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Nespresso has launched a new permanent boutique at Bluewater in Kent, following the success of its pop-up store which opened in the shopping centre this summer.
Located on the Upper Guildhall, next to Oasis and Waterstones, this is the seventh Nespresso boutique to be opened in the UK – and the first globally to trial a newly designed customer shopping experience.
The store is designed to ‘eliminate the barriers between customers and Nespresso Coffee Specialists by using mobile technology’ with ‘increased open spaces to encourage greater interaction’.
Coffee Specialists are equipped with tablets, allowing them to spend more time with customers and take orders ‘on the go’, avoiding the need for customers to queue. At the touch of a button, orders are sent to the back office and purchases are ready for the customers to collect ‘hassle-free, within seconds’ at a small window in the coffee wall.
Nespresso UK managing director Francisco Nogueira explained: “We’re excited to introduce our innovative boutique concept in a new and popular location. Our boutiques are a fantastic way for our Club Members to experience the full Nespresso brand, tasting new flavours and learning from our Coffee Specialists about our 23 Grands Crus and their origins. The introduction of this new customer concept will ensure our customers have even more time to interact with our experts and enjoy a seamless experience.”
Nespresso Club Members can also return their used capsules at the boutique so that they can be recycled. This is part of ‘The Positive Cup program’: Nespresso’s sustainability programme to make every cup ‘a positive cup’. The Bluewater boutique will also be a pick up point for online orders, with shoppers able to pick up their orders two hours after ordering.
Headquartered in Switzerland, Nespresso operates in 62 countries and has more than 10,500 employees. In 2014, it operated a global retail network of over 400 boutiques.
