Wellness is changing the way we live and design our living spaces.
In fact, in an interview with Forbes, Khoi Vo, executive director of the American Society of Interior Designers, said that wellness is “the most important trend influencing single-family home design right now.”
This is good news for Gessi, the luxury Italian furniture company that specialises in creating wellness-focused home and leisure environments with premium bathroom and kitchen taps and accessories.
The 30-year-old brand recently opened its first U.S. showroom at 214 Lafayette Street, in the heart of New York City’s SoHo shopping district.
Gessi currently has six showrooms around the world, which he calls “casas,” after the ateliers (also known as “houses”) of luxury fashion brands.
With each store, Gessi strives to redefine the hospitality-first experience its showrooms offer: its new New York store, for example, blends the history and architecture of the five-story building with Gessi’s design-first aesthetic, blending history with modernity.
“The space has different layers, and visitors experience a narrative journey as they move from floor to floor. From the outside, they see the building’s neoclassical façade with graffiti on the doors, and when they step inside they experience a ‘wow’ moment,” says Ilaria Sacchi, showroom manager at Casa Gessi New York.
Occupying 13,000 square feet of the Soho building, each floor has a purpose in the storytelling journey Gessi aims to take visitors on: the second floor, for example, is home to a full-sized swimming pool that has been renovated to showcase Gessi’s range of wellness amenities along with complementary water features.
The same floor also features a counter that mimics the experience of a jewelry store, with Gessi representatives wearing gloves and displaying gemstones up close for customers to inspect.
The third floor is dedicated to the boutique, with the trunk showcasing Gessi’s “Haute Culture” premium product line, while the other floors house entertainment spaces, meeting rooms, workspaces and an outdoor terrace where guests can relax, dine or sip cocktails during their stay.
Finding the right building in SoHo was no easy task for the Gessi team, who surveyed 156 locations across New York City before finally settling on the Lafayette Street location. “We love buildings with a twist,” says Andrea Portigliotti, Gessi’s chief commercial officer. “So we wanted a space that had history and was unique in its architectural character.”
Gessi CEO Gianluca Gessi sees Casa Gessi showrooms as experiential hubs for the company’s faucets and other luxury fixtures. Every Casa Gessi expresses the brand’s private wellness philosophy at various touchpoints, which visitors can experience through videos, one-on-one storytelling and hands-on product experiences.
214 Lafayette Street epitomizes this, as it was originally a power plant, then evolved into residential space for celebrities like Coldplay’s Chris Martin and model Heidi Klum, and was used as the set for Beyoncé’s 2008 music video “Halo.”
Still, this represents a big investment for Gessi because of the high cost of commercial real estate in Lower Manhattan, where SoHo is located, where the average sales price is $650 per square foot.
To strengthen its commitment to the US market, Gessi has also built a US-based supply chain outside of its main manufacturing base in Italy, enabling it to deliver products within 24 hours, meeting the expectations of 61.3% of US consumers who expect and are willing to pay for next-day delivery.
Gessi also utilizes the space for in-person events and experiences, capitalizing on the 91% of customers who report having a memorable experience or feeling more positive about a brand after attending an event.
The events are part of the brand’s experiential retail strategy, which ranges from launch parties with 500 guests to collaborations with other Italian luxury brands and private events such as yoga classes on the building’s terrace.
These events are about more than just showcasing products: they are also about creating and building a community hub where New York-based Gessi luxury consumers can meet and interact with their target audience.
Looking ahead, Gessi has significant expansion plans, including additional showrooms on the West Coast, in Canada and Mexico. Gessi also plans to open a branded hotel near its headquarters in Italy to demonstrate the many ways its products can be utilized by the design community.
“Over the past few decades, much of the quintessential American retail experience has become impersonal. What luxury retailers have always done well is buck this trend and provide a warm experience by making their brick-and-mortar stores feel personal and customer-centric,” said Michael Miraflor, chief brand officer at Hannah Gray.
Gessi’s approach emphasizes this philosophy by creating premium retail environments that foster relationship-building and experiential shopping, which translates into a meaningful and memorable buying experience.