Montblanc Opens Flagship Shop

By William George Shuster, Senior Editor -- JCK Online, December 1, 2003

Montblanc recently opened a 2,500-sq.-ft. flagship boutique in New York City at 57th Street and Madison Avenue. The new store, its 49th North American boutique, is the company's largest. Unlike other Montblanc boutiques, the new store—designed by French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte—features an open, loft-like environment, sleek contemporary displays, and blue tones accented by natural wood and matte silver detailing.

Concurrent with the opening was an outdoor art exhibit at Rockefeller Center. Called "The Art of Shopping in New York," it featured giant Montblanc shopping bags designed by world-renowned artists and commissioned by Montblanc as a "gift to all New Yorkers" to celebrate their "highest art form—shopping." Each "bag" was 10 feet high, seven feet wide, three feet deep and weighed 882 pounds. Consumers got their own paper versions of the art bags with purchases at the new boutique. The exhibit's theme also was incorporated into an ad campaign for the boutique's opening and appeared in New York-region newspapers and in national fashion, lifestyle, and business publications.

Montblanc is an international retailer and manufacturer of fine watches, pens, leather goods, jewelry, eyewear, and fragrances. The company is owned by Swiss luxury goods group Richemont.