'Tiny, Precious & Beautiful': How to Get Luxury Retail Right
- Juhi Santani
- Nov 4, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 10, 2025
Not all Retail is born equal.
There's Mass, Mid-premium and Luxury Retail of course, and several shades of Grey (or Taupe!) in between.
What sets these retail categories apart? Is it the price tag, the materials, the logo—or something invisible we can’t quite name?
So what really makes retail luxury?
Myth: Luxury = Expensive Materials
Luxury is beyond gold ceilings and marble floors. It is Balance, Proportion, White Space that communicate sophistication.
Looking at an international luxury brand, one word that pops up: Restraint.
Restraint that shows up in a logo.
Restraint in font, in colours, even size of a signage.
Subtlety that manifests in packaging.
'Less is More' in product density.
However, there is another myth that is 180 degree to this myth - 'A luxury store can be built cheap.'
This myth can be even more destructive than the first. A restrained balanced store design can be completely destroyed by poor materials and workmanship. A 'fake' execution of a great idea undermines the space, the experience as well as the product and the brand.
Truth: Luxury is About Control
When a brand owns and controls every component of a brand experience, a cohesive narrative emerges. An integral part of this narrative is the Offline Brand Experience, where a brand can be multisensorial and highly intentional. The way a store looks from outside down to every little display detail signals to a customer whether a brand is Mass or Luxury.
Have you noticed how one can absolutely fall in love with a physical product in a store, while quickly scrolling past an identical one on a website or a digital catalogue?
Most luxury brands choose an offline channel to connect and communicate with their audience for this very reason.
A store is where a well-planned layout slows the customer journey down, pacing it so that one can linger, savour and absorb the fineries of a product.
Where it's not the (low) product density alone but the rhythm of the display that allows each product to shine in a space of its own.
Where lighting and backdrop are just right to enhance the product AND the person trying it on.
Add to it the right textures, scent, music - in short, every sense that capture attention and tell a cohesive brand story.
But Indian Jewellery Brands are not restrained, are they?
Context & Culture define the nuances of luxury.
What happens to 'restraint' when it comes to traditional jewellery (which in the Indian context is gorgeous but rather OTT) and stores with smaller footprint?
Customer engagement & Cultural Context go hand in hand when it comes to brand perception. Creating brand narratives rooted in culture build enduring emotional connections.
Restraint takes on a new contextual definition, celebrating local culture while still placing the product at the core of it all.
What does the future of Jewellery Retail Design in India look like? What does it take to design a jewellery retail store in its nitty gritty?
Find my perspective (and some gyan) on Jewellery Retail Design in the coming weeks.
Tell me in comments what design aspect would you like to me to focus on.
Until then,
love,
Juhi Santani
Retail Design Consultant | Founder Retale Design Solutions
Retale Myth-ology – Demystifying design, one myth at a time.
Retale Myth-ology brings you fresh perspectives on designing for retail and F&B brands. If you’re building an offline presence, subscribe to stay ahead of the game!
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