Feb 10 2023 44 mins
Swetha Ramachandran manages GAM's luxury brand strategy and knows the luxury industry inside out. We discuss Swetha's definition of luxury, the pre-eminence of European brands, the rise of China and how the industry is evolving.
[01:05] Swetha discusses her early career
[03:01] Luxury is changing and widening
[06:13] Defining luxury
[07:53] Sizing the luxury market
[09:10] Characteristics of a luxury shopper
[10:59] The role of gaming and online in attracting younger consumers
[13:37] Why European companies dominate the luxury industry
[16:28] Chinese consumption
[20:16] Trend of buying less but buying better
[22:10] Importance of supply chain transparency
[23:24] How the rules of the game differ to the broader consumer goods sector
[25:30] Luxury companies can't simply rest on their laurels
[28:21] US brands typically haven't built as much brand equity
[29:29] How big can luxury brands become before they fail to deliver promise of exclusivity
[30:42] Gaining confidence in the brand permanence of younger companies
[33:19] Family ownership and the benefits of taking a long-term view
[34:47] Online has supported rather than disrupted luxury brands
[36:31] Luxury resale hurts aspirational luxury brands but helps top tier brands
[37:42] Have luxury companies been too aggressive with pricing?
[39:50] Valuations and the opportunity set today
[42:28] Are luxury goods companies now more sensitive to recession?
[43:50] There's no such thing as a stupid question