I have walked through thousands of stores in my time and I frequently see the disconnects between marketing and merchandising.

I’ve seen the good, the bad and the downright ugly.

Bloomingdale’s, however, proves to be a notable exception by producing something outstanding.

While I was in NYC, the team at Bloomingdale’s took the Enterprise Ireland group on a tour of their Made in Italy activation.

What I saw was — how do you say it — chef’s kiss.

Here’s why.

First, the website . The landing page itself is its own destination. The “From Italy with Love” campaign shows that the retailer is ALL IN starting with a video immersing the customer in cinema, fashion and architecture.

Scrolling through the page reveals exclusive brands, product images and shoppable categories. Most importantly, activations that give the customer options of how to engage with all things Italy.

When you go into the physical location, you get the same feeling of being drenched in everything Italy has to offer.

The team started us in The Mercato, a pop-up gourmet pantry with items including cookbooks and espresso cups. The product is curated so that the customer is enticed to buy a mix of products that could be used together.

Visual merchandising with an Italian thread tied the entire concept together. For instance, travel posters, Roman columns and whimsical pizza boxes were used throughout.

Even the escalator journey made me feel like I was on the streets of Positano. The visual merchandising was best in class, immersing me into the campaign.

Missoni had taken over the Studio 59 cafe. Naturally, the Missoni collection encapsulated the space and the product placement was purposeful.

Shopfits were reimagined and there was signage at each activation, helping the customer understand why the brand was featured.

Brands collaborated with local Italian restaurants for exclusive products and chefs were featured in the kitchen.

For example, Rag & Bone partnered with Brooklyn’s Lucali pizza. Moonboots had gelato on the weekends and Golden Goose had a personalization station. La DoubleJ, Fendi, and Etro also launched with the retailer and many brands offered exclusive products.

The point here is that brands are involved in the merchandising and marketing strategy.

This is an investment from both the brand and the retailer to ensure the campaign is engaging.

The success of the Bloomingdale’s investment in their Made In Italy campaign remains to be seen with the upcoming Fall/Holiday spending. But, I would encourage retailers to take notice.

Go visit the store and experience the delight. Scroll the website and notice the how the product assortment and brands are curated and easily shoppable. They come to life online and offline.

This is a demonstrative example of what can happen when merchandising and marketing are aligned.

Better yet, this is a great example of when corporate strategy matches in-store execution.

I’d like to call that “Retail’s Dolce Vita.”