With news of Matthew M Williams‘ appointment to the house of Givenchy still fresh, Quartz has reported of a new study published by investment company Bernstein. The analysis hints that “successful” creative directors of luxury fashion brands average a five year “expiry date.” The report appears to underscore recent creative director moves, with data informed by big news like Raf Simons swapping Calvin Klein for Prada, Clare Waight Keller’s tenure as artistic director of Givenchy and Kim Jones‘ appointment to Dior. Bernstein considered company profitability, share prices and enterprise value (an estimation of total value) when appraising the performances of creative directors. Crucially, Bernstein discovered that after a five year stretch with any one creative director, a company’s fortunes would decline. This may explain why powerhouses like LVMH and Kering are more keen to replace their creative directors in short timeframes,...

Despite the coronavirus pandemic slowly getting under control, French luxury goods company Chanel predicts that the lingering effects on the economy will impact the luxury sector for at least the next two years. “We anticipate that the external environment will continue to impact the luxury sector negatively for at least the next 18 to 24 months,” says Chanel’s CFO Philippe Blondiaux in an interview with Reuters. Despite these predictions, the group has seen a 13 percent growth since 2019 and expects to end the year profitable. Previously having to shutter many of its retail locations, almost 85 percent of the group’s stores have now opened, with a massive sales rebound in China with some weeks going over 100 percent. Business is starting to resume in Paris,...