#DGToys: Dolce & Gabbana show luxury brands the way to be creative in product and presentation. Image credit: Dolce & Gabbana
Join senior executives and decision-makers at the 6th sixth annual Luxury FirstLook 2018: Exclusivity Redefined conference, the nation's premier event organized by Luxury Daily to discuss luxury business issues, opportunities and challenges spanning advertising, marketing, retail, media, Internet, social, mobile and geopolitics in the year ahead.
The very notion on which luxury stands — exclusivity — is under threat from the democratizing gravitational pull of digital retail and marketing. Add to that the urgent need to reinvent the store business, recruiting and retaining talent with craftsmen skills, maintaining global aspirations with local desires, and the millennial-led push toward experiences over product: the balancing act was never harder. AGENDA BELOW
Focus: How to craft strategy and tactics with proper execution and measurement for 2018 as luxury's lock on exclusive products and services — indeed, the very ability to deliver experiences to material-averse millennials — is challenged by democratizing forces, chief of which are the Internet, ecommerce, social and mobile
Speakers: Offering exclusive data and insights are senior executives from the Boston Consulting Group, Forrester Research, Vice Media, Publicis Groupe's Team One, WSJ. Magazine, Marie Claire, Mitchell Stores, Euromonitor International, Luxury Institute, Select Worldwide, Luxury Portfolio, YouGov, Jing Daily, Digital Luxury Group, China Luxury Advisors, Initiatives in Art and Culture, PMX Agency, Martini Media, Shullman Research Center, Concept Bureau, NewStore and Bomoda
Venue: 10 on the Park at Time Warner Center, 60 Columbus Circle, 10th floor, New York, NY 10019 (entrance is on 60th Street across from Columbus Circle, between Equinox gym and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel)
Price: Only $695, which includes breakfast, lunch and cocktails
Sponsorship: For lunch roundtables and keynotes, tables, breakfast, cocktails and other sponsorships, please email ads@napean.com
AGENDA
Luxury FirstLook 2018: Exclusivity Redefined
7:30 a.m. – 8:15 a.m.
Breakfast and Registration
8:15 a.m.
Welcome Remarks
Digital or Exclusive: A Choice No More
Why quality, creativity and innovation matter even more as the venues of luxury sales and marketing democratize. Luxury’s road ahead spelled out
Speaker:
Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief, Luxury Daily
8:30 a.m.
Research Keynote
The State of Luxury 2018
Boston Consulting Group has a finger on the pulse of luxury given that it works with the world’s leading luxury brands and retailers, advising them on strategy, tactics and execution. The world of luxury is set to undergo several changes in 2016, forcing marketers to rethink marketing, retailing, media, Internet and mobile approaches. An in-depth look at the state of luxury worldwide across key industry sectors
Speaker:
Christine Barton, senior partner and managing director, Boston Consulting Group
9 a.m.
Who is Buying Luxury – and Why?
Boomers and the silent generation before them continue to prove reliable customers of luxury. But the post-boomer generations, be they self-made or inheritors, do not seem to share the same attitudes to luxury consumption, shopping more with purpose and experience in mind. So what does the luxury customer base look like? Who are the emerging customers, why are they buying luxury goods and services, what are their expectations from the brand and what are their values in this increasingly casual luxury cycle?
Speakers:
9:30 a.m.
Keynote
New Normal: Generating Demand Amidst Political and Market Uncertainty
How are luxury marketers to plan when the ground underneath them continues to shift? Be it the Middle East, Brexit, U.S. political gridlock, weakening Latin America or chafing Russia, the geopolitical optics seem strained. Add to that concerns about China’s continuing desire for luxury goods and its power to sustain. Is there a roadmap to follow?
Speaker:
Tammy Smulders, president – fashion group, Vice Media
10 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Break
10:30 a.m.
Conversation
Craft and Service in an Age of Automation: A Contradiction?
Luxury marketers were once known for innovation and craftsmanship before adopting practices from mainstream brands to scale and meet corporate and financial market goals. Shortage of skilled craftsmen has put pressure on heritage luxury brands, in addition to retail floor staff churn. Now, the unrelenting push to automate manufacturing and service processes, as well as technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence, threatens to change the very fabric of what it means to be luxury. Adapt or resist?
Speakers:
Paul Boomsma, president, Luxury Portfolio International
Wolfgang Schaefer, chief strategy officer, Select Worldwide
Moderator:
Lisa Koenigsberg, founder/president, Initiatives in Art and Culture
11 a.m.
Experience in a Material-Driven Luxury World
Buzzword of the year: Experience. But what does it really mean in the luxury context? And how is it different from the current in-store experience, which is in a class of its own? And how will experience translate to digital, especially as ecommerce and mobile account for a larger share of shopping and buying?
Speakers:
Alastair Green, executive creative director, Publicis Groupe’s Team One
Joanna Young, management director, Team One
11:30 a.m.
Threat from Premium Brands to High Luxury
The trend to mix-and-match or even trade down in certain categories is obvious. Also noticeable is the pressure from premium brands to high-luxury lines. Can luxury defend its turf? What can luxury marketers learn from Apple’s digital and store experiences, merchandising and market positioning? Is the embrace of Amazon inevitable if that is where the affluent audience is, including the ultra-high-net-worth? What can luxury marketers learn from Apple and Amazon?
Speakers:
Jasmine Bina, president, Concept Bureau
Chris Paradysz, founder/co-CEO, PMX Agency
Moderator:
Noon – 12:45 p.m.
Sponsored Lunch Break
12:45 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
How you Doin'? Leading Trends Across Key Luxury Sectors
Temperature check of major luxury sectors and brands, followed by audience roundtables on major issues and opportunities.
Speakers:
Milton Pedraza, CEO, Luxury Institute
Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief, Luxury Daily
1:30 p.m. – 2 p.m.
The Era of Brand Meaning
Today’s affluent consumer is placing greater importance on what brands stand for instead of traditional markers of luxury – quality and craftsmanship most notably. While brand values have always played a role in luxury purchasing, a well-articulated positioning has never been more critical to the success of luxury brands. This shift to meaningful consumption is driven partly by the sea of sameness in products and services, but, more importantly, by the acknowledgment that “we have it pretty good” and choices should reflect a desire to do what is right and what is good. Affluent consumers want to find the best of who they are in the choices they make.
Speaker:
Cara David, managing partner, YouGov
2 p.m.
Curated Media in a Content-Saturated and Social-Fueled World
Luxury brands live by their reputation. So do curated media brands. Yet the rise of celebrity influencers is unstoppable, with these individuals boasting larger followings on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. So how do the established media brands stress their relevance in an age of unchecked noise where church-state norms do not apply? Are magazines, newspapers and their digital editions still the best way for luxury brands to connect with their audiences? Does it have to be either/or?
Speakers:
Anthony Cenname, vice president of consumer advertising, Dow Jones, and publisher, WSJ. Magazine
Nancy Berger, vice president and publisher, Marie Claire
Moderator:
Vincent Krsulich, senior vice president, Martini Media
2:30 p.m.
Research Keynote
Digital Disruption in Advertising, Marketing, Media, Agencies and Technology
Digital has disrupted the worlds of advertising, marketing, media and agencies. Technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), along with chatbots, machine learning and mobile have bewildered the best. Add to that fears of data integrity and security as communications and transactions via ecommerce and mobile dominate. What can luxury brands and retailers expect in the years ahead as consumers expect seamless digital adoption of these tech trends? Sit it out and see how things pan out or dive in and beat the curve?
Speaker:
James McQuivey, vice president and principal analyst, Forrester Research
3 p.m.
Clicks and Bricks: Why Luxury Retail Needs to Innovate – Now
Make no mistake: the retail store model needs immediate attention. Department stores and shopping malls are in makeover mode. Luxury consumers are shopping across channels as they have never done before. They expect seamless brand experiences across bricks-and-mortar and online and mobile channels. Ecommerce now is the fastest-growing retail category in luxury, with mobile becoming a major influencer. How quick is the embrace and what does a delay mean for the brand’s future?
Stephen Schambach, CEO, NewStore
Bob Shullman, CEO, Shullman Research Center
Jack Mitchell, chairman, Mitchell Stores
Moderator:
Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief, Luxury Daily
3:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Break
4 p.m.
Keynote
Wellness: Why Health is Hot
Not surprising that retail therapy was always a cure for a blue mood. But now comes the wellness spa/clinic in the department store – a trend that will export to shopping malls, department stores and larger solo-brand stores at some point. Health is wealth, as luxury brands are increasingly realizing.
Speaker:
Fflur Roberts, head of global luxury goods research, Euromonitor International
4:30 p.m.
5 p.m.
China: The Love for Luxury Endures?
Despite the government clampdown on official ostentation, the affluent Chinese consumer continues to seek out luxury goods from established brands. Domestic consumption, coupled with purchases acquired from overseas travel including real estate and art, drive Chinese acquisition of the finer things of life. How sustainable is that trend, and how reliable is the Chinese affluent market? Is it only the tip of the iceberg? Can the luxury market thrive without China – it is Communist-run after all where one dictat can end it all?
Pablo Mauron, general manager for China, Digital Luxury Group
Larry Warsh, publisher, Jing Daily
Renee Hartmann, cofounder, China Luxury Advisors
Moderator:
Brian Buchwald, CEO, Bomoda
5:30 p.m.
Closing Remarks
3 Key Takeaways and 4 D’s from Luxury FirstLook 2018
Learnings from the conference, plus the four D’s – what marketers should keep doing, stop doing, start doing and do differently.
Speaker:
Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief, Luxury Daily
Hotels in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood (from nearest to farthest):
80 Columbus Park at 60th Street, New York, NY 10023; tel: 212-805-8800
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Trump Hotel Central Park
One Central Park West, New York, NY, 10023; tel: 212-299-1000
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Hudson New York
356 W 58th Street, New York, NY 10019; tel: 212-554-6000
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JW Marriott Essex House New York
160 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019; tel: 212-247-0300
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1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019; tel: 212-586-7000
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455 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022; tel: 212-888-7000
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40 West 40th Street, New York, NY 10018; tel: 212-869-4446
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1535 Broadway, New York, NY 10036; tel: 212-398-1900
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811 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019; tel: 212-581-1000
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Agenda subject to change. Refunds will not be given after 12:01 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 15, 2017