Hot off the press! Thrilled to announce my latest book, “Luxury Brand and Art Collaborations: Postmodern Consumer Culture”, is now out from Routledge. Over the past two decades, collaborative initiatives between luxury brands and the art world have been increasing in number and relevance, becoming one of the most...

Last week I had the pleasure to unpack with Rebecca Robins ‘the phenomenon LVMH’ at the very first SIA Alumni Luxury In-Conversation Event. What really stood out to me was Rebecca’s analysis of LVMH as a living masterclass of culture management, both vertical and horizontal: – external culture, the...

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...

A very interesting article by Stephen Pulvirent from Hodinkee about the “Generations” campaign of Patek Philippe  [link here] Advertising agency Leagas Delany launched the “Generations” campaign in 1996, turning Patek Philippe into the brand of the watches “you look after for the next generation.” The behind-the-scenes described in the...

“Cultural Strategy” by Holt & Cameron [link here] has been around for more than 10 years. And it is still one of the best works proving how a cultural approach to brand strategy leads to blue-ocean innovations. Some businesses strive to close the loop between culture and branding. Managers...

A compelling piece (“This morning Twitter kissed culture hard on the mouth”)by Grant McCracken [link here] about the state of culture in business. […] we have all struggled to put the culture idea on the agenda. People give it lip service, but when it comes to hiring people to supply cultural...

Culture is often overlooked, but is a critical foundation in a distinctively customer-centric organization: an organization where all employees collectively and individually prioritize customer needs in everything that they do every day. (Mc Kinsey’ Service Operations Practice) A great read from McKinsey [link here], finally clarifying that excellent customer...

How can companies start developing cultural awareness about their markets and customers? Let me share first a personal story. At the conclusion of my Ph.D. studies in Japan, I was asked to represent my cohort at the university graduation ceremony. I had spent there five years as the only...

What do Diderot and Moira Rose have in common? What about Rihanna, and the 15th President of USA James Buchanan? An interesting dressed appearance, for a start… I have given a talk to the MA students in Luxury Jewelry Management, Birmingham City University. Such a great opportunity to share...