MILAN — “In the luxury industry, we deal with customers who want for nothing, but are looking for something,” said Luca Lisandroni, chief executive officer of Brunello Cucinelli.

For this reason, focusing on prioritizing experiences and raising the bar on personalization, intimacy and excellence, were among key takeaways during the 11th edition of the Altagamma Consumer and Retail Insight conference that took place here Tuesday.

According to the Boston Consulting Group’s annual research on consumer trends presented that morning, the highest-end customers, although accounting for just 0.1 percent of the total, represent 37 percent of the market value and they expect renewed attention from brands.

In 2024, the personal luxury goods segment saw a 1 percent decline, the first since the 2008 crisis, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by macroeconomic tensions, decreased Chinese demand, and a marked withdrawal by aspirational consumers, those spending less than 5,000 euros annually on luxury goods and services.

As macro and global economic, social and political uncertainties continue to dampen the mood and reduce purchasing power, the segment of aspirational consumers, while still accounting for 61 percent of the high-end market, has dropped by 13 percentage points compared to 2013 and 35 percent of them said they have reduced their luxury spend in the past 18 months. Price increases also weighed on spending.

“Over the next 18 months, 75 percent of aspirational consumers intend to maintain or increase their spending, a figure rising to 85 percent for the top-tier client,” said Matteo Lunelli, president of Altagamma. “To seize this opportunity, companies must continue investing in increasingly personalized and effective customer relationships, reinforcing trust through a strong alignment of shared values, and leveraging the excellence of their creations and innovative services.”

Top-tier customers spend more than 50,000 euros annually on luxury goods and services, and have expanded their range of purchases beyond jets and yachts to include design, wines and spirits, cars, wellness, watches, and jewelry.

“They show a preference for experiential luxury and the emerging ‘health as wealth’ trend, prioritizing wellness, longevity, and care for personal spaces, with spending expected to increase by around 10 percent over the next 18 months,” said Filippo Bianchi, managing director and senior partner, global head of luxury at BCG, commenting on the consulting firm’s True-Luxury Global Consumer Insight.

Accordingly, brands “with over half their client base made up of aspirational consumers are seeing the steepest declines, underperforming sharply over the past 12 months. In contrast, those that stayed loyal to their core, top-tier clients are not just weathering the storm, they’re thriving,” said Bianchi.

Looking ahead, Guia Ricci, managing director and partner of BCG, said brands should avoid overwhelming luxury’s top clients with “excessive and impersonal marketing, an average of 40 to 50 outreaches a month, as they are seeking more intimate and exclusive store spaces.”

While product quality “is non-negotiable — the transparency of the supply chain often still falls short. Building a stronger luxury industry means returning to what made it exceptional in the first place, especially for top-tier clients, re-centering on the client relationship, the client experience, the product quality and the client identification.”

Ricci said that while North America remains the epicenter of high-net-worth individuals, new wealth hubs are rapidly emerging in India and Southeast Asia, with Indonesia and Thailand growing. The global HNWI population has surpassed 940,000 individuals, and this segment is projected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 9 percent in terms of number and 8 percent in terms of wealth by 2030.

Luca Solca, managing director, head of global luxury goods at Bernstein, presented the study “Reinventing Multi-brand Retail,” citing among “the most compelling developments” the collaboration between Amazon and Saks Global, the innovative  Seibu Ikebukuro store in Japan, and Inditex initiatives to expand in the premium segment.

“Traditional multibrand retailers — department stores in the U.S. consolidating and reducing their footprint, and independent boutiques narrowing their scope — are clearly experiencing a decline that mirrors the rise of monobrand retail, particularly in clothing and accessories, which has reduced mid-range offerings,” said Solca. “The polarization between luxury and fast fashion has eroded space for mid-tier brands, leaving them unable to scale or maintain distinctiveness.”

However, multibrand distribution continues to be successful in cosmetics, eyewear, watches and footwear, he pointed out, thanks to significant economies of scale, consolidation, and category-specific expertise.

Multibrand online platforms have failed to establish sustainable models, with the exception of Mytheresa, he said, while “Farfetch’s plans for market dominance have not succeeded.”

Solca believes that AI could help discover unfamiliar brands online, which is something that is still challenging, compared with the ease the internet allows to find well-known brands.

He asked himself who might shape the future of multibrand retail and responded by listing established players specialized in menswear, such as Mitchells; Japanese department stores with innovative display strategies; fast-fashion retailers moving upscale such as  Zara, Shein and Temu; web giants Google and ChatGPT, and hybrid physical-digital retailers such as Saks, Rebag, and Amazon.

In a panel moderated by Stefania Lazzaroni, general director of Altagamma, Cucinelli’s Lisandroni along with Valeriano Antonioli, CEO of Lungarno Collection; Enrico Galliera, chief marketing and commercial officer of Ferrari, and Nicolas Luchsinger, CEO of Buccellati, all highlighted the importance of personalizing the experience for the brands’ customers.

“Yes, AI and algorithms can help but nothing can beat the human contact,” said Antonioli.

Ferrari has been expanding its reach through its fashion collections, entering the world of sailing, and opening up to aspirational consumers through secondhand sales, said Galliera. “We want to create situations for people to enjoy the cars and let them know that driving a Ferrari is fun,” he added to a round of laughter.

Also focusing on multibrand distribution, Lisandroni said this channel “trains us to listen and be open to different points of view.”

While Luchsinger concurred on the need to create a relationship with Buccellati’s customers, he also highlighted the importance of the artisans who create the brand’s jewels and silverware. “When Andrea [Buccellati] designs a piece, he knows which artisan will create it — I have never seen that before. This is a beautiful job and we have to work on training the new generations for the future.”