Brunello Cucinelli and Michael Kliger (CEO of Mytheresa) simultaneously send a message of hope and a warning to the wayfarers of the luxury market. High-spender customers, i.e., those with the resources to keep the high– and ultra-high-end fashion houses happy, are still there: in a phase of generic demand contraction, this is good news. The point is that the same high-spender customers have to be won over: they have the availability, in short, but they have become selective in their choices.
The initiative
Cucinelli Group and Mytheresa, moreover, belong to the elite of those who continue to grind out growing numbers. As part of their partnership, MFF reports, they organized an evening for a select audience at Villa Crespi (Novara) on May 5th, a prelude to a capsule presentation on the 8th of the same month. “These events represent a kind of special loyalty program”, explains Kliger (pictured first from right), “reflecting our philosophy of not being a simple e-commerce, but of creating a luxury community, giving an online and offline experience.
Mytheresa’s perspective is that of an e-tailer (a channel in great pain): the retailer clearly needs a product that can offer the same exceptionalism. “Our consumers have no problem spending”, adds Kliger, “but they want to buy special products, and I think Cucinelli has been able to create a mix between quality and lifestyle and set an example through the investments made in social”.
Better times will return
It is the context of international wars and emergencies that is affecting the economy and, therefore, the consumer. But Brunello Cucinelli (pictured left) is not losing his proverbial optimism: “I want to tell you something. You have a habit of saying fantastic or catastrophic. Now say catastrophic. You don’t have to. It is a delicate time for humanity, but wise men will come who will make peace. We need to find ourselves,” he concludes, “Starting tomorrow, we replace fear with hope and dreams”.
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