The 4000 m² glass structure, located at the 56th Street intersection, was designed by Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas. Inside, a floating staircase reminiscent of that other New York landmark, The Guggenheim, serves as the central feature of a veritable “mondo Armani” that includes all six Armani fashion collections, perfumes, sunglasses and other accessories. In a calculated move, affordable collections (Emporio) are showcased next to the more high-end lines such as Giorgio: “The idea is to create something for yourself: what you want, and how you want it. I realize that shoppers want more flexibility and choice now, and that is what I’m hoping to do with this store,” according to Armani himself in Interview magazine.

Armani/Fifth Avenue is much more than a shopping paradise for fashion aficionados. There is also Armani/Ristorante, a restaurant and cocktail bar and Armani/Dolci, a chocolate department. The store even offers concierge services such as dry cleaning. International visitors are not forgotten: the Armani staff speaks 20 different languages, including sign language. Mondo Armani is truly global…

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