EP.92 COFFEE, CULTURE, CUSTOMERS AND CAPSULES" with Anatoliy Korolenko, Sr. Manager of Store Development, Nespresso USA

ABOUT ANATOLIY KOROLENKOAnatoliy’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anatoliykorolenko/BIO:Anatoliy Korolenko is a retail real estate and development executive with more than a decade of experience leading growth, portfolio strategy, construction, and facilities for some of the world’s most recognized consumer brands.Currently leading Real Estate and Development for Nespresso USA, Anatoliy is responsible for shaping the brand’s U.S. retail footprint—from market strategy and site selection through lease negotiations, design, construction, and ongoing portfolio optimization. His work combines consumer and market analytics with real estate economics to identify growth opportunities and translate brand strategy into high-performing physical retail environments.Prior to Nespresso, Anatoliy held a senior development and facilities leadership role with EssilorLuxottica, supporting a large multi-brand retail portfolio that included Lens Crafters, Sunglass Hut, and Ray-Ban.Throughout his career, he has focused on the intersection of real estate, customer experience, and business performance—building strategies that treat physical retail not simply as a distribution channel, but as an important driver of customer acquisition, brand engagement, and long-term growth.*                     *                          *                          *SHOW INTRO:Welcome to Episode 92 of the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast and my conversation with Anatoliy Korolenko – who leads the Real Estate and Development for Nespresso USA.In every episode we follow our catch phrase about having “Dynamic Dialogues About DATA: Design, Architecture, Technology and the Arts.”And as we continue on this journey, we’ll continue to invite guests on our journey that are thought provoking futuris ts, AI technology mavens, retailers, international hotel design executives as well as designers and architects of brand experience places.We’ll talk with authors and people focused on wellness and sustainable design practices as well as neuroscientists who will continue to help us look at the built environment and the connections between our mind-body and the built world around us.If you like what you hear on the NXTLVL Experience Design show, make sure to subscribe, like, comment and share with colleagues, friends and family.The NXTLVL Experience Design podcast is always grateful for the support of VMSD magazine.VMSD brings us, in the brand experience world, the International Retail Design Conference. I think the IRDC is one of the best retail design conferences that there is bringing together the world of retailers, brands and experience place makers every year for two days of engaging conversations and pushing us to keep on talking about what makes retailing relevant.You will find the archive of the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast on VMSD.com.Thanks also goes to Shop Association the only global retail trade association dedicated to elevating the in-store experience.SHOP Association represents companies and affiliates from 25 countries and brings value to their members through research, networking, education, events and awards. Check then out on SHOPAssociation.orgToday, EPISODE 92… I talk with Anatoliy Korolenko who leads Real Estate and Development for Nespresso USA … This conversation is effectively based on a tour that we took of the Nespresso flagship store on 5th Ave. at the corner of 16th St. in New York. We cover a lot of ground about how a store is laid out how elements of storytelling merchandising experience and design and construction all come together to make memorable moments of relevant engagement.We’ll get into all of that in a minute but first a few thoughts…I've been working in the world of retail design for more than 30 years and there are subjects that have been foundational to my early learning from my first employer Joe Weishar at New Vision Studios, which I've talked about before in previous episodes.Not often do you find most of them beautifully executed in one store. But that was exactly my impression when getting a tour of the Nespresso store on 5th Ave. Corner of 16th St. in New York.Nespresso was founded in 1986 as a Nestlé subsidiary after employee Eric Favre invented a single-serve pressurized coffee system inspired by a popular Roman espresso bar.Favre visited Rome's Sant'Eustachio café and observed how intermittent water pumping created superior aeration and crema, l