Swetha Ramachandran (GAM) - Luxury's Broadening Appeal
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