Shoppers who want to stock up on ‘it’ summer dresses and boyfriend blazers will have the opportunity to do so like VIPs when fashion retailer RW & Co. opens its flagship store in Toronto’s Eaton Centre later this month. The Montreal-based clothing retailer will eliminate the temporary shop it currently has in the mall, but before it does, it will transform it into a pop-up ‘RW & Co. lounge’ where the first visitors can party before being the first to have a look at the new, renovated space next door.

The promotional strategy is designed to reward loyal consumers, as RW & Co. is sending e-vites to its insider members, but it also increases engagement, bolstering its social media efforts that presently include a branded Facebook page and regular fashion tweets, explains Julian Brass, CEO and founder of NotableTV.com, who is handling the launch event. Each shopper on pre-opening night will be given printed instructions on how to win a Facebook contest, which requires that they model their purchases and post photos on the NotableTV Facebook page. The ‘model’ that gets the most likes will win a shopping spree at the store.

To promote the launch, buzz marketing agency NotableTV is tweeting the event and sending e-blasts to some of its 25,000 members, says Brass. On May 26, the evening before the official opening, those who are on the guest list (about 600 people to date) will be guided into the store 100 people at a time, shopping at a 25% discount, while others wait in the lounge enjoying cocktails and a DJ.

‘You can’t have them all in the store at once, so the idea is to chill out and schmooze and network, in the RW & Co. lounge,’ Brass tells MiC.