Luxury Briefing: ‘Best of the best’ product is king, as brands launch elevated collections

July 12, 2024 Mary

This week, a look at the “quiet luxury” effect, specifically its ongoing impact on brands’ strategies and revenues. Plus, how brands continue to cater to the 1%

On Monday, 13-year-old menswear brand Todd Snyder introduced Todd Snyder Collection, a limited-edition, fashion-forward clothing capsule featuring 60 styles made from premium Italian and Japanese fabrics. New styles will be released twice a year, and the new collection will be designated with a white label.

Snyder said he was motivated to produce the “more aspirational” collection while working with Tuscan artists and weavers to create looks for his Pitti Uomo runway show in January. The first iteration, inspired by Mexico City’s vibrant colors, earth tones and Luis Barragán-designed buildings, includes open-weave linen shirts, pleated shorts and gabardine suits with slouchy double-breasted jackets, among other styles. Prices range from $260 for a pair of cargo shorts to $3,000 for a sport coat made in Italian suede. For comparison, shorts in Todd Snyder’s core line average $150, and most sport coats are $600-$700.

“I wanted to offer small-batch pieces that are truly special and almost become collectible,” Snyder told Glossy. “We’ve always worked with the best mills, whether it’s been in Italy, Japan or America. But it was important to me to create a premium offering that was the best of the best.”

The collection was designed with Todd Snyder’s existing customers in mind, as they’ve long expressed their desire for premium fabrics and unique pieces that feel more exclusive, Snyder said.

In addition, Snyder anticipates the collection will attract a new customer — one who has the “highest appreciation and most discerning eye for the most luxe fabrics in the world.”

The collection will be prominently presented within the brand’s stores, the latest of which opened in San Francisco’s Marin Country Mart in late June. Todd Snyder plans to hit 20 stores by the end of the year, with retail expansion to Europe a goal for the future.

Todd Snyder has always been a luxury brand, specifically “for today’s modern man,” whose definition of luxury is non-traditional, Snyder said.

“For us, luxury is about style. For some, that’s a consistent and complementing look from head-to-toe, and for some, that’s pairing a luxe Italian suede blazer with a tee and your favorite everyday denim.”

And the new collection reflects what’s resonating across the luxury landscape, according to Snyder.

“Luxury today is not just about opulence,” he said. “It’s about blending heritage with modernity, and it’s more personal and individualized. … Whether it’s a made-to-measure suit or a utility overshirt, luxury is in the details, the fit and the story each garment tells.”

Brunello Cucinelli reports ‘rising demand for exclusive products of great quality’

Speaking of non-opulent luxury, “quiet luxury” poster brand Brunello Cucinelli reported its earnings for the first half of 2024 on Thursday, revealing sales of €620.7 million ($677 million), a year-over-year increase of 14.7% at constant exchange rates. The Americas region saw the greatest sales boost, of 19.4%, followed by Europe, at 9%, and Asia, at 14.3%.

The brand is now predicting a full-year revenue increase of 10%, with another 10% boost expected for 2025. And it’s actively working to facilitate significant growth over the next several years. By 2025, it will double the size of its factory in Solomeo to support a plan of doubling its turnover by 2030. And on Tuesday, it will reveal to press in Milan a new corporate website “imagined and built together with artificial intelligence,” according to the company. The goal is to fuel internal excitement for, familiarity with and confidence in leveraging the technology

The Americas now make up 36.4% of Brunello Cucinelli’s sales. Specifically in North America, the company reported “rising demand for exclusive products of great quality and a very high level of craftsmanship.”

That bodes well for the success of Todd Snyder’s new launch.

“With the shift to quiet luxury and the explosion of [the brands defining the look], people are gravitating toward very quiet, singular pieces that are architected based on craftsmanship and the heritage of a house,” luxury fashion influencer Charles Gross said in a 2023 Glossy focus group. “Quality trumps quantity, in terms of these purchases.”

Net-a-Porter updates its returns policy

On Wednesday, Net-a-Porter emailed its customers stating that, as of July 18, the company will implement a $9.95 fee on items returned after 14 days from their date of delivery. Customers will continue to have 28 days to return delivered items.

In addition, moving forward, the retailer will exclusively offer complimentary returns through its preferred shipping service, which is UPS in the U.S., if the package is dropped at a UPS access point with the provided return label. Formerly, customers could book a free at-home returns collection by calling UPS and quoting an account number printed on the return label. Net-a-Porter did not respond to a request for comment.

The move follows a report of luxury brands and retailers experiencing exceptionally high rates of returns, largely due to a lenient returns policy.

As reported by Bloomberg in April, starting late last year and increasing in the first quarter of 2024, customers of China’s e-commerce giant Tmall were returning the luxury items they purchased on the platform in droves. Companies including Net-a-Porter and Brunello Cucinelli, which leverage Tmall to reach Chinese consumers, saw up to 75% of Tmall purchases returned, when the luxury industry standard is reportedly 20-30%.

Analysts assume the returns were the result of shoppers buying items, wearing them and returning them, taking advantage of Tmall’s loose returns policy. However, many shoppers were canceling orders even before they shipped, hinting that reaching Tmall’s spending threshold for discounts, which counts returned items, was the goal.

Unlike the luxury brands that have relied on aspirational consumers to buoy their businesses, those that have maintained a laser-sharp focus on wealthy shoppers have avoided many of the headaches around product returns. Marketplace shoppers are typically middle class, according to multiple sources.

Brands are putting their newest stores in the richest neighborhoods

Popular brands are rushing to open stores at Marin Country Mart, an outdoor shopping center located in Marin County, California just north of San Francisco. Within the last two weeks, Todd Snyder and Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop have announced stores in the center. Luxury eyewear brand Cynthia Benjamin moved in in June, and La Ligne, Sunspel, Outerknown and Fred Segal have set up shop in the space since September.

“We are fortunate to have more tenants who are interested in opening in our properties than we have space available,” Jim Rosenfield, head of Marin Country Mart owner J.S. Rosenfield & Co., told Glossy. “We merchandise and lease our properties in a way that we feel will serve the community best.”

According to Rosenfield, the Mart’s core customers are families who live in Marin County, but it’s also seen a growing number of visitors from the Bay Area and beyond. It’s worth noting that, in December 2023, Marin County ranked sixth in the U.S. News & World Report’s list of the 15 richest counties in the U.S. Its residents’ median household income is $142,000, according to the report.

Rosenfield said sales have increased year-over-year at the property, which first opened in 1975. He owed its current popularity to its open-air format and residential location.