Seaside Luxe Brings High-End Retail To Resorts - Business Insider

Murphy O?Brien Public Relations

Seaside Luxe co-founder and CEO Lee Ann Sauter

While wealthy travelers can enjoy almost any amenity at the world's most luxurious resorts, Lee Ann Sauter didn't see any acceptable shopping options.

"There was a place in the market for redesigning resort retail," said Sauter, who in 2008 founded Seaside Luxe, a company that helps luxury resorts open profitable retail outlets or redesign existing stores.

When she started the company, Sauter, a retail industry vet who oversaw regional operations for The Gap and Tommy Hilfiger, said she wanted to make hotel stores a destination for guests who were too busy in their daily lives to really enjoy their retail experience.

"We basically turned it into an activity," she said.

The company does the buying, staffing, and marketing for all of its stores, which can be found at the Four Seasons Resort Hual?lai in Hawaii, the Four Seasons Maui at Wailea, the Terrana Resort and Spa in Palos Verdes, Calif., and elsewhere.

The stores stores carry high-end brands such as Derek Lam, Stella McCartney, and Prova. And for the kids, there's merchandise from Calypso, Lacoste, and James Perse Kids.

In addition to the company's luxury stores, it also sells high-end beach wear and accessories, as well as top-of-the-line golf gear from Golfino, Oscar Jacobson, and Galvin Green.

In Seaside Luxe boutiques, shoppers can order room service to the store, relax, and work with personal shoppers, and the resorts see millions of dollars in revenue. The Hual?lai store, the company's first, makes $3 million in revenue annually, Sauter said.

"It's a win-win-win for everybody," Sauter said. "We hit our numbers [profits] the first year out."

Check out some snapshots from Seaside Luxe's flagship store in Hual?lai.

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