Swetha Ramachandran manages GAM's luxury brand strategy and knows the luxury industry inside out. We discuss Swetha's definition of luxury, the pre-eminence of European brands, the rise of China and how the industry is evolving.
 
 [01:05 ] Swetha discusses her early career
 [03:01 ] Luxury is changing and widening
 [06:13 ] Defining luxury
 [07:53 ] Sizing the luxury market
 [09:10 ] Characteristics of a luxury shopper
 [10:59 ] The role of gaming and online in attracting younger consumers
 [13:37 ] Why European companies dominate the luxury industry
 [16:28 ] Chinese consumption
 [20:16 ] Trend of buying less but buying better
 [22:10 ] Importance of supply chain transparency
 [23:24 ] How the rules of the game differ to the broader consumer goods sector
 [25:30 ] Luxury companies can't simply rest on their laurels
 [28:21 ] US brands typically haven't built as much brand equity
 [29:29 ] How big can luxury brands become before they fail to deliver promise of exclusivity
 [30:42 ] Gaining confidence in the brand permanence of younger companies
 [33:19 ] Family ownership and the benefits of taking a long-term view
 [34:47 ] Online has supported rather than disrupted luxury brands
 [36:31 ] Luxury resale hurts aspirational luxury brands but helps top tier brands
 [37:42 ] Have luxury companies been too aggressive with pricing?
 [39:50 ] Valuations and the opportunity set today
 [42:28 ] Are luxury goods companies now more sensitive to recession?
 [43:50 ] There's no such thing as a stupid question