Conglomerates

One Wall Street analyst now expects global sales of luxury goods to fall by as much as 2 percent this year, marking the industry’s longest downturn in over two decades.

As European luxury giants’ dramatic price hikes have turned off many consumers, American players are reaping the benefits.

Anderson is exiting the LVMH owned house, ending a decade-plus tenure that enhanced the role of the designer, fusing creation and curation into one thought-provoking, aesthetically challenging, entrepreneurial package, writes Tim Blanks.

Over a transformational 11-year tenure, Anderson’s crafty, curatorial vision turned the Spanish label into a powerful ‘cultural brand’ without it looking forced, writes Angelo Flaccavento.

The financial markets and fashion fans on social media have rejected Kering’s bet on the zeitgeist-shaping Balenciaga designer to revive its ailing flagship. BoF’s Imran Amed has a different view.

The era-defining Balenciaga designer will take the reins of Italy’s biggest luxury brand in a surprise shakeup of parent company Kering’s creative ranks. The French group is under pressure to turn around performance after profits tumbled 46 percent last year.

The Italian brand’s current chief Damien Bertrand will become deputy CEO at Louis Vuitton. Meanwhile, Fendi’s CEO Pierre-Emmanuel Angeloglou will move to Dior.

Turning around the Italian icon will be a significant challenge for Prada Group and could distract top managers from scaling its core brands, but the gamble may be worth it if the price is right.

The family that controls Kering recently bought a majority share in Aqua Expeditions, a boutique luxury cruise line. The push comes as arch rival LVMH, as well as Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and Aman, invest in ‘floating hotels.’

Luxury editor Robert Williams joins executive editor Brian Baskin and senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young to discuss Gucci’s dramatic sales decline, leadership churn, and the broader challenges facing the luxury group Kering, as the conglomerate seeks a path to recovery.

LVMH reported better-than-expected sales growth in the fourth quarter, but its performance lagged behind rivals like Richemont and Burberry. A Taylor Swift tie-up and nostalgic collaborations with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami may give the group a boost, writes Andrea Felsted.

Bernard Arnault’s appearance at the US President’s inauguration raised some eyebrows, but it was good business sense for the LVMH chairman, argues Andrea Felsted.