The Best of BoF: Luxury’s Blockbuster Year

BoF is away for its annual break until 3rd January. In the meantime, we invite you to explore highlights of our news and analysis from the year.

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY: MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2022 Add to above BoF Community: The BoF Team is taking a well-deserved break. In the meantime, our reporters and editors have selected the best articles we published in 2022 across our core topic areas of expertise. Today, we focus on Luxury. Look out for our agenda-setting analysis to return on January 3. Happy holidays! Dear BoF Community, The luxury sector faced major challenges in 2022, from rapid inflation to slowing economic growth, exacerbated by the return of strict Covid lockdowns in China and the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Yet despite headwinds, sales have never been stronger, rising 22 percent this year as a post-Covid "YOLO" attitude prevailed. The strongest brands each found their own way to seize on exploding consumer demand: Some, like Chanel, focused on wooing their highest-spending customers while the likes of Saint Laurent and Jacquemus combined runway excitement with smart price points and a seasonless approach. Others revamped their strategies, including major e-tailers who merged with rivals or added e-concessions to their model, and luxury giant Gucci, which repositioned its commercial offer and took steps toward a major creative shift. Going into 2023, luxury's rapid growth is expected to slow, with concerns mounting around how the sector will adjust. — Robert Williams, Luxury Editor and Tamison O'Connor, Luxury Correspondent

TOP STORIES

LUXURY Why Gucci Wanted a Change — And What's Next By Robert Williams

The market is still digesting Gucci's move to part ways with Alessandro Michele. A slowdown at Kering's flagship brand was complicating the company's wider ambitions, but change comes with risk as well as potential reward. READ MORE

LUXURY Inside the $7 Billion Dior Phenomenon | Download the Case Study By Robert Williams How did a 75-year-old brand triple its revenues in just four years? By overhauling its commercial offer, racing into e-commerce and investing in spectacular flagships, Christian Dior Couture has radically accelerated its business, transforming itself into "a homegrown Chanel challenger within LVMH." READ MORE

LUXURY How Saint Laurent Became a $3 Billion Powerhouse By Robert Williams

Chief executive Francesca Bellettini breaks down how she worked with designer Anthony Vaccarello to double sales in 5 years, leaning into an amped-up take on Parisian glamour, seasonless merchandising and a rapid expansion in leather goods. READ MORE

LUXURY Jacquemus: A Fashion Star's Business Vision By Robert Williams For the first-time, the industry's hottest independent designer — a charismatic, social-media savvy storyteller from the south of France — reveals the financial underpinnings of his burgeoning company and plans for the next phase of growth. READ MORE

LUXURY Giorgio Armani: Lion in Winter By Tim Blanks Fashion's most successful designer is finally in touch with his tender side after a career driven by perpetual dissatisfaction. In an exclusive interview, he looks back on his life and addresses the mysteries of his succession plan. READ MORE

LUXURY The Nine Lives of Proenza Schouler By Lauren Sherman What happened to the most promising brand in American fashion? READ MORE

LUXURY Richemont, Farfetch and YNAP: Understanding a Transformational E-Commerce Deal By Tamison O'Connor The Swiss luxury group is spinning off Yoox Net-a-Porter in a joint venture with Farfetch. What does it mean for Richemont, Farfetch, YNAP and the luxury industry at large? BoF dissects the deal. READ MORE

LUXURY The Pivot to E-Concessions Is Reshaping Online Luxury By Tamison O'Connor As top luxury brands pull back from wholesale, e-tailers like Mytheresa, Matchesfashion and Net-a-Porter are adding online concession to their business models rather than losing access to Gucci loafers and Balenciaga hoodies. READ MORE

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