10. Nike
The Nike Inc. company is worth
somewhere around $14 billion and it all started with a shoe. In its heyday Nike was such a powerhouse
status symbol that people were being violently robbed, even killed for their
Air Jordans (yeah, remember that?). Having that shoe box, with that swoosh, was
the penultimate in fashion meets sport. That was a meeting of the minds that ushered
in a new wave of celebrity athlete endorsements that continues to this day. The
largest: Tiger Woods earned $100 million over 10 years in 2000 for sporting
Nike gear (“I am Tiger Woods”). Nike was a pioneer in marketing sporting goods to
the masses as must-have fashion, athlete or not. And walking out of the mall
with that shoe box was as close to a retail therapy shoe fetish as most men and
boys will ever enjoy.
9. Ralph Lauren
The internet, in all its glorious
accessibility, has made online shopping a boon for retailers and given high end
designers one more facet for luxury interface with clientele. Ralph Lauren has capitalized on this and
sends out its packages in signature navy boxes embossed with gold lettering and
navy ribbon, contents carefully wrapped in tissue and sealed with a gold foil stamp
featuring the company’s ubiquitous polo pony.
The best part? Polo.com offers free gift wrapping on most purchases! And
if that doesn’t make you feel special, nothing will.
8. J. Crew
There is something so clean and
fresh and reassuringly limitless about those plain brown boxes. They’re the packaging equivalent of a fresh
piece of construction paper. You can
impose upon them any sort of sparkly, cashmere dream. It’s casual and understated elegance, which
is exactly what J. Crew is all about.
7. Victoria’s Secret
It’s pink. It’s shiny.
It’s girly. And by virtue of the
company alone, you know whatever is inside is most likely…exciting, let’s call
it. Brand recognition for VS has grown
by leaps and bounds in the last decade and Limited Brands has grown the
lingerie retailer into a sort of Disneyland of sex appeal and bombshell
angels. Victoria’s Secret and the color pink
have pretty much become synonymous.
6. Veuve Clicquot
What’s more luxurious
than a fancy champagne? Champagne that comes in a box, of course! Champagne itself is a luxury holdover from the French
aristocracy. We all love those
bubbles. And beyond that, we all love
those yellow boxes! Just by virtue of
there being a box pushes this brand above and beyond. How many bottles of wine do you regularly buy
that come in their own box? And we’re not talking Franzia. Established waaaay back in 1772, Veuve
Clicquot markets a lifestyle and just this past year that lifestyle became more
focused on sustainability with an “out of the box” campaign that features more
eco-friendly paper, ink and solvents for their beloved packaging.
