News and Insights
Introducing The Luxury Playbook 2024: Building Resilience through Creativity
July 30, 2024
Luxury is feeling the pinch: according to the Altagamma-Bain spring study the global luxury sector posted negative year-on-year growth in Q1 2024, albeit with clear regional differences. The Chinese market, a critical growth engine for luxury goods, is behind much of the slowdown as consumer confidence remains dampened by economic headwinds.
To navigate this uncertainty, global brands are updating their strategies, with some focusing on online sales channels and experiences to cater to a more tech-savvy clientele. Others are re-evaluating pricing strategies to balance exclusivity with affordability in a changing economic landscape. The future of luxury remains bright, but it will likely be a future where agility and responsiveness to financial uncertainties are paramount.
Enter the Luxury Playbook 2024, FINN Luxe’s analysis of global trends, opportunities, movers and shakers, with a view to help brands navigate luxury’s biggest challenges. Developed in collaboration with leading market intelligence agency Mintel, the report outlines strategies and case studies to help brands build resilience through creativity across fashion, beauty, hospitality, food and beverage (F&B), the arts and more.
Cultural creativity: luxury’s growing differentiator
Whereas the luxury segment has long differentiated itself through a singular focus on excellence in quality, design and service, luxury consumers have increasingly come to resonate with another type of excellence: cultural creativity, or the ability of a brand to contribute its creative vision to a cultural movement.
Driven by growing purchasing power across diverse markets and the proliferation of touch points, the appetite for creative excellence presents new opportunities and challenges in branding, storytelling and marketing.
With the concept of “creative resilience”, we argue that creativity is no longer an optional (and risky) differentiator, but rather an essential component of luxury brands’ resilience and ability to grow.
Below are our three major calls to action for luxury brands in 2024.
Product: diversify your lifestyle relevance
With ever-younger luxury consumers and growing global competition, diversification has now become an unmissable opportunity for luxury brands to stay relevant and expand their appeal from expert product creators to trusted lifestyle curators. From pop culture intellectual property (IP) merchandising deals to brand cross-over collections, customisable lines or brand new product categories, product diversification increases the overall lifestyle value of luxury brands and can help widen price points – from entry level accessories to ultra-luxury, one-of-a-kind products.
In the Luxury Playbook 2024, we look at the new frontiers of luxury diversification: hospitality, F&B, wellness and digital products, and highlight a case study of Balboa Bay Resort.
Experiences: balance commerce with culture
While excellent in-store service experience remains paramount, brands increasingly must also be masters of entertainment. And when it comes to rolling out new experiences, originality is the name of the game to inspire new fans while delighting loyal customers.
In our report, we look at movers and shakers rolling out creative and cultural experiences across art, music and film including Tamburins, Prada, YSL, Cartier, Chopard and FINN client LYMA, among others.
Values: do good internally, be aspirational externally
There are a myriad of tools and frameworks to guide luxury goods and hospitality players toward improved standards in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) including The Butterfly Mark, Fair Trade, GRI, the UN Global Compact, The Fashion Pact, B Corp and LEED. As the industry collectively raises the bar, having clear commitments for people and the planet will become a reputational benchmark rather than an added draw for luxury consumers. There is however a space – and a need – for brands to engage consumers around future-minded values: like luxury, innovating for the future can be aspirational. And like luxury, values are empowered only when consumers sense authenticity.
In our report, we look at key trends, movers and shakers in communicating around values, including Burberry, Chloé, Harper Collective and FINN client Berry Bros. & Rudd.
For more insights, download our report here: Luxury Playbook 2024.
Visit FINN LUXE for more information or get in touch: Gregory.cole@finnpartners.com to discuss.
POSTED BY: Gregory Cole
