Now At Saks: Salt Rooms, A Bootcamp And A Peek At Retail’s Future

I entered a neon-lit chamber the size of a phone booth and sat on the bench as instructed. Pink Himalayan salt bricks formed the walls, and pink salt crystals crunched beneath my shoes. As the mood lighting changed from fuchsia to gold, hidden speakers piped in birdsong and gentle piano music. Soon, a fine mist of 99 percent sodium chloride filled the air, dispersed from a device called a halogenerator. It was my first treatment in a salt room, and perhaps the only thing more unusual than the experience was its location: I was at Saks Fifth Avenue’s ornate flagship store in the heart of Manhattan’s shopping district. I had wandered into Saks hoping to learn how a venerable department store was dealing with the upheavals throttling the retail industry. As stores around the country reckon with Amazon.com, discount chains and changing consumer habits, they are turning to “experiential” offerings that entice people to enter their doors. Saks, I figured, would be trying out some new concepts of its own. But I was unprepared for what I found on the second floor. There, spread across 16,000 square feet that until recently displayed ready-to-wear Armani and Burberry, was what Saks is calling The Wellery. Read more at The New York Times.