Vogue Business – President-elect Biden and US luxury sales
With Joe Biden projected by major news networks to be the winner of the US presidential race over the weekend, we examine today the outlook for American luxury sales in our latest The Long View by Vogue Business report [Member-only]. European luxury conglomerates recently signalled a recovery in US spending in the third quarter, but as Laure Guilbault finds, the analyst community is cautious on a continuation despite Biden’s strong mandate after taking Pennsylvania. His Covid-19 package [Member-only] and reuniting the nation will be the first hurdle.
The immediate response from the luxury industry has been elation, editor-at-large Christina Binkley reports from Los Angeles. Not only for Biden but notably Kamala Harris, the first Black person, the first woman and the first person of Asian descent to be vice president-elect. Still, the big players stuck to a noticeably non-partisan position, she finds. Politics isn’t easy, even with Gen Z’s expectations to take a stand on issues.
A surprise mega-investment in luxury came late last week with Alibaba and Richemont agreeing to invest $1.1 billion into Farfetch, a move signalling not only the importance of digital to luxury amid the pandemic but also China’s position as the industry’s new epicentre [Member-only]. Richemont chairman Johann Rupert said of the deal “we wanted to make sure that we were leaders in that field”. Innovation editor Maghan McDowell spoke to key players including Farfetch CEO José Neves here.
Filipino-American YouTuber Patrick Starrr is taking his inclusive beauty line One/Size global with Sephora. Beauty editor Jessica Schiffer got the scoop by speaking to the 30-year-old influencer, who has over 4.4 million followers, on why Southeast Asia is next.
And finally to Brazil, where São Paulo Fashion Week wrapped up on Sunday with a new quota in place: 50 per cent of models on the runway must be African, Indigenous and/or Asian. Christiana Sciaudone was there with the details.
The Vogue Business and Google Summit kicks off this Thursday. Secure your Member pass, granting access to all live and on-demand sessions and one-to-one networking opportunities, by becoming a Vogue Business Member by 12am GMT on Tuesday 10 November. Don’t miss key speakers, including Gucci CEO and president Marco Bizzarri, who I’ll be sitting down with to discuss the future of luxury, the Covid-19 reset, Gen Z’s values, Asia and more. Register here.
RETAIL
The Long View by Vogue Business: US luxury spending outlook
Key takeaway: In the aftermath of the US election, industry analysts discuss strong luxury sales in the Americas for Q3. They don’t expect it to last [Member-only].
FASHION
Fashion’s US election elation on Biden
Key takeaway: Fashion designers took to Instagram to celebrate, but the big players largely stuck to a non-partisan position.
COMPANIES
Luxury consolidation and the Farfetch mega-deal
Key takeaway: Alibaba and Richemont’s joint billion-dollar investment in Farfetch will create some industry winners and losers, while underscoring the importance of digital technology for luxury fashion [Member-only].
BEAUTY
Patrick Starrr’s One/Size expands to Southeast Asia
Key takeaway: The YouTube influencer’s inclusive cosmetics line is already thinking global.
FASHION
São Paulo Fashion Week sets new quota to fix diversity gap
Key takeaway: More than half of Brazil’s population identifies as non-white, but models and agency execs say that representation in fashion and media doesn’t reflect its diversity.
