Lifestyle & Luxury News Roundup // September 18, 2024

This week, Macy's launches new menswear private brand, mass beauty brands are going premium as the gap between channels narrows, and more. 

RETAIL NEWS

Macy’s Launches New Men’s Private Brand, Mode of One

On Thursday, the retailer officially launched Mode of One, a collection targeted to the 25- to 40-year-old man who is comfortable in his own skin and isn’t ashamed to express his individuality. Macy’s spent more than two years working on the collection, conducting research on men’s trends and style preferences. The line is inspired by street style, art, sports, music, technology and entertainment.

Chanel Owners and L’Oréal Heir Investing in Olsens’ The Row

The Wertheimer family and Francoise Bettencourt Meyers’ Tethys Invest have acquired minority stakes in The Row, valuing the Olsen sisters’ luxury label at approximately $1 billion, with Imaginary Ventures also joining the investment.

With new investment, Kendra Scott eyes geographic, category growth

Private equity firm 65 Equity Partners has invested an undisclosed amount in the accessories brand, though founder Scott herself retains a majority stake.

Luxury Market Confidence Erodes As Demand Weakens In The U.S. And China

HSBC, Barclays and TD Cowen dial back expectations for luxury stocks as Chinese and American affluent consumers signal weakening demand for luxury goods.

Customer Is King for Luxury Executives Navigating Challenging Times

The customer is king, more than ever today for luxury executives. The curtain rises on Milan Fashion Week Tuesday as luxury brands grapple with current and looming uncertainties, and securing the loyalty of customers is more key than ever through personalization, communication and the best service.

Chanel Buys Building on Avenue Montaigne in Paris

Chanel said Wednesday it has bought the building housing its boutique on Avenue Montaigne for an undisclosed sum, as leading luxury brands continue to snap up real estate in a bid to secure prime locations for their brands. The building at 42 Avenue Montaigne is home to a fashion, watches and fine jewelry boutique and offices, the French luxury brand said in a statement. Chanel has been in the building since 1983.

Mytheresa Proves Multibrand E-Commerce Still Works For Luxury Brands

While multibrand luxury fashion retail is on the ropes, Mytheresa just posted 10% year-over-year growth in fiscal 2024, led by a 25% uptick in the U.S.

Why mall owner Simon Property Group is expanding its online marketplace

In a bid to grow its digital business — and compete with more off-price retail players — Simon Property Group has rebranded and expanded its online marketplace to include a wider selection of discounted products. Simon, which owns 195 malls and shopping centers in the U.S., has rebranded its Shop Premium Outlets online marketplace as ShopSimon, and now offering on-sale and discounted merchandise in addition to outlet products. The more than 3,000 brands available on the site include Adidas, American Eagle, Cole Haan, Etro, Hugo Boss, MCM, Puma, Steve Madden and Tod’s.

The 2024 Holiday Season Will Be Filled With Twists and Turns, According to Boston Consulting Group

BCG predicts consumers will spend as much as, or modestly more than, they did last year.

BEAUTY NEWS

Dubai-Based Huda Beauty Weighs Sale of Fragrance Division

The company is considering selling its Kayali perfume division, with Goldman Sachs advising, to potentially allow the brands to operate independently and enable the buyout of TSG Consumer Partners’ stake.

Credo debuts Pact Collective’s sustainable pump in new private label skin-care range

Credo, the clean beauty retailer started in 2015, launched a new in-house skin-care range aimed at being the catalyst for industry-wide packaging disruption. Credo’s new eponymous line was created in partnership with Pact Collective, a nonprofit focused on reducing beauty packaging waste that was launched as an experiment between Credo Beauty and clean cosmetics brand MOB Beauty in 2021.

Glossier Teases at a Glossier Play Revival

Glossier has posted on Instagram a teaser for a revived Glossier Play sub-brand. In 2019, Glossier launched the spinoff to offer colorful, flashy, and highly pigmented products, that contrast Glossier’s typical no-makeup look products. Glossier Play was discontinued in 2020. The founder and CEO decided to discontinue the brand because she realized these products could be released under the main Glossier brand.

Cassandra Grey Has Bought Back Violet Grey

Cassandra Grey has acquired the luxury retailer back from Coupang-owned Farfetch, with help from private equity veteran Sherif Guirgis, who is helming the company as chairman, chief executive officer and co-owner.

Mass beauty brands are going premium as the gap between channels narrows

As budget-conscious consumers seek to secure more bang for their buck, in many CPG categories, they’ll opt for a cheaper product or even a private label. But in beauty, shopping behaviors have been a bit different—and brands are taking note. Companies like L’Oréal and Unilever are seeing strong results as they premiumize their mass brands and inch closer to prestige.

Beauty Product Launches Have Plunged. Is That Bad?

According to Mintel, CPG product launches are at an all-time low. Across CPG, brands are relying on reformulations and line extensions instead of releasing wholly new products.

COMINGS & GOINGS

• Sephora North America Appoints New Chief Financial Officer BoF