Game Changer or Game Over? French Luxury Facing the Decisive Turning Point of Platforms

Game Changer or Game Over? French Luxury Facing the Decisive Turning Point of Platforms

OPINION. To finally embrace the digital revolution that is disrupting the traditional pillars of luxury, brands must develop a dual personality: on one hand, preserving the essence of luxury for their core business; on the other hand, not neglecting the importance of platforms, which allow reaching customers in their geographical, cultural, and digital diversity, and providing each with a tailored message and experience. By Diaa Elyaacoubi, CEO of Monnier Paris and GaiaSuite.

In Recent Years, Several Failures in Luxury E-Commerce Have Given the Impression That This Sector Is Incompatible with Digital. However, These Disappointments Are More Due to Questionable Strategic Choices: Risky Investments, Organizational Rigidity, and Inadequate Technologies. Continuing on This Path Is No Longer an Option.

Indeed, the traditional pillars of luxury—respect for tradition, selective distribution, and brand desirability—are increasingly at odds with the capabilities required to succeed in a market marked by a dual revolution: that of the clientele—global, younger, fragmented, demanding, versatile, and digital—and that of platforms, which drive audiences and deploy new modes of product discovery and purchase: social networks, live shopping, and gaming.

To reach the first, one cannot do without the latter. It is illusory to hope to rely solely on one's own website and traditional distribution channels, which are inadequate and inefficient given the explosion in acquisition costs. Platforms, on the other hand, enable reaching customers in all their geographical, cultural, and digital diversity and providing each with a tailored message and experience.

By doing so, the brand shifts its distribution paradigm from a wholesale logic with a few distributors to an e-concession logic, where it operates its own digital corner across multiple platforms. It benefits from their aura and traffic but retains its autonomy to engage the visitor. Finally, thanks to their data, innovations, and the stimulation they provide, platforms help refine creation and strategy by staying in touch with the latest trends. This allows the brand to develop in new markets while retaining control and generating the margin needed to continue investing in what defines it: craftsmanship, creativity, and image.

The Importance of the Back Office

To embrace this revolution in e-distribution, luxury brands must develop a dual personality: on one hand, preserving the essence of luxury for their core business; on the other, adopting technological pragmatism for their back office. Long neglected, the back office now plays a crucial role because it determines the brand's ability to integrate into the digital landscape, perform economically, and offer its clients the high-end experience they expect.

The back office must therefore be technological, agile, and agnostic to connect to platforms, disseminate rich and tailored information, and evolve with market trends, usage, and innovation. It must deliver a high level of operational excellence, provide clear, comprehensive real-time indicators essential for a dynamic and optimized strategy, and be manageable by small teams within companies for whom this is not their core business. Finally, it should not be costly to maintain, thereby freeing up resources for products and the brand.

Without the efficiency of a perfectly adapted back-office solution, the risk is to get tangled up in overly cumbersome technologies and compensate for gaps with unnecessary promotional spending, ultimately losing ground to competitors irreversibly

E-Distribution Turning Point

France, a leader in luxury production, must absolutely take this e-distribution turning point. This is true for independent brands seeking to expand their presence in emerging markets, as well as for large groups that can be the engines of this revolution.

A new market is opening for those who can seize the opportunities offered by e-distribution technologies. By investing in agile digital infrastructures and regaining control of their distribution chain, they can not only survive but also thrive in this new economic era.

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