April 2020: Luxury News
March 2020: Luxury News
March 30, 2020
1. A Learjet Converted Into a Street-Legal Limousine
AKLC COMMENT(S): Interesting!! Luxury for some, an aspiration for many
Unsure if a limousine or private jet is a more ostentatious way to splash out some cash? Why choose? Especially when you can spend your money on a vehicle that combines the best of both worlds—the Learmousine.
That’s right, someone on planet Earth actually decided to convert a Learjet into a limousine, and now the bonkers prototype is scheduled to hit the block at Mecum Auctions’ upcoming Indy 2020 sales event.
Article link: https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/limo-jet-learjet-auction-mecum-2909912/
2. Phillips Is Selling One of The Armoury’s Timeless Jackets to Benefit WHO’s Covid-19 Fund
Auction house Phillips usually makes headlines for selling some of the world’s rarest watches, but, for the first time, it is partnering with a modern tailoring mecca, The Armoury, to sell jackets.
The Hong Kong- and New York-based menswear store produced a limited edition version of its City Hunter 2 jacket that will be sold through Phillips Perpetual. Proceeds from the sale will be donated to the World Health Organization’s Covid-Solidarity Response Fund. The fund pours its global resources into studying and tracking the disease to better understand its spread, ensure patient care and develop guidelines and advice to inform the public and public policy.
Article link: https://robbreport.com/style/menswear/phillips-is-partnering-with-the-armoury-to-fight-covid-2909948/
3. Coronavirus Casts A Pall Over The Luxury Market That Will Take Years To Recover From
AKLC COMMENT(S): This is survival of the fittest, maybe we will see a lot of new acquisitions and mergers
Two of the world’s leading authorities on the luxury market, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Bain and Company, are out with their latest assessments of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the luxury market. Their findings are sobering, at best.
What once was a shining light in the consumer market has now gone dark and threatens to stay dark for quite some time.
In February, BCG estimated the global personal luxury market could lose $33 to $44 billion in sales (€30 to €40 billion) this year.
4. Rodeo Drive hotel planned by French luxury retailer LVMH
AKLC COMMENT(S): Great to read some news which is towards development and expansion
French luxury goods purveyor LVMH plans to expand its presence on Rodeo Drive in a big way — with an ultra-premium hotel intended to be the most deluxe inn in Beverly Hills, which already has its fair share of deluxe inns.
The parent company of brands such as Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and Dom Perignon recently applied for city permission to build a 115-room hotel on property it owns at the corner of Rodeo Drive and Little Santa Monica Boulevard.
Article link: https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-04-01/rodeo-drive-hotel-planned-by-french-luxury-retailer-lvmh
5. Under lockdown ahead of Ramadan, luxury brands must adapt
In the month leading up to Ramadan, which this year is expected to fall from 23 April to 23 May, shopping malls across the Middle East are filled with people preparing for the holy month. Stores can expect high demand for specially styled kaftans; for Eid al-Fitr, the three-day celebration marking the end of Ramadan, it’s tradition to buy festive jewellery. According to industry experts, Ramadan sales account for up to 15 per cent of annual revenue for brands with physical stores, which in the Middle East are concentrated in malls, as sales spike for fashion brands around the holiday.
This year, as a result of shutdowns and shelter-in-place mandates from Middle Eastern governments to stop the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, will be different.
6. F1 teams, luxury automakers step up to help pandemic fight in Europe
Formula One teams and luxury automakers take speed very seriously, and that means they can appreciate not only how fast a novel coronaviurs can spread, but how quickly they need to reconfigure their workshops to build supplies to fight against it.
Project Pitlane is an effort by those teams to rapidly produce ventilators, machines that help patients with lung failure to breathe.
Article link: https://driving.ca/mercedes-benz/auto-news/news/f1-teams-luxury-automakers-step-up-to-help-pandemic-fight-in-europe
7. Bain: How Will Luxury Change For the Better Post-COVID-19
The luxury industry, as we know it, will be fundamentally changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a recent Bain & Company brief published last Thursday “Luxury after COVID-19: Changed for (the) Good?,” amid overall losses, companies could make this a positive turn of events for their future operations if they are fast to adapt.
The global consultancy’s Milan office modeled three scenarios on the luxury market’s future performance and predicted that the industry will shrink 15-35% depending on how hard the pandemic hits. Moreover, the brief breaks down six consumption trends, with an ever-more important China market at the top of the list.
Article link: https://jingdaily.com/bain-how-will-luxury-change-for-the-better-post-covid-19/
8. 5-star quarantine: Luxury accommodations become self-isolation facilities
AKLC COMMENT(S): WOW
Governments around the world have implemented drastic measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. A number of countries, including the United States, have closed their borders to foreigners — some, like Australia and Singapore, have even gone so far as to bar transiting passengers from entering their airports. And some countries, like Saudi Arabia, have temporarily suspended all international flights.
Luxury hotels and budget motels alike have lost the majority of their bookings overnight, even as travelers have been ordered into mandatory quarantine, some of them when they return home from overseas and some in transit or as they arrive at vacation destinations. Dozens of governments have mandated self-isolation for a minimum of 14 days upon arrival.
Here’s how some of the world’s nicest accommodations have been repurposed for coronavirus quarantines.
Article link: https://thepointsguy.com/news/luxury-quarantine-hotels/
9. Coronavirus: Dior Reopens Baby Dior Factory To Produce Face Masks
Dior is the latest brand to join the group of labels helping to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The French fashion house announced on Instagram that they have reopened a Baby Dior workshop factory in Redon to produce masks with volunteer staff.
Article link: https://www.mansworldindia.com/style-luxury/fashion/coronavirus-dior-reopens-baby-dior-factory-to-produce-face-masks/
10. 15 beauty brands giving back during the COVID-19 outbreak
AKLC COMMENT(S): Love how everyone is coming in together, thus making a difference
As a consequence of the novel Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve seen beauty brands–both big and small–close to home and around the world rushing to lend a hand wherever possible. Whether it is relocating funds to support affected families or converting factories to provide hospitals with much needed medical essentials, these companies are making a bigger impact now, more than ever. So, if you’re looking to restock your beauty cupboard in the future, remember them as the ones who went the extra mile to help people around the world.
Article link: https://elle.in/article/15-beauty-brands-giving-back-during-covid-19-outbreak/
11. Luxury linens companies shift gears to fight COVID-19
Luxury home textiles companies are doing their part to support the fight against COVID-19.
Some are producing protective masks, others are donating funds to help their local communities cope with and combat shortages caused by the pandemic.
Article link: https://www.hometextilestoday.com/covid-19-and-home-textiles-industry/luxury-linens-companies-shift-gears-to-fight-covid-19/
12. Nykaa raises Rs 100 crore from Steadview Capital
AKLC COMMENT(S): 🙂
Beauty and fashion retailer Nykaa has raised Rs 100 crore ($14.4 million) from existing investor Steadview Capital, a UK-based hedge fund. Avendus Capital was the financial adviser to the deal.
Article link: https://in.fashionnetwork.com/news/Nykaa-raises-rs-100-crore-from-steadview-capital,1203771.html
13. Creating unique content, not clothes, as a moral booster during the Covid-19 pandemic
AKLC COMMENT(S): wowww
Fashion houses have begun reaching out to their massive global communities via social media to encourage creativity at home, healthy living and inter-connectivity during the global lockdown caused by coronavirus.
14. Alexander Wang Launches Archival Sale To Support Coronavirus Relief
AKLC COMMENT(S): Luxury has a heart and soul <3
Alexander Wang is the latest luxury brand to provide aid to the coronavirus pandemic. The designer has launch a limited time archival sale to support the coronavirus relief. Dubbed as the “Vault,” the sale will benefit the World Health Organisation’s COVID Solidarity Response Fund.
Article link: https://www.mansworldindia.com/style-luxury/fashion/alexander-wang-launches-archival-sale-to-support-coronavirus-relief/
15. From digital fashion weeks to showcasing products on TikTok – Here is how the luxury sector in China adapted to the coronavirus pandemic
Partnering with Tmall, the first digital Shanghai Fashion Week went out with a bang on March 30. During a seven-day event running from March 24 to March 30, more than 150 brands and more than 10 buyer shops and platforms joined the e-commerce extravaganza. STYLE takes a look at the winners as fashion labels jump on the live streaming bandwagon in China, and examines who is trending for the wrong reasons.
16. How a 140-Year-Old Shirting Mill Is Leading Menswear’s Sustainability Effort
AKLC COMMENT(S): Love the way they work! So interesting
In large parts of the men’s fashion industry, the sustainability conversation still feels like an afterthought. Behind oil production, fashion is the second biggest polluter on the planet and menswear brands are lagging behind their womenswear equivalents when it comes to cleaning up their manufacturing processes, reducing air miles and rethinking the use of high-impact materials.
In womenswear, brands like Stella McCartney have made significant steps to reduce their carbon footprint in recent months (McCartney has now removed all virgin cashmere from its collections, which has reduced the brand’s annual air miles by 20 percent alone), while a whole generation of start-up brands like Bite and People Tree has launched to offer women low-impact clothes made from organic materials. Most men’s brands, by contrast, seem eerily quiet on the subject of sustainability.
Article link: https://robbreport.com/style/fashion/albini-sustainability-2911925/
17. From California to Maine, Small US Distilleries Stepped Up to Make Hand Sanitizer in the Wake of Covid-19
AKLC COMMENT(S): Great news:)
As the distiller behind Los Angeles’ Amass, Morgan McLachlan spent the first couple months of 2020 on the road visiting many of her major markets, from London and Paris to San Francisco. She also happens to be pregnant—which, she says, made her feel “more vulnerable when traveling, and so maybe more aware of the coronavirus situation earlier on.” More than a month ago, McLachlan started making batches of 70-percent-alcohol-based hand sanitizer for herself, friends and family, based on her knowledge of chemical formulations and a personal interest in botanicals and historic remedies. Then word got out. “We made a small batch available online, just to see if people might want it, and it sold out immediately,” she notes. Now, the Amass team has ramped up production of the sanitizers, which started shipping out to customers in late March.
Article link: https://robbreport.com/food-drink/spirits/gallery/american-distilleries-make-hand-sanitizer-2909759/
18. Can Luxury Brands Stand Out With Humor?
AKLC COMMENT(S): Great! We are in this together
During the many, many weeks of lockdown in China, social media channels like Weibo and Tik Tok were flooded with humor viral videos, as bloggers, tucked away in quarantine, turned the banality of daily life into one short funny video after another. Examples: a man fishing in a fish tank, people playing mahjong wearing cosmonaut suits, a lion dance performed by a family hidden under a giant plastic bag, or a woman going out to exercise in a full Christmas Tree costume, sporting Michael Kors handbag.
Articlelink: Can Luxury Brands Stand Out With Humor?
19. McKinsey: The Luxury Goods Industry During And After Coronavirus
AKLC COMMENT(S): Key takeaways- Enhance your digital engagement, review your demand and inventory again, access the strength of your supply chain and adjust merchandising plans.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, every company’s first priority is, of course, to protect the health and safety of employees, consumers, and business partners. Indeed, luxury companies have pivoted to address urgent public-health needs: factories that produced scarves and perfume now manufacture face masks and hand sanitizer, and many luxury groups have made monetary donations to hospitals and other not-for-profit organizations. At the same time, with millions of people relying on the luxury-goods industry to make a living—from factory workers and retail-store employees to small-town artisans and craftsmen—industry leaders are planning ahead and wrestling with longer-term strategic questions to ensure the survival of their businesses.
In this article, we discuss the impact of the crisis on the luxury-goods sector. We then recommend two sets of priorities for industry executives: short-term actions for “navigating the now” and longer-term considerations for shaping the future.
Article link: https://jingdaily.com/mckinsey-the-luxury-goods-industry-during-and-after-coronavirus/
20.Post Coronavirus, Luxury Brands Must Focus on Culture, Not Products
AKLC COMMENT(S): Whatever you do, do it with your heart and soul!! This is such an interesting read and totally echoes with our beliefs.
Patrizio Miceli, head of creative agency Al Dente and its sister food operation, Al Dente Salsa, is an old hand at crisis communication. During the 2008 financial crisis, he launched Aldentelacrise, a blog for people to vent about the global economic meltdown.
Times have changed. With social networks now allowing people across the globe to talk to each other directly, Miceli is focusing on evolving the communication strategies of his luxury clients, which include Louis Vuitton, Boucheron and Emilio Pucci. Founded 16 years ago, his agency employs 25 people and has its own film production arm as well as two photo studios.
Even before the coronavirus pandemic hit, Al Dente was looking beyond social media to other digital platforms, including Netflix and Spotify, devising campaigns that extend farther than product into cultural content.
21.The future or travel – Etihad Airways is testing scanners that can detect if a passenger is sick
AKLC COMMENT(S): Safety first, always!
If there’s one thing that COVID-19 has taught us, it is to travel safely. And while many of us may steer clear of flights for a long long time, those needed to fly post lockdown will be relieved to know that airlines world over are now coming up with measures to tackle the risks of disease transmission in transit. In working on similar lines, Etihad Airways is all set to trail scanners that detect whether passengers traveling with them are sick.
22. Sales drop at LVMH as virus forces store closures
AKLC COMMENT(S): 🙁
Louis Vuitton owner LVMH on Thursday posted a 17% drop in comparable sales in the first quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic, as government-imposed lockdowns forced it to close stores and production sites in key markets.
Article link: https://in.fashionnetwork.com/news/Sales-drop-at-lvmh-as-virus-forces-store-closures,1207749.html
23. L’Oreal banks on cosmetics bounceback, citing Chinese pick-up
Maybelline make-up manufacturer L’Oreal said on Thursday it was counting on a quick recovery in cosmetics demand once global lockdowns to combat the coronavirus pandemic ease, pointing to a recovery already under way in China.
Article link: https://in.fashionnetwork.com/news/L-oreal-banks-on-cosmetics-bounceback-citing-chinese-pick-up,1207802.html
24. House of Anita Dongre starts making masks for free distribution
AKLC COMMENT(S): Luxury has a heart 🙂
Luxury designer brand House of Anita Dongre has started production of cloth masks for distribution to contribute further in the fight against Covid-19. The reusable masks will be made with fabrics that are used for the production of clothes for fashion labels AND, Global Desi, and Anita Dongre.
Article link: https://in.fashionnetwork.com/news/House-of-anita-dongre-starts-making-masks-for-free-distribution,1207057.html
25. An Hermès Boutique in China Made $2.7 Million in One Day After It Reopened
AKLC COMMENT(S): There is still hope!! INR 1.9 CR by a single shopper in a day!! Talk about revenge shopping 😉
The French heritage brand’s Guangzhou flagship store reportedly achieved $2.7 million in sales when it reopened this weekend, according to WWD. This figure is believed to be the highest daily haul for a single boutique in China, and offers hope to luxury brands and retailers of what economic recovery may look like in the coming months.
WWD noted that although Hermès did not immediately respond to verify this tally, a host of VIP shoppers documented their extravagant purchases across multiple social media platforms, including Weibo and Xiaohongshu, reinforcing its likelihood. Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong province, which is China’s most affluent region. This position makes it an interesting testing ground for how consumer behavior for high-end customers will change when stay-at-home orders lift.
Article link: https://robbreport.com/style/accessories/a-newly-reopened-chinese-hermes-store-earned-2-7-million-in-a-day-2912999/
26. Neiman Marcus skips debt payment as JCPenney receives financing offer
This story has been updated from its original form to include additional reporting concerning a report from Bloomberg concerning financing
As U.S. retailers struggle due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and in an evolving brick-and-mortar market, a few local companies have been the subject of bankruptcy speculation, among other reports.
Article link: https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2020/04/16/jcpenney-neiman-marcus.html
27. EXCLUSIVE: Cartier Launches Digital Platform for New Watch Models
AKLC COMMENT(S): Digital era gets stronger by the day 😀
The Swiss watch trade shows may have been scuppered by the spread of the coronavirus this year, but Cartier has drawn up an alternative to a traditional fair with plans to launch an online platform next week to show its new timepieces.
Article link: https://wwd.com/accessories-news/watches/exclusive-cartier-launches-digital-platform-for-new-watch-models-1203562563/
28. Indian luxury hotels tap into food delivery segment
AKLC COMMENT(S): Great
Luxury hotels in India have already started taking initiatives to create an alternative source of revenue amidst the industry slowdown due to the ongoing lockdown in India as well as other countries worldwide.
Article link: https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2020/04/08/indian-luxury-hotels-tap-into-food-delivery-segment/
29.Bella Hadid Stars In the First Big FaceTime Campaign
AKLC COMMENT(S): Love the creativity of this brand!! Always so unique
As the coronavirus continues to call for sheltering in place, brands are getting creative in how they create content. Magazines have begun rethinking their editorial shoots for one, with select publications, including Vogue, enlisting models and celebrities to self-photograph themselves for its upcoming issues. Now, fashion campaigns are getting the same treatment. Today, Jacquemus released its new Spring 2020 campaign, and the series features Bella Hadid in images that were shot entirely via FaceTime, captured by the photographer Pierre-Ange Carlotti and creative-directed by its designer Simon Porte Jacquemus. Aside from the duo, there were no stylists, no hair and makeup artists present on the shoot—just Hadid, an empty room, and an iPhone. The results are impressive considering they couldn’t be in the same room.
Article link: https://www.yahoo.com/amphtml/lifestyle/bella-hadid-stars-first-big-214706954.html
30. Hermès weathers coronavirus storm better than luxury rivals
Hermès has weathered the global coronavirus crisis better than rivals, with a 7.7% decline in first-quarter comparable sales, and the Birkin handbag maker said business was picking up strongly in China after shops reopened last month.
Article link: https://in.fashionnetwork.com/news/Hermes-weathers-coronavirus-storm-better-than-luxury-rivals,1209947.html
31. Alessandro Sartori of Ermenegildo Zegna’s plans for digital format show this July
AKLC COMMENT(S): Wooowww
This summer’s Milan menswear season may have been cancelled due to the pandemic, but Ermenegildo Zegna is still planning a show – though with a radically new digital format show.
The house’s creative director Alessandro Sartori confirmed to FashionNetwork.com that Zegna will stage its Ermenegildo Zegna XXX Summer 2021 collection in the opening half of July; and promises what he calls a “phygital experience”, or a meeting of a like-show and digital technology.
32. Marketing to Gen Z during Covid-19
AKLC COMMENT(S): Very true and interesting
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Surveys of Gen Z consumers suggest brands must respond to the crisis by harnessing their community and supporting their employees, without being opportunistic.
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Interactive campaigns can foster connections with Gen Z customers, who fear missing pivotal life events.
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Young people are natural digital creators. Brands can work with Gen Z consumers to create inspirational new content.
Article link: https://www.voguebusiness.com/consumers/marketing-to-gen-z-during-covid-19?amp
33. Sabyasachi on E-Conclave: Something that does not have majdoori, will not be luxury any more
AKLC COMMENT(S): Soo true! Consumers will now decide what Luxury is!
Celebrated designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee discussed several subjects including fashion as well as the novel coronavirus pandemic during the latest session of the India Today e-Conclave Corona Series on April 21. The major highlight of Sabyasachi’s session with Harper’s Bazaar India and Brides Today editor Nonita Kalra, titled Redesigning Fashion Post Covid-19, though, was his comment on Indian luxury.
Asked about how Indian luxury can be made equal if not better than its international counterparts, Sabyasachi said that a “simple Hindi word called majdoor” is the perfect definition of luxury at the moment.
34. Fashion Brands Bringing You the Best in Music and Culture on Social Media
AKLC COMMENT(S): Luxury brands have a heart <3
Fashion brands (at least the good ones) are informed by the zeitgeist. They cull the best from the worlds of cuisine, books, art, music, interiors, and beyond, and infuse that into their collections. They are magpies, creating distinctive nests—their boutiques and displays at retail outlets—that aim to captivate consumers and let them dream. But in the midst of an economic downturn as the result of the coronavirus outbreak, which has forced nonessential businesses to shutter, traffic at these spaces is nonexistent. So to provide the general public, who are quarantined in their homes, with their cultural fill, many are taking all these captured elements to their online platforms.
