Planet Prestige is an online store for premium and niche beauty which was founded in December 2012. So far so good. But, and that is the unusual twist, unlike most online retailers the company has also opened a perfumery here in Berlin. Yes, a proper bricks-and-mortar store.
According to current EU legislation you can only sell cosmetics online if you also have at least one real store, so most online retailers have a street address somewhere to satisfy the requirements and that’s it. The Planet Prestige store on Oranienburger Straße 27, however, is a very stylish stand-alone store. It is also my current Mintel article topic.
What I like about their concept is that the company considers the store to be just as important as the online presence. The location couldn’t be better, it’s right in the middle of the main tourist trail on Oranienburger Straße – around the corner from Hacke’scher Markt and the Museumsinsel and pretty much halfway between Friedrichsstadtpalast and Alexanderplatz, which are all popular tourist destinations.
Planet Prestige sells a good mixture of mainstream and niche beauty brands, there is a little café area with seating outside and a separate gallery space in the courtyard directly opposite. Customers can book beauty workshops and makeovers or just enjoy an espresso after trying out a new perfume.
The opening generated quite a few headlines in the German and Berlin media; Planet Prestige is one of the more interesting start-ups and has an impressive line-up of financial backers so they know what they are doing. Definitely worth visiting!
TRENDS. TRAVELS. AND BERLIN 