Bloomingdale’s anticipates a sweet holiday season.
The retailer is kicking off the holiday season with its annual “Best Holiday Ever” that features The Carousel @ Bloomingdale’s: Wonka, followed by the annual window unveiling hosted this year in partnership with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Launching online Thursday and in-store on Friday, The Carousel @ Bloomingdale’s: Wonka is in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery. The 1,600-square-foot Carousel space has been transformed into a world inspired by the film “Wonka,” which opens in theaters on Dec. 15.
“This year, our holiday is truly the Best Holiday Ever,” said Frank Berman, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Bloomingdale’s. “Our ‘Wonka’ carousel serves as a testament to our unique marketing position and how we embrace pop culture to create experiences for our customer. From our incredibly curated and exclusive gifting assortment to our collaboration with Broadway Cares, Bloomingdale’s will truly come alive through the magic of film and theater.”
“Wonka,” which stars Timothée Chalamet, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant, Keegan-Michael Key and Sally Hawkins, tells the story of how the world’s greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker became the beloved Willy Wonka.
“At Bloomingdale’s we’ve worked with a number of different pop culture/entertainment [properties] and Warner Bros. came to us about a year to a year-and-a-half ago about the prequel to ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,’ with Timothée Chalamet,” said Berman. “It just seemed highly whimsical and inspirational for the color palette and the whole magical background.” He said it is a component of the retailer’s gifting strategy.
“It’s colorful, very fun and a lot of product that’s unexpected. There’s certainly chocolate, there’s certainly candy, but really playing into this palette of bright and happy colors, in fashion accessories, ready-to-wear, and lot of exclusive product that really holds together well and creates a nice point of differentiation for Bloomingdale’s,” said Berman.
Inside will be gifts across categories, such as bags, barware and accessories reminiscent of “Wonka” by Kurt Geiger; licensed “Wonka” must-haves by Trumpette and Art Sugar; exclusive David Yurman bracelets, and Bloomingdale’s beauty Advent calendar. Also being offered are holiday looks for the whole family from brands such as Sandro, Aviator Nation, Golden Goose, Cinq à Sept, Ted Baker, Paul Smith and Piccolini NY. Overall, Berman said there are more than 300 unique products, including “great gifting categories.”
Bloomingdale’s online Marketplace will sell gaming consoles, such as the latest in XBox and Nintendo platforms and accessories, as well as Dyson hair care products.
“I really love the fact that the merchant organization in conjunction with the fashion office really took extra steps to curate one of the best gifting assortments I’ve seen in my 30-plus years at Bloomingdale’s,” said Berman. For example, he pointed to a chocolate chalet to build and electronic products in rainbow colors and the Advent calendar that’s been “a home run for us.” There’s also exclusive product from David Yurman inspired by “Wonka,” such as colorful bangles.
A highlight of the celebration will be the unveiling of the “Wonka-inspired” holiday windows along Lexington Avenue at the 59th Street flagship, which is open to the public. The window lighting event on Nov. 16 will include festive celebrations, philanthropy and a performance. This year’s theme celebrates the Best Holiday Ever, and is inspired by the look and feel of “Wonka.” The windows will be bright and colorful with oversized candies and chocolates, inspired by the film.
The unveiling, which begins at 6 p.m., will be hosted by Amber Ruffin, co-writer of Broadway’s “Some Like it Hot,” with special guest Jonathan Groff, who’s currently starring in “Merrily We Roll Along.” It will feature a performance by Tony Award nominee Norm Lewis (“The Phantom of the Opera”) and Broadway actor and singer Jessica Vosk (“Wicked” and “Fiddler on the Roof”). Following that, there will be customer experiences and activations throughout the store. Additional performances, including Broadway Inspirational Voices, Tony Yazbeck (“Prince of Broadway”), Telly Leung (“Aladdin,” “Glee”), Brittney Mack (“Six”), Preston Dugger, aka DJ Duggz, and the Parsons Dance company.
Among the activations within the store will be Candy Café, presented by Bloomingdale’s American Express Card, which takes place from Nov. 16 through Dec. 31. Bloomingdale’s will put a festive and sweet spin on Studio59, creating a candy café featuring a display of sweet treats and desserts from Sweet Saba.
Shoppers can also visit Santa’s Candy Shop. Santaland will be open from Nov. 24 through Nov. 26. and every Saturday and Sunday following until Dec. 16, when it will remain open until Dec. 24.
On Dec. 2 at Bloomingdale’s 59th Street, at Aventura, Fla., Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia, Short Hills, N.J., and Bloomie’s Old Orchard in Skokie, Ill., guests can purchase a ticket to attend a breakfast with Santa. Tickets will also be available on Dec. 9 at the 59th Street flagship.
On Dec. 2 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., all doors will offer an immersive shopping experience. There will be “Wonka” themed activations, patches, and/or monogramming at the Holiday Bear workshop, Birkenstock gold foil customizations, hot cocoa bar, Nespresso latte art, David Yurman candy bar, Little Brown Beverage Mug customizations, beauty and trunk shows, among other events.
On Saturday and Sunday, and Dec. 9 and 10, the fragrance department at Bloomingdale’s stores around the country will offer upgrades. With live music at select doors, customers who purchase a fragrance can receive a gift-with-purchase and add on engraving and customizations and gift-wrapping.
Continuing its commitment to advance its move into virtual immersive retail and investment in next-generation e-commerce, Bloomingdale’s will launch its third virtual store, developed by Emperia, on Thursday. The new virtual store features a 3D interpretation of Bloomingdale’s flagship, including the holiday window display, gifting room, and beauty bar displaying the iconic checkered floors. Visitors to the virtual store will experience a Willy Wonka chocolate factory, a whimsical space filled with holiday gifting and “Wonka” products, and an opportunity to participate in a scavenger hunt for different chocolate bars.
The holiday celebration also has a philanthropic element. Bloomingdale’s will continue to partner with customers to “b the change,” raising awareness and funds for organizations that advance its mission of building a more equitable, sustainable future for everyone.
This holiday season, Bloomingdale’s will continue its partnership with No Kid Hungry, a national campaign to end childhood hunger. To jump-start November’s No Kid Hungry Partnership, select doors will host ticketed brunch events featuring tastings from local No Kid Hungry supported restaurants and chefs, as well as activations from the home department. Tickets are $50 which include a $50 Bloomingdale’s gift card, $25 donation to No Kid Hungry, and dining voucher to each local restaurant. Until Nov. 30, shoppers can make a donation to No Kid Hungry by rounding their purchase up in-store or making a donation online at checkout.
As a founding partner partner of Child Mind Institute, Bloomingdale’s has raised more than $3 million to support the organization’s mission of transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental illness and learning disorders. To continue this partnership, Bloomingdale’s will host in-store and online donation opportunities from Dec. 1 through Jan. 14, including a portion of sales from the limited-edition Little Brown Bear. In recognition of the Big Brown Bag’s 50th anniversary, this year’s holiday bear is toting a little friend. For every Little Brown Bear purchased at the regular price of $28 through Dec. 31, Bloomingdale’s will donate $5 to the Child Mind Institute.
Broadway Cares has been Bloomingdale’s grant recipient for the past two years. The nonprofit helps people receive lifesaving medications, health care, nutritious meals, counseling and emergency financial assistance.
Asked how these holiday promotions do overall, Berman said, “It’s a big driver of traffic to our store locations, and this idea that ‘retail is theater.’ We’re a social place to shop and we’re a fun place to shop. We’re a place to experience, be inspired and discover things all in this fun atmosphere.”
Berman anticipates bestsellers will include the fine jewelry, the merchandise assortment in the Carousel space based on “Wonka,” the beauty gift sets, the Advent calendar, gifts for holiday/home entertaining and things to wear to celebrate with family and friends.