Happy Holidays honey, here is this wonderful personalised gift that I spent hours scouring international territories for in the exact colour and style that you love ... except, well, actually my gift concierge found it.”
Last month a flurry of gift concierges, experiential gift companies and services launched, all aiming to help the cash-rich and time-poor find poignant gifts for loved ones. While there's nothing particularly new about the gift adviser, the level of product, and the help available, has increased exponentially. These aren't mere gift-recommending services that offer suggestions but still put the onus on the gifter to pick; these are gift-getting services.
Bokks (www.bokks.com), the new London-based experiential gifting company that offers everything from private planes (Edése Doret Boeing Business Jet for a cool £85m) to intimate live performances by Lenny Kravitz, opened its Mayfair store last month with an accompanying online retail site and plans to roll out the concept globally; Net-a-porter.com has launched a gift-finder service with same-day delivery (for residents in London) and gift-wrapping in addition to its existing fashion advisory service; the personal concierge service, Quintessentially, has introduced Quintessentially Bespoke (www.quintessentially.com), a collection of luxury limited edition products from brands including Richard James, Michael Kors and Matthew Williamson; and stores, from Selfridges in London to Barneys in New York, are expanding their customer concierge services for the busy holiday period.