1. Without Parties, There’s No Place to Show Off That Expensive Watch: Persuading people to spend a lot of money on luxury goods is more difficult in the pandemic. “Why do I put on a $200,000 timepiece if I have a clock on my microwave?” In tough times, even luxury brands need to rethink their age-old strategies. – Read More on the New York Times
2. Shoppers Want Revenge. Is Kanye the Answer? As life starts to return to some form of normal, investors are betting that major clothing chains – like Gap, L Brands Inc., corporate parent of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works. Gap Inc., and Macy’s Inc. – will be big beneficiaries. Meanwhile, a broad migration toward online shopping has added to the churn, enabling Amazon.com Inc. to elbow its way further into America’s closets. – Read More on Bloomberg
3. Lawyers are helping brands crack down on Amazon sellers: As competition ramps up on e-commerce marketplaces, brands that have wholesale channels are trying to figure out how to walk the delicate tightrope of growing their presences online — without forfeiting control of how their products are sold and who gets to sell them. – Read More on Modern Retail
4. Economy Week Ahead: U.S. consumer prices are expected to pick up in March, a potential signal of building inflation pressures amid a big dose of fiscal stimulus, rising consumer spending and supply-chain bottlenecks. Most policy makers and many economists, however, are forecasting that relatively strong consumer-price gains will be short-lived. – Read More on the WSJ
5. Why Amazon Workers in Alabama Voted Against Union: Analysts say the defeat of unionization will strengthen Amazon after what has already been a year of tremendous growth and success fueled by the pandemic. – Read More on the WSJ
6. Investing in luxury goods: a sector set for years of galloping growth. Many luxury groups are like funds: portfolios of brands spread across a range of product types from watches to handbags that appeal in a variety of different regions at different times. Corporate managers are the stewards of these brands and invest and expand them to maximize the value in their “names.” – Read More on Money Week