Leaders

FT Business of Luxury: Frederick Lukoff, CEO, Stella McCartney

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Sophie Doran | June 24, 2011

Vanessa Friedman discusses markets, growth and Generation X with Stella McCartney CEO, and former Lanvin business development director, Frederick Lukoff

Vanessa Friedman discusses markets, growth and Generation X with Stella McCartney CEO, and former Lanvin business development director, Frederick Lukoff

A central theme of discussion at the FT Business of Luxury Summit was that of the American economy and its ability to sustain the increases in luxury consumption, witnessed so far in 2011. Opinions were divided, just as they were towards China and so-called ‘emerging’ markets, where most economists acknowledged the upward trend but feared something sinister is hiding on the horizon.

The outcome of such discussions remained unclear, America is back to pre-recession levels of luxury consumption and in many cases exceeding them. But summarising the thinking of a spirited discussion, Gavyn Davies, Fulcrum Asset Management, remarked ‘the future lies in emerging markets, unfortunately the developed markets look a little sick.’

Luxury brand executives remained more neutral. Audiences were surprised to hear that whilst double-digit growth was indeed being achieved in developing markets, a large chunk of Q1 2011’s results, were driven by Europe and America. And although Japan’s luxury industry took a severe hit at the time of the Earthquake crisis, numbers were not as badly affected as they expected.

Frederick Lukoff echoed that sentiment at Stella McCartney, where the CEO acknowledged growth across the board and remained optimistic about the health of both the American economy and the luxury sector at large. Here we present his discussion with Vanessa Friedman about how the brand is performing and what he sees for the future.

For more Luxury Society coverage of the FT Business of Luxury Summit 2011, please see the links below:

- FT Business of Luxury: Licensing vs Collaboration
- 5 Minutes With … Jean-Claude Biver, CEO, Hublot
- Vanessa Friedman, Fashion Editor, Financial Times