For Louis Vuitton founder’s 200th anniversary, let me share my (nerdy) favourite trivia fact. The first known Japanese customer of Louis Vuitton is Itagaki Taisuke, one of the founding fathers of the Japanese Modern Government in the mid-19th century. Leader of the Jiyu Minken Undo (Freedom and People’s Right...
A Pinch of Salt
This section features personal reflections, comments, insights, and any other content that adds a pinch of salt to the understanding of business.
In business (and in life), innovation does not “suddenly happen.” Rather, it stems from a change in perspective. One day we look reality with different eyes and we spot pockets for amendments and improvements. In the midst of a stagnant situation, unexpected avenues open up in front of us. Changing perspective is...
Looking forward to discussing the retail environment with ephemeral retail expert Ghalia Boustani. DBA, Ph.D. I will propose a socio-cultural reading on consumption and places of retail. It is a great for the opportunity to share the approach that I have developed with my consultancy SALT to the very hot...
I have spent an enriching 3 days at the “Luxury in the Age of Technology” IPOL conference. Hosted virtually by Politecnico di Milano, the conference featured a great lineup of speakers from the industry and the academia. The event inspired many thought-provoking debates, to which I was very glad to...
Excited to speak on the panel about luxury and innovation on Wednesday at 3.30 pm (UK time BST). I will reflect on effective techniques in digital heritage storytelling, drawing examples from the research I developed with Dr. Andrea Tanner (Fortnum & Mason). The panel is part of the IPOL 2021...
This weekend I had the pleasure to speak at LUXRE, the conference for professionals and operators in the luxury rental business [link here]. My talk focussed on the concept of territorial excellence: specifically, I explored why certain places generate a sense of luxury in visitors and how rental professionals can...
I had the greatest Sunday morning virtually attending the World Hope Forum Japan 2021. Organized by Trend Union (Edelkoort Inc.) , the forum shed light on fashion, education and creativity in their interdependence with the Japanese social and geographic environment. Here the main takeaways of the event: Empathy in...
This week I have been featured in an article in Forbes Japan. The article [here], written by Hiroyuki Anzai and Kaori Nakano, considers the importance of human sciences to shape effective practices in luxury management. Cashmere company Brunello Cucinelli is a case in point. The company is seen as...
And it’s here! Thrilled to announce that Sotheby’s Institute of Artis launching an MA in Luxury Business, starting January 2022. Tsunami after tsunami, luxury brands have learnt that luxury is not what it used to be. And that the added value of luxury is increasingly going to be linked...
Nowadays culture has become a thing in business. Companies hire Chief Cultural Officers, engage with issues in cultural diversity, look with interest at their customers’ lives. The risk, however, is to approach culture as a thing: something as clear-cut and defined as an object, a certain nationality, language, skin...