Bellagio ushers in era of high-end retail on Las Vegas Strip
There’s no shortage of things to do at Bellagio: watch the fountains, tour the conservatory or art collection, see a show, hit a lounge, grab a meal, bet on sporting events, relax by the pool — and gamble, of course. Or go shopping at one of many ultra-high-end stores.
“All of us, when we build properties, we want to build amenities so people don’t leave,” said Farid Matraki, senior vice president, global retail leasing and development, for MGM Resorts International.
As with the rest of Bellagio, the emphasis was on luxury, and at the time the city lacked a purely luxury retail center, he said. “The reason that those brands were not here is the brands did not think there was a project that was luxury enough.
“They went for basically the top of the top, the creme de la creme,” Matraki said. “It started super-luxury, and today it is a super-successful, ultra-luxury corridor,” frequented by visitors and locals alike.
Most of the luxury brands are clustered in Via Bellagio, near the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art at the northeast end of the property, though Hermes, Omega, Valentino, Guerlain and Tesorini are off the lobby.
Collectively the Bellagio stores have one of the highest sales rates per square foot of any retail space in the country, he said.
“Having a beautiful retail environment just adds some cachet to the whole property,” Matraki said. “A casino is a casino. There has to be something unique that can attract the customers.”
Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474. Follow @HKRinella on Twitter.
