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BOKKS LONDON IS A SERVICE WHICH IS RAPIDLY CHANGING THE WORLD OF LUXURY GIFTING. BASED IN LONDON’S MAYFAIR, BOKKS LONDON BOASTS KARL LAGERFELD AS BRAND AMBASSADOR AND A SELECTION OF SOME OF THE MOST EXCLUSIVE PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET.
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THE MONTEBURY MET WITH BOKKS LONDON CEO WALTER BUGNO TO DISCOVER THE WORLD OF BELLHOPS, VERY PERSONAL ASSISTANTS AND THE DIGITAL FUTURE OF RETAILING.
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BOKKS Hop
— white-gloved BOKKS delivery service |
Walter Bugno
— BOKKS
London
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The Montebury — WHAT IS THE ESSENTIAL PHILOSOPHY BEHIND BOKKS?
Walter Bugno — We saw a gap in the marketplace for creating a romance around gifting. The gestation of the idea came when four years ago, one of our shareholders did a great business deal which allowed him to be in the position of choosing to work rather than having to work. He wanted to say thank you to a number of the team members that made it happen, so he wanted to buy a number of gifts for each person and make a hamper. He found that he couldn’t go to one place and deal with one person who would create the hamper. In his mind, that created an opportunity which led to the design of the BOKKS. The most amazing part of a gift is the surprise, so we created the BOKKS with drawers so that every new gift was a new experience. As we got into researching the market a little further, we found that when you receive a gift, there are two key components. The gift itself needs to be desired and the second is how the gift is received or presented. Five years later you might forget that you received the product as a gift but if the presentation and delivery method was special, you will never forget. This ended in the creation of the BOKKS Hop. The delivery and the presentation of the gift, which is the BOKKS, coupled with our bellhop creates an experience of gifting that is way beyond its value.
That is our philosophy from the receiver’s point of view. Our motto as a business is to make the giver look good, because our customers are the givers. It is all about asking the giver what their objective is and once we know that, we can build an experience around satisfying that. It is also about understanding why the business opportunity exists. People are constrained by time, confidence and convenience. We can reach you anytime, anywhere, in the shop, online or we can come to you for a personal meeting. |
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“ No matter whether it is good times or bad times, you will never not gift ”
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WHY CHOOSE TO LAUNCH A SERVICE SUCH AS BOKKS IN SUCH A DIFFICULT MARKET?
Walter Bugno — When we started with the business plan and trying to get to launch, the market wasn’t in this trough that we see now. Our view was that if we can actually make it work in the difficult times, we could certainly make it work in the good times. So many times you build your model on the market, which is bullish, and when it collapses you can’t sustain it. So, we felt quite comfortable as we adjusted our model to suit the market. No matter whether it is good times or bad times, you will never not gift. If it is your wife, husband, son, daughter, mother, wedding, anniversary, Christmas, birthday etc. you will not buy for yourself but you will not forsake that gifting opportunity. It is almost like gifting is recession proof, which was the philosophy behind BOKKS. If you look at the past twelve months, every retailer was speaking about record sales over Christmas.
IN TERMS OF YOUR TARGET MARKET, ARE YOU PITCHING EXCLUSIVELY TO THE HIGH-END OR IS THERE SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY?
Walter Bugno — We are obviously dealing with luxury brands, which is a unique point for us. We didn’t want to carry just any brand, we wanted to work with the world’s leading luxury brands. So, it is very high-end but there is an entry price which is around £200. Realistically, at £200 everyone is a buyer at least once. We have had customers buying at £5,000 and they have become multiple buyers.
WHAT IS THE CUSTOMER BUYING EXPERIENCE LIKE AT BOKKS?
Walter Bugno — A customer can engage with us in a number of ways. The store is currently in phase 1.5. We opened the store in December 2009 as a pop-up store/gift gallery. We want to start creating consultation spaces and phase 2.0 will happen when we receive the handover of Microsoft Surface from our web developers. The whole shop will then be remodeled and will become much more of a personal consultation space.
SO, THE AIM IS TO STOCK MORE PRODUCT DIGITALLY?
Walter Bugno — Correct. We have stock and there will always be product around and you can still come into the store and walk away with a gift. The type of customers we deal with are those that want something today and those that have time to plan. If people want something for today, they can choose from our collections or from our curative range. If it is in stock, we will collate a BOKKS and we can have a bellhop deliver it. That can be done over the phone, online or in store. If you have got time to plan and you want to create something more personal and bespoke, you can book an appointment with a very personal assistant (VPA) either at the store or at a location of your choice. The VPA will come and take a brief, noting who it is for, what you want to achieve and everything about the receiver. From there, the VPAs will hand the brief to our gift imaginers whose job it is to turn that brief into a series of recommendations. We then send that back to you or we can come and present it. I was speaking about Microsoft Surface. We have been working with Microsoft and our web designers to create the first retail application using Microsoft Surface. If you have ever seen the movie Minority Report or James Bond, you would have seen the movable objects on screen, which we are doing in retail. A customer comes into the store with a card (if they are a regular customer, if not, we can make you a card). The card is thrown down onto the table and it opens up a world of luxury. The VPA will be able to browse through stock on the screen, expanding images, focusing on details, creating files etc. From there, if you want to buy on the spot, you can or if you want to see the product in reality, you can. It is a private experience. The VPAs are live on the website all the time, so you can speak to them whenever you like. |
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“ People are constrained by time, confidence and convenience ”
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BOKKS Gift Collections
Bulgari Men’s BOKKS — Diagono 42mm autochronograph watch, sterling silver and soft touch rubber cuff-links, sterling siler and soft touch rubber resin pen and Italian leather wallet with coin pouch by Bulgari
Mademoiselle BOKKS — Dayla handbag by Bulgari, B Zero yellow gold pendant and chain by Bulgari, silver cable fountain pen by Harry Winston and fuschia lambskin notebook by Smythson |
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“ I don’t like mass, and too many times gift-giving is a chore ”
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WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF BOKKS?
Walter Bugno — Our ambitions are very clear. We launched in London but with a view to go beyond to the global market. We launched in London because we are a new brand and London has a heritage of quality. If you carry the London tag, people outside of London see that quality link. London is one of the hubs in terms of proximity to the global brands and the London market is a microcosm of the major markets we want to go to - Russia, China, America etc. We can learn a lot in London before we go to these places. Even though it is expensive, London still has scale where you can start generating a good foundation.
YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO INVOLVE CELEBRITIES IN BOKKS. WHY IS THAT?
Walter Bugno — The luxury market is a long established market. The brands involved in this business have been around for generations and we felt that we needed some good support in order to generate credibility. We presented and pitched BOKKS to a number of people in order to gauge the level of interest. We had two different groups. One was a business group and we created what was informally an advisory board and the idea was to tap into their networks in order to open doors for us. The second was for the consumer and for some of the luxury brands. To have someone like Karl Lagerfeld say “I think this is fantastic” opens a lot of doors. That was the idea behind Karl Lagerfeld. It was about creating a network of people who gave an endorsement to our product. That is the only level of involvement from the celebrities.
WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL BACKGROUND AND HOW DID YOU COME TO BE INVOLVED WITH BOKKS?
Walter Bugno — I have been in the corporate world for a long time, mostly in fast-moving consumer goods around the Asia-Pacific region although I spent some time in Europe. In my last role, I was Chief Executive of a casino group. The creator of BOKKS also owns a design company, which did some work for my casino group. Through that I got to meet him and through one of the social dinners we had one night, he asked me to look at a business plan. I took it away, read through it and gave my feedback. He asked me to meet the other investors and go on a weekend planning trip. At the end of the weekend, they asked me whether I would consider relocating to London in order to run the business. Three months later we reached an agreement and six months after I was here. From what was effectively five pieces of paper, we have a live, trading business. Our goal in 2010 is to consolidate and to make the business sustainable. We are not a cheap investment but so far we have progressed very well.
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON THE LUXURY MARKET AT THE MOMENT?
Walter Bugno — This is my opinion, but I am seeing that people are looking for value which doesn’t necessarily mean price. People are looking for a return on their investment that gives more than just the use of the product. We have got customers who have telephoned and ordered a bottle of champagne for £135. They have spent another £100 to have it delivered by a bellhop. If they went to the discount shop, they could maybe find it for £110, so why are they paying £235? Because there is more than just the product. It is about the message you are giving, which is what people are looking for. We add perceived value and a personalized service. The concept of understatement is real and people do not want to be seen to be bullish, although I think it is more real in the corporate world than in the personal world. You have no idea how much the gift inside the BOKKS is worth, because it doesn’t say until you privately open it and find out. There is a degree of caution in the marketplace because people are unsure. When the market clarifies itself, I think people will get back to normal.
FOR YOU, WHAT IS THE PERFECT GIFT?
Walter Bugno — I recently had my fiftieth birthday. My wife and my son gave me the perfect gift. The perfect gift for me is something that encompasses one of your real passions with some degree of you, which can be your culture, heritage etc. They bought me a pen from Montegrappa. I am a pen-lover and this pen is handmade and has a representation of the church in my hometown in Italy on it. It is something I am passionate about (the pen) with a link to me (my hometown). I don’t like mass, and too many times gift-giving is a chore. We like to delve into what is unique about you. |
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— March 2010
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