From Prestige to Pressure: Luxury Brands' New Reality

For years, luxury seemed almost immune to economic downturns. Consumers might cut back elsewhere, but luxury remained remarkably resilient.

That has changed.

Some of the world's most powerful luxury brands are facing slowing sales and weaker results. But the problem may go deeper than economics.

Shoppers are more informed, expectations around quality are higher, resale has created new competition, and simply putting a famous logo on a product may no longer be enough.

In this episode of A Seat at the Table, host Jane Singer sits down with retail industry veterans Burt Flickinger III, Managing Director of Strategic Retail Group, and Denise Seegal, former President and CEO of Maggiasconi Apparel Group, to discuss what's gone wrong, what today's luxury consumer wants, and where they see new opportunities for retail growth.

What You'll Learn

• Why luxury brands are under pressure around the world.
• How changing consumer priorities are reshaping luxury spending.
• Whether luxury has become too accessible and lost some of its exclusivity.
• Why merchandising, product innovation and emerging designers matter.
• How ecommerce and resale have changed luxury shopping.
• Why consumers are questioning luxury product quality.
• Why South Korea and India could become important luxury markets.
• What successful retailers are getting right about customer experience.

Why Is the Luxury Market Struggling?

Mr. Flickinger points to weakening demand across several historically important luxury markets, along with changes in international travel. 

Ms. Seegal believes brands need to look beyond economics.

"The consumer priorities have shifted," she says.

Economic volatility, geopolitics and tariffs have affected spending. Social media, influencers and AI have changed how consumers discover and evaluate products.

The lesson for brands: start with the consumer rather than assuming yesterday's definition of luxury still works.

Has Luxury Lost Its Exclusivity?

Another issue is overexposure.

Luxury expanded aggressively, including through department stores and shop-in-shop concepts. But wider distribution can make it harder to maintain the discovery, exclusivity and personal attention consumers expect when paying luxury prices.

Luxury consumers aren't simply buying a product. They want specialness, service and an environment that reinforces why the product deserves its premium positioning.

What Happened to the Great Merchants?

The conversation also raises a bigger problem: the decline of merchandising culture.

Ms. Seegal recalls her years as a Bloomingdale's buyer, when part of the job was actively searching for emerging designers. She regularly made time to meet new designers, look at their work and ask: What's next?

Today's department-store economics can make that harder.

Brands may be expected to finance floor space, fixtures, staffing and other costs. Established brands can afford that investment. Emerging designers often cannot.

The result can be stores filled with brands that have the resources to secure space rather than necessarily the most exciting products.

Fashion needs newness. Without new designers, products and ideas, retailers give consumers fewer reasons to return.

Is Luxury Quality Declining?

Consumers increasingly complain that products—even expensive ones—don't feel as well made as products they purchased 10 or 20 years ago.

Premium pricing needs to be supported by premium materials, craftsmanship, fit and construction.

Brands diversifying their supply chains  face a challenge beyond finding capacity or negotiating price: they have to transfer knowledge and quality standards to their new manufacturing base.

Online Shopping and Resale Changed Luxury

Luxury shopping has moved far beyond the traditional department store.

Platforms such as Net-a-Porter, Matches and Farfetch helped make consumers comfortable buying high-priced fashion online, giving shoppers access to enormous assortments without visiting a physical luxury store.

Then came another disruption: resale.

Luxury customers aren't simply buying secondhand products. They're also selling items from their own wardrobes and using the proceeds to purchase something different.

Vintage has another advantage: some consumers believe older merchandise offers better tailoring, materials or construction.

That means resale can compete with new luxury on quality, uniqueness and product discovery—characteristics traditionally associated with luxury itself.

Where Are the Next Luxury Growth Markets?

The geography of luxury is changing.

The conversation highlights South Korea as an important laboratory for luxury, combining fashion with digital communication, entertainment, gaming, social networks, wellness and highly connected consumer communities.

India could represent another major frontier as its consumer market develops.

The next chapter of luxury therefore may not simply involve waiting for traditional markets to recover. Brands need to rethink where luxury consumers are emerging and what luxury means within those markets.

The Luxury Store Experience Still Matters

Despite digital commerce, the physical store isn't necessarily obsolete. But mediocre stores may be.

Personal service is particularly important at the high end, where relationships between customers and trusted salespeople can generate significant repeat business.

Can Luxury Make a Comeback?

Ms. Seegal believes it can.

Consumers still love beautiful products, exceptional design, craftsmanship and quality. But they're also better informed. They can quickly research a designer, compare products and decide whether a brand fits the identity or community they want to be part of.

The next era of luxury may depend less on the logo and more on the things that originally made luxury desirable: exceptional product, innovation, craftsmanship, exclusivity, service and experience.

Episode Timestamps

00:00 – Why luxury is suddenly struggling
01:54 – What's happening to global luxury demand?
05:58 – How luxury consumer priorities have changed
08:12 – Has luxury become overexposed?
09:48 – South Korea and the changing luxury experience
15:04 – Why fashion needs merchants and emerging designers
18:48 – How the shop-in-shop model changed luxury retail
20:37 – South Korea and India as future luxury markets
22:13 – How ecommerce changed luxury shopping
25:13 – The impact of luxury resale and vintage
26:36 – Are consumers getting lower-quality products?
31:37 – Why factory training matters to quality
35:04 – When cost cutting starts damaging luxury
37:17 – Does Hermès need a bigger owner?
39:25 – Can luxury retailers successfully expand internationally?
43:25 – What would it take to revive luxury department stores?
48:32 – What Bloomingdale's is getting right
49:51 – Why customer service remains a competitive advantage

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are luxury brands struggling?

The episode identifies weaker spending in important global markets, changing travel patterns, economic uncertainty, changing consumer priorities, ecommerce and resale competition, and concerns around innovation, exclusivity and quality.

What do luxury consumers want today?

Consumers increasingly expect more than a recognizable brand name. Quality, design, exclusivity, service, experience and cultural relevance all contribute to whether a luxury purchase feels worthwhile.

Has luxury become too accessible?

Potentially. Expanding distribution can increase sales but also weaken exclusivity. The discussion highlights the importance of controlling the retail environment and creating a distinctive brand experience.

Is luxury product quality declining?

The conversation highlights consumer concerns about quality across mainstream and luxury fashion. Maintaining quality requires strong materials and craftsmanship, experienced suppliers, factory training and sourcing decisions that aren't driven exclusively by cost.

Which markets could drive future luxury growth?

South Korea and India emerge as particularly interesting opportunities. South Korea combines luxury consumption with fashion, beauty, wellness, entertainment and digital culture, while India's evolving consumer market could make it an increasingly important luxury frontier.

About the Guests

Burt Flickinger III is Managing Director of Strategic Retail Group, a global retail and consumer packaged goods consultancy.

Denise Seegal is the former President and CEO of Maggiasconi Apparel Group and former Executive Director of M. Magtigu Limited. She now leads her own consulting firm and brings extensive experience in merchandising, product development, manufacturing, fashion and retail.

Together with A Seat at the Table host Jane Singer, they explore what's going wrong in luxury retail—and what brands and retailers need to get right to win the next generation of luxury consumers.

Visit A Seat at The Table's website at https://seat.fm