The cult of personality: How celebrity brands are rewriting the rules on experience and storytelling
By Marco Passoni There are very few people in the world who can inspire enthusiasm and engagement like the modern celebrity. Since social media opened up their lives to the public, some have shied away, but many have leveraged their platforms to become media powerhouses in their own right. And in today’s culture, where more […]
Making the most of luxury real estate – both digital and physical
By Marco Passoni New research released last week from The Business of Fashion and Quilt.AI made for very interesting reading on the subject of luxury brands and their digital engagement. The first ever Brand Magic Index uses 12 personality archetypes to define what sort of consumers luxury brands are directing their social media output towards […]
Stronger Together: How luxury mergers are reshaping the sector
By Marco Passoni Mergers and acquisitions have been big news in the luxury sector in the last few months; most recently, Tapestry’s acquisition of Capri for $8.5bn and Rolex’s purchase of Bucherer have grabbed headlines. Unions are not uncommon in this sector and the success of major luxury houses such as LVMH demonstrate the benefits […]
Does the modern travel retail market reflect the modern shopper?
Our shoppers in travel retail have changed, did you know? It seems to be all we talk about a lot of the time. I certainly spend plenty of my time hearing and reading about new shopper demographics and needs. That, surely, must mean the market, offer and approach from brands and retailers has changed too […]
Young consumers are leading the fight on climate change – now brands must follow
By Marco Passoni “No K-pop on a dead planet”. That is the slogan of Kpop4Planet, a group of predominantly young Gen Z and Millennial fans who have made headlines calling on brands which use K-Pop stars as brand ambassadors to do more for the planet. Recently, the group has been in the news for calling […]
Why the story is much more than marketing for retail today
By Marco Passoni I saw a comment this week in a recent Future of Luxury blog which shocked me. Speaking to a brand ambassador, the author, luxury expert Daniel Langer, asked about brand storytelling and was told: Only marketing believes in the story. For the rest of the organization, it is irrelevant. We focus on […]
Promoting excellence: How to engage the modern luxury consumer
By Vittoria Passoni Luxury is, at its best, timeless and constant. That is one of the appeals of this market. But luxury must also be current, engaging and innovative, that is what makes it special and gives it its longevity. Last week, I attended the Altagamma Consumer and Retail Insight event in Milan. The top […]
How to stand out when ‘special’ is becoming the norm
By Marco Passoni “You are unique. But so is everyone else.” This adage applies to many of the brands working in both the luxury and travel retail sectors today – and it is, for me, at the heart of a problem which is blighting both industries. As you look at the luxury and travel retail […]
Creating culture: Why I am no longer talking about products
By Marco Passoni I read an excellent piece last week with Golden Goose CEO Silvio Campara, where he told Business of Fashion that “culture is the new luxury”. This is a brilliant example of how brands which are truly innovative, such as Golden Goose, are looking at the market today in a whole new way […]
The UK Government’s failure to bring back tax-free shopping is not just foolish, it is bad business
By Marco Passoni The arrival of the latest budget from the UK Chancellor last week brought me a glimmer of hope: Maybe the latest UK Government would see the stupidity of removing tax-free shopping and overhaul the ridiculous decision which was taken as Brexit came into effect more than a year ago. Make no mistake, […]
