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French luxury brand Baccarat, known for its crystal glassware, Rouge 540 perfume and eponymous Manhattan hotel, is making alterations to all its retail stores in 2025, using its recently renovated South Coast Plaza penthouse boutique as the model.
The Costa Mesa store, one of two Baccarat locations in California, is the first to debut a new global store design that will roll out to the rest of the company’s retail footprint. This includes the brand’s forthcoming flagship in New York City’s Meatpacking District.
When asked about selecting South Coast Plaza for the first redesign, North America Chief Executive Adam Banfield pointed to the mall’s 22 million annual visitors and said the local brick-and-mortar consistently ranks among Baccarat’s top three highest-performing locations.
“It was a pretty clear decision,” Banfield told the Business Journal. “People underestimate how important and how influential South Coast Plaza is when it comes to luxury retail in the United States.”
Baccarat first opened at the Costa Mesa luxury shopping center in 1997. Baccarat has dedicated shop-in-shops with its own staff in only two Bloomingdale’s, and one of them is South Coast Plaza.
The boutique reopened in February on the third floor, now spanning almost 1,400 square feet, near Christian Louboutin and the Michelin-starred restaurant Knife Pleat.
“Full admission here: the brand has got an issue, both here in the U.S. and globally, where there is a lack of consistency in retail design,” Banfield said.
“The intent is to create a design approach that we can now begin to roll out with all new store openings, store renovations, so that not every store looks the same, of course, but there is enough of a common thread so that when you come into the Baccarat store, there is enough familiarity to ensure that we can deliver the same client experience no matter which location you are,” he said.
Banfield said Southern California is one of Baccarat’s three key markets along with New York and Miami. The crystal company regularly connects with local interior design firms and architects and will be “deepening those ties” with the recent redesign, Banfield said.
“We’re very happy we’ve done it because it’s been received very well.”
“Between History and Modernity”
Founded in 1764, Baccarat now has around 80 Baccarat locations worldwide including 70 boutiques, restaurants, six bars and a hotel.
The new design, led by agency Moinard Bétaille, is inspired by the historic Baccarat manufacturing facility and original workshop in Lorraine, France.
“You’ll see design features where it’s charred wood inside the space, which is honoring back when the furnaces were first fueled with wood. You’ll see a lot of arch detailing in this space, which again, is a nod to the architectural design. Even the cases that we have at the back of the store are a nod to back when we used to produce product for the World Fair,” Banfield said of the “experiential” aspect he wanted to add to retail stores. “It’s such an amazing experience with the furnaces and the design and to know that our product is still made in the same location that it was first created 260 years ago.”
The newly designed store also has room for a range of offerings from Baccarat, from its whiskey decanters, selling for $1,600, to chandeliers to crystal butterflies. There are sconces going for $6,200.
“We’re not just any one of those things,” he added. “We want exploration. There’s nothing worse than when you walk into a retail store, and you’ve taken it all in within 20 seconds.”
Baccarat plans to double its U.S. boutique count from seven in the next few years and “have more bars in key markets.”