Prada began in Italy in the early 20th century and was known for high-quality leather goods and luggage. The flagship store featured several floors of merchandise organized by product type, with accessories on the main floor, men's items in the basement, and women's clothing on the top floor. Visual displays used mirrors, mannequins and glass cases to showcase the products in a clean, sophisticated environment. The target customer was wealthy and interested in luxury brands.

1. Emily Wiley

2. History
•Began in the early 20th century in Italy
•Started by Mario Prada, Muiccia Prada’s
grandfather
•1st shop in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
•1919 Prada was appointed official supplier to
the Italian Royal Family ( which allowed them
to use the coat of arms and the knotted rope
insignia into its logo
•Originally sold leather goods, bags, luggage,
jewels, crystals, as well as unusual pieces such
as walking sticks
•Had a home delivery service

3. Visual Merchandising
The Main Floor
 Mirrors as backgrounds to the
shelves on the wall, holding
mainly bags
 Glass cases with mirrors
incorporated holding wallets,
clutches, scarves, and gloves
 Sunglasses had own rack on wall
 Special section dedicated to
women’s shoes
 Mannequins displaying women’s
ready to wear even on floor
consisting of only accessories
 The three-tiered effect

4. Visual Merchandising
The Basement
 Menswear
 Marble staircase/glass elevator
separating the clothing from shoes
 Velour couches used for seating
 Rolling racks in corners of the room next
to the staircase
 Racks organized by formal wear to more
casual wear
 Glass cases including messenger bags,
wallets, and cardigans
 Special shelf dedicated to sunglasses on
wall
 Shoes in the back area of room: dress
shoes to more casual leather shoes

5. Visual Merchandising
The Mezzanine
 Consisted of specialty
snakeskin and bejeweled
items
 Mainly bags, clutches, and
shoes
 Smaller floor because less
merchandise
 Velour couches to use for
sitting
 Mannequins used to display
clothing even though this was
an accessories floor

6. Visual Merchandising
The Top Floor
 Women's wear
 Everything from casual dresses to
formal dresses, to women’s suits,
to casual and professional skirts,
pants, button downs
 Mannequins display elegant skirts
with tops and scarves on either side
of partition
 Two pink velour couches facing
each other on either side of
partition
 Glass cases holding cardigans,
clutches, scarves, and wallets

7. Characteristics
 Contemporary lighting, not
obvious
 Very clean, open
merchandise was easy to see
 Marble stair case centered,
with glass elevator next to it
 Glass and mirrors
incorporated in almost every
detail
 Allows the customer to see
themselves with the product

8. Merchandise
 Everything
separated by floors,
from leather goods
to men’s wear to
specialty goods to
women’s wear
 The brand is self
named
 Prada is one of the
highest fashion
leaders in the world

9. Customer Service
 Very helpful on the main floor
and basement
 Relatively aloof as the floors
went higher
 “can I help you find
something?”
 Very busy but managed to be
attentive to every customer on
the main (and busiest) floor
 Different from the Prada
boutiques back home due to
increased consumer market
and larger store

10. Image
 Targeted customer: wealthy,
can afford and appreciate
luxury
 Unusual department is the
mezzanine floor, since the
entire floor was devoted to
only 2 specialty goods,
snakeskin and precious gems
 Unique about the boutique:
mirrors used in almost every
aspect
 Clean and simplistic while
being open and sophisticated
and with a good amount of
product

11. Sources
 http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://leathercraftcentral.com/wp-
content/uploads/2008/07/prda.jpg&imgrefurl=http://leathercraftcentral.com/leather-
bags/leathercraft-success-stories-prada.html&usg=__Iti2bKhpD0bo3nW0-
KYGlKAeh9g=&h=283&w=196&sz=106&hl=en&start=4&sig2=BOnmpQ79Z3QQ6K
VDMT8q1g&um=1&tbnid=YHIZ_xFACmhjpM:&tbnh=114&tbnw=79&prev=/images
%3Fq%3Dmario%2Bprada%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox
%26rlz%3D1I7DKUS_en%26um%3D1&ei=TsEcSqr-AY34Meus8Fo
 http://leathercraftcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/prda.jpg
 http://wharton-women.com/upload/files/Prada-logo.gif
 Prada Milano DAL 1913; The history of Prada (given by the store)