The arrival of AI on the scene is clearly top of mind. Andr\u00e9 Maeder, chief executive officer of Selfridges, <\/a>said AI \u201cwill change almost everything dramatically, and a lot of jobs will go,\u201d but at the same time, \u201cnew jobs\u201d will emerge in the future. AI will be beneficial to shoppers, \u201csurfing\u201d a store\u2019s website and there will be \u201cmuch less paperwork and a better use of data\u201d all around. Maeder, who was bestowed the RLC Honors Luxury Retail Leadership\u00a0Award the evening before, noted an increased interest in jobs in retail.<\/p>\n A Global Market<\/p>\n The luxury market over the past decade has become truly global, executives contended. Addressing new geographies and catering to the sensibility of those customers is a new challenge the sector faces daily.<\/p>\n Burak \u00c7akmak, CEO of the Saudi Fashion Commission,<\/a> said Saudi Arabia remains \u201ca black box\u201d to many people, with limited understanding of the region\u2019s lifestyle and culture. For example, he said very few know that the holy Ramadan is \u201ca full month of shopping,\u201d and urged brands to realize it could become a significant moment in terms of business, just as much as Chinese New Year or Singles\u2019 Day.<\/p>\n In fact, in China for example, said Alison Rehill-Erguven, CEO of Cenomi Centers, brands that \u201cactively do research connecting to local culture,\u201d to artisans, designers and festivals, are most successful and \u201ctruly resonate with the Chinese.\u201d<\/p>\n Rahul Prasad, managing director Asia-Pacific, Middle East and India at retail strategy and consulting firm Pike Preston Partners, provided a candid snapshot of India, a burgeoning market for the luxury industry.<\/p>\n \u201cIndia culturally and historically has always been a luxury market. It\u2019s the only country outside of Europe that can boast the [same] longevity and the historic presence [of the sector],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Despite this, too many brands have drawn comparisons between the country and China, relying on similar playbooks based on the assumption that \u201c[big] population and disposable wealth equate to multiple points of sale. But they don\u2019t. There is the quality of real estate. There are several dynamics in purchasing patterns that follow traveling patterns and linguistic barriers in India that do not exist in other geographies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Technology and Customer Attention<\/p>\n Acknowledging that technology is having a seismic impact on the luxury industry, Armani<\/a>\u2019s Hooks said that the interconnected digital environments will lead to \u201ca sort of new common culture\u201d resolving the long-debated dilemma of balancing the preservation of one brand\u2019s identity and customization.<\/p>\n \u201cAs consumers shift to Asia or outside of Europe, obviously it\u2019s very important for [companies to keep] the customer at the center, to understand what the customer wants, anticipate the desires, but as you do that, it\u2019s the consumer that rules the roost\u2026 but if you go too far, you lose all your identity,\u201d Hooks said. \u201cI think, in a way, the problem resolved itself, because we\u2019ll go beyond all of that. I think we\u2019re heading towards a great period of disruption. I think heritage and all that will not be as strong [an asset] as we think it is\u2026 There\u2019ll be an incredible spurt of modernity.\u201d<\/p>\n Silvio Campara, CEO of Golden Goose, said it was more important \u201cto remain relevant, rather than focusing on the bottom line, on the next CEO or creative director. Do I have people in the store? Are they engaged? Do I have the right value? Am I speaking the right language? Do I see the reason of my success stretching into the future? These are the questions we must ask ourselves.\u201d He touted the importance of a chief emotional officer in a successful business.<\/p>\n Michael Kliger, CEO and managing director of LuxExperience, took a positive view of the current scenario. \u201cWe are in better shape than last year, it may be surprising but there is again an interest in fashion. Several brands have worked on increasing creativity and hired new designers, and I predicted [last year] that half of those new creative directors will work. I won\u2019t say which though,\u201d he said with a chuckle.<\/p>\n \u201cIn April and May, consumers are back,\u201d but Kliger believes \u201cwe need to give people a reason to come to us and to buy, not simply because we have products.\u201d Customers, he continued, are \u201clooking for a clear direction, relying on clarity. We cater to emotions.\u201d For example, raising the cultural aspect of Yoox, which is operated by LuxExperience with Mytheresa, Net-a-porter and Mr Porter, and \u201cdistilling what makes it unique\u201d has been very successful, Kliger said.<\/p>\n Also, he urged to be \u201cvery careful with language,\u201d since consumers don\u2019t think in terms of channels.<\/p>\n That said, several speakers touted the continued importance of wholesalers and multibrand stores, \u201cwhere you can find variety, new brands, and new collections, and some have become our brand ambassadors,\u201d said Brunello Cucinelli CEO Luca Lisandroni. Multibrand retailers \u201chave devoted their life to fashion and can really judge creativity, contemporary appeal and relevance with their own point of view and cultural curation.\u201d<\/p>\n Lana Todorovich, chief global brands officer, Saks Global, also highlighted the relationship with customers and how AI helps \u201cenable these relations,\u201d and build loyalty, citing a 90 percent returning customer.<\/p>\n To fuel this interest, brands need to ramp up creativity.<\/p>\n Serge Brunschwig, senior adviser\/luxe, CEO2CEO Consulting, recalled how Karl Lagerfeld would always be thinking of the next show just as the last model walked the Fendi runway. \u201cMake sure every success leads to the next, make sure you deliver value, as everybody wants to make a good deal,\u201d he said, recalling how raising prices after the pandemic brought disaffection to many luxury brands. \u201cLuxus comes from Latin, and the original term meant twist, so surprise is needed.\u201d As an example, he cited Chanel, and how its designer Matthieu Blazy has succeeded in connecting with a new generation.<\/p>\n Luxury\u2019s Draw<\/p>\n Despite global volatility, investors\u2019 appetite for the luxury industry is not waning. Rather it\u2019s shifted, with an ever more diverse portfolio of suitors.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it comes to private equity and financial investors there are cycles and points in them where the interest is higher. Luxury remains a very attractive industry where there is structural growth and potential [high] margins,\u201d said Prada Group\u2019s chief financial officer Andrea Bonini.<\/p>\n \u201cI think what makes it also unique, aside from being an attractive industry, is that it\u2019s also a very sort of emotional type of investment, emotionally attractive. The visibility, the noise that surround a luxury deal, even if it\u2019s a small deal, compared to many other sectors, it\u2019s huge, because ultimately, it\u2019s a sector that people find interesting, like and know the product of,\u201d Bonini said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn addition to the rational side of things, it also appeals to a more sort of irrational side of things, so there\u2019s pride in owning some of these assets, and that\u2019s why I think we\u2019ve seen waves of unexpected or unusual buyers [over time]\u2026 at some point there was the wave from Middle East investors, then there was a wave of Chinese investors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is one of the oldest sectors that we know of. Egyptian tombs are full of luxury goods and jewelry. It\u2019s an industry that is at least 5,000 years old and I can\u2019t recall any industry that has proven such a durability. So, I think it\u2019s by definition an investable space,\u201d echoed Francesco Pascalizi, partner, co-head of consumer, Permira, which recently exited its investment in Golden Goose. He noted that a good return on investment now takes more care and patience.<\/p>\n Family-owned, Long-term Vision<\/p>\n The long-term business approach is engrained in family-owned companies by nature.<\/p>\n Antonio De Matteis, Kiton\u2019s CEO and men\u2019s creative director, touted his brand\u2019s commitment to quality, innovation and people \u2014 the three ingredients he believes make for a successful recipe in future-proofing the business.<\/p>\n These are elements, he said, that increasingly knowledgeable consumers can perceive and are interested in.<\/p>\n \u201cStaying true to yourself while reinventing yourself is the solution,\u201d concurred Stefano Canali, CEO of the namesake company. \u201cAuthenticity is the word: you stick to your values and keep evolving the execution of them, which is a pretty difficult task to accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n That approach is also the foundation of a \u201cquality-to-price\u201d ratio, he contended. \u201cThe prices should assess the inherent quality of products. We know the price is influenced also by other factors \u2014 currency fluctuations, energy costs, inflation \u2014 but if they factor in exceedingly more than the quality, that means one is just getting greedy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cPrice per se doesn\u2019t mean much. If you deliver the right quality, service and uniqueness you can make customers pay those prices,\u201d De Matteis concurred.<\/p>\n Best of WWD<\/p>\n Sign up for WWD’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MILAN \u2014 Industry executives gathered in Milan at the Four Seasons Hotel on Thursday at the RLC Fashion…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476644,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[13927,102826,12808,146,9172,12859,221153,85,46,221152,221154,221155],"class_list":["post-476643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-armani-group","tag-brunello-cucinelli","tag-chief-executive-officer","tag-entertainment","tag-fashion","tag-global-market","tag-golden-goose","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-john-hooks","tag-michael-kliger","tag-rlc-honors-luxury-retail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} Golden Goose <\/p>\n
From the Road to Solomeo collection by Brunello Cucinelli for the Neiman Marcus Group. <\/p>\n