Perhaps the thorniest of challenges for luxury brands in an already tough market is restoring a clearer sense of value for money after rampant price hikes and some lapses in quality left many consumers frustrated — or worse, industry experts say.
“The remedy is ultimately a return to the fundamentals of luxury: genuine craftsmanship, authenticity, quality, durability, transparency, and a certain degree of restraint,” argued Achim Berg, founder of FashionSights, an independent corporate think tank. “Brands that truly live these values — rather than simply marketing them — will be in a much stronger position once the market stabilizes and consumers become even more selective.”
Multiple observers cited a need among luxury brands to justify significantly higher prices relative to the pre-pandemic period — which explains why executives have been trumpeting efforts to improve product quality.
For example, at the Kering Capital Markets Day in Florence in April, the French luxury group’s chief executive officer Luca de Meo said of Gucci: “We are elevating quality everywhere… This quality update will be very, very meaningful… We are renewing the price architecture to ensure that perceived value and price remain aligned.”
