Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Luxury brands find their place in the retail revolution despite the pandemic

Luxury brands find their place in the retail revolution despite the pandemic

Online shopping has increased dramatically in recent years – helped by COVID-19. Many high street shops have been forced to close, but there are signs of a resurgence in demand for physical shopping, particularly amongst luxury brands. The Exchange looks at the direction retail is taking.

The global retail industry has an estimated worth of 20 trillion euros. It's big business, but it's also a business that has changed beyond recognition over the last decade.

Retailers have had to rethink their strategies in order to compete in the market. More and more brands have moved to only online trading as digital sales soar.

The pandemic also altered the sector, putting the final nail in the coffin of many struggling high street shops as restrictions meant many were closed to the public.

Luxury brand success


However, the sale of luxury products has largely weathered the COVID-19 storm and luxury brands have played a big role in this retail revolution. Over the last 10 years, they have grown and recent estimates put the value of the sector at over 320 billion euros.

High-end brands haven't come out of the pandemic entirely unscathed though. In 2020, the sale of luxury goods dropped between 25 to 45%. The news isn't entirely negative. Analysts from Boston Consulting Group predict the industry will bounce back by as early as 2023.

Even though retailers are starting to see some kind of normality return to the retail industry, as stores have reopened across most countries, simply returning to old shopping habits has not been easy for everyone.

Shopping habits


Dominique Boesch is the European Managing Director of luxury car brand Genesis. He told us that he thinks "the pandemic has changed consumer habits. Online, and home and pick up deliveries have become the new normal".

On the other hand, he also thinks it's true to say that "there is still, for all customers, a real passion for retail shopping".

Karine Szegedi, the Head of Fashion and Luxury for Deloitte in Geneva, described to euronews one of their 18-month studies to track consumer behaviour. The results of this show that globally 59% of consumers now feel safe to go back into stores compared to 45% in January.

"But there is still 40% of the population that does not feel safe to go to stores, so those who go to stores they convert because they don’t want to shop around they want to buy quite quickly", she explained.

However, this fear or reluctance to physically return to shops may not be shared by every country.

A multibillion-euro mall


In the city of Lusail in Qatar a million square meters of retail innovation are currently under construction. Euronews got exclusive access to this multibillion-euro mega mall aptly called Place Vendome, after Paris' fashionable square.

Much of the decor inside is inspired by the French capital as well. The huge rotunda mimics the Grand Palais, even in the choice of colour.

The Grand Palais inspired rotunda at Place Vendome, Qatar


'Phygital'


The space is expected to incorporate the latest technology. Project Director, Sean Kelly, explained to euronews that there is a 'find your car' solution as part of the larger Place Vendome app. The app will cover all things related to the mall to "make sure everybody’s connected", he added.


For a super mall to be set up and open in challenging climates, the drivers behind such a project must feel the physical retail industry is still full of opportunities and growth prospects.

Place Vendome is expected to open in September and its developers are eager to take the retail experience to the next level.

Tackling the European market


A slice of Paris is being taken to Qatar and now a bit of South Korea is going to Europe. Car manufacturer Genesis is taking on the ultra-competitive luxury car market. After launching in South Korea just five years ago and competing with brands like BMW and Mercedes in the US and in China, they're expanding.

Their European Managing Director, Dominique Boesch, told us about their European strategy. According to him, "the European market is by far the most sophisticated and the most competitive premium car market in the world". The company hopes to win people over by providing "an experience that goes beyond the product" mainly by giving them access to a Genesis personal assistant "who will support them all along the journey".


'Sonnim'


Boesch says that it is part of the Korean culture that the company wants to bring to Europe. Sonnim in Korean is a word that means a visitor to one's home. That is "how we want to treat our customers" (...) "in our stores, in our shops, we want to treat visitors, prospects, customers as if they are our private guests in our home", he explains.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×