The shop in the men’s department is kept at 18 degrees and intended for customers to test out the brand’s outerwear.
After installing an indoor ice-skating rink in the men’s department of its shop at the Bloomingdale’s flagship last holiday season, Polo Ralph Lauren was charged with upping the ante.
And it did. From now until Dec. 15, the brand will host customers inside a Polar Ice Lounge that is kept at a chilly 18 degrees. The lounge is created from more than 100 large ice blocks and 3,000 pounds of ice. Customers are invited to try on one of the brand’s coats, including its battery-powered parkas, and step inside for a cup of hot apple cider.
“This is the evolution of the ice-skating rink,” said Kevin Harter, group vice president of integrated marketing for the department store. “Polo is a really valued partner and we have a strong outerwear business with them. They always come up with very creative activations for holiday and Father’s Day.”
Harter is hopeful that this activation will be as successful as the one last year. “We handed out 15,000 cups of hot chocolate,” he said. “That told us how engaged our customers were.”
It also ties into the retailer’s holiday advertising campaign, Out of This World, which will draw its inspiration from the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing, Harter said. Other activations at the store for the season include Daily Harvest Latte Counter coffee sampling and a virtual reality space experience.