Elitemarket.com the London based online ultra-luxury showcase, today announced the launch of the first virtual ski village on the Internet. The elitemarket “Ski Pavilion” will give users browser access to a highly select list of the world’s best ski resorts, ski hotels, prime winter vacation property and ski equipment all set within the same virtual ski village.
Unlike the vast majority of websites which are one dimensional and based on text and pictures, elitemarket.com has deployed Flash based graphics to create a high resolution virtual environment with moving images that makes the user feel like they are exploring a real ski resort. The focus of the site is luxury goods and services and the aim is to present luxury brands in an environment that is consistent with, and compliments the essence of, the participating brands.
The luxury industry has generally been slow to adopt new digital approaches to the market but sites like this are challenging the status quo and demonstrating that virtual environments can be both pleasing to the eye and an effective way to view luxury brands.
The First of Many Pavilions
The Ski Resort is the first virtual ‘pavilion’ to be launched by elitemarket.com and this will be followed later this year by a Marina (special focus on Super Yachts), a Fine Wine & Spirits Cellar, Jewellery & Watches, and Fashion & Leather Goods. These further pavilions are already in beta version and can be accessed on the site along with the Ski Resort.
Andrew McErlain, the CEO of Elitemarket states that, “Our goal is to create a top tier luxury environment where discerning ski travellers can explore and plan all aspects of their next vacation. The Ski Pavilion is a one-stop shop for the luxury skier with the finest resorts, top hotels, prime ski property and the best equipment. As an illustration to the commitment to the quality end of the market the site will only list ski property valued at over $1m (US).”
McErlain added: “One of our key objectives in the Ski Pavilion is to give the user a truly immersive luxury experience in an environment that complements the participating brands and resorts. In an industry where the vast majority of websites have got caught in the old design tramlines of a pictures and text format and, as a result, are instantly forgettable, we felt it was time to take a different approach. With the Ski Pavilion, we have created a more visually stimulating browsing environment that is not only pleasing to the eye but is also more effective for the presentation of luxury goods and services.”