Michel Roulleau, figure de l'enseigne de grands magasins, vient de quitter le groupe dirigé par Philippe Houzé. Il a créé Michel Roulleau SAS pour conseiller marques et enseignes.

Le ralentissement marqué des ventes de produits de luxe dans le monde, conséquence de tensions politiques et économiques fortes, aura au moins l’intérêt d’imposer une réflexion à une industrie du luxe dominante grâce à ses progressions « double digit » pendant de longues années.

Car, si les nouveaux riches, issus des pays à forte croissance ou en phase de décollage économique, sont toujours plus nombreux, les marques seraient bien inspirées de faire un « stop » afin de pouvoir re-déclencher un « go » durable.

L’industrie du luxe (comme beaucoup d’autres) a dû faire face à de nouveaux défis que la croissance folle de certains marchés lui a permis d’ignorer ou de reporter aux calendes grecques pendant de nombreuses années.

Au moment où la Fashion Week se termine à Paris, il est intéressant de se questionner sur le sens de ces grand-messes biannuelles et de comprendre à quoi peuvent servir ces événements toujours plus fastueux qui creusent le fossé entre des professionnels soucieux de garder leurs « privilèges » et des clients qui se rapprochent toujours plus des marques et des produits.

Le luxe doit-il garder son caractère mystérieux et aspirationnel en se repliant sur lui-même au risque d’être en décalage avec les attentes exprimées des consommateurs ?

Dans tous les cas de figure, il n’est aujourd’hui plus possible d’éviter de répondre à certaines problématiques de fond. J'en ai retenu six !

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By Forrest Cardamenis, Luxury Daily, March 09, 2016

In a reversal of the more materialistic tendencies of their parents, almost 95 percent of Chinese Generation Z consumers say it is essential for brands to be sustainable and environmentally conscious, according to a report by RTG Consulting.

The continued growth of China over the next several years will ensure that its consumers remain prime targets for brands for the foreseeable future, as even a slowed China exceeds the growth rate of western nations. As a result, brands will need to make a connection to this group, the first born in a fully modern China, in the interest of long-term success.

“We have noticed that the meaning of success is being redefined where career and financial achievement are no longer the main drivers,” said Marc-Oliver Arnold, head of research and business consulting divisions at RTG Consulting Group. “Our research shows that more than 62 percent of Gen Z already believe that ‘success no longer means financial wealth’; instead, there is an emerging shift in mindset where it is more about how you live your life that matters.

“Not only does this mean they want to live a multi-faceted and enriching lifestyle, but that they also see the value in taking responsibility for caring for the world and their environment,” he said. “This awakening fuels this generation’s desire to be mindful of the present moment and rediscover the meaning of happiness in daily experiences.

Generation gap
As millennials have begun to accrue wealth, they are now the target market for many brands, which recognize that making the connection could sustain several decades of good business. However, the potential of the subsequent generation, particularly in booming market such as China, is enormous.

Additionally, the present reliance on Chinese tourists, a result of the country’s enormous population and booming economy as well as laws, taxes and limitations of distribution that raise the price of luxury goods in the country, means brands must be equipped to reach these consumers when their behaviors and desires change.

While Chinese millennials are heavy travelers and see luxury items as status symbols, tomorrow’s Chinese consumer will more closely resemble today’s western youth, a worldly, socially conscious consumer with alternate definitions of success.

Good news for brands is that many of the techniques currently being used to court millennials, namely emphasizing sustainable measures, will prove effective on China’s Gen Z. Brands that have not yet begun to prioritize sustainability and reduce their carbon footprint and have instead banked on a globalizing economy and/or Chinese tourists will only be more pressed to adapt as time goes on.

Although environmental concerns are the largest marker of China’s Gen Z consumers, it is far from the only one. Barely a quarter of these consumers object to same-sex marriages, an opinion that is at first glance divorced from consumer culture but is in fact important to note for marketing materials, which still overwhelmingly suggest heterosexual couplings.

While “word of mouth” was and remains the best form of advertising a brand can hope for, the phrase is quickly becoming an anachronism. Only 10 percent of consumers surveyed spend more time interacting offline than online with friends.

Marketers are already going after consumers on social media, but proficiency with the various platforms and a quick adoption rate will be crucial moving forward. With interaction moving online, brands will need to find ways to generate buzz in an organic an unobtrusive way even more so than they do today.

Chinese consumer using WeChat

“As digital natives, China’s Gen Z currently lives and breathes mobile, and so [a brand’s] approach must be inherently mobile, with the goal of becoming part of their digital lifestyle,” Mr. Arnold said. “This means offering engaging, meaningful and inspiring creative content as well as distinct experiences.

“In addition, we foresee brands to increasingly become more of a platform for people to build deep and personal human connections.”

Perhaps most alarmingly, around half of respondents say that a more interesting job would be preferable to a high-paying job and only 11 percent agree that wealth indicates success. The overall shift from materialism to mindfulness could be a major obstacle for many sectors, which will need to find a way to tell consumers that a handbag, jewelry or a car is more than a product or sign of wealth.

Brave new world
Although this data connects China’s Gen Z to global Gen Y consumers, China’s own millennials are generally far more consumerist than those in the United States and elsewhere.

Following Gen X’s economic breakthrough, Gen Y was presented with a world in which they could buy previously unthinkable luxuries. Those born into such a world, however, have turned their attention to non-material aspects of happiness.

[READ THE FULL ARTICLE]

Kitty Knowles is a Staff Reporter at The Memo. Kitty previously worked as an online journalist for GQ. She can be found tweeting @KittyGKnowles.

Counterfeit crackdown: Microchips hidden in luxury heels & bags

From skirts that live-tweet and electric shock dresses to platforms that let you design your own shoes and bags, we’re used to the worlds of fashion and technology colliding.

Now luxury brand Salvatore Ferragamo has got in on the act, but this time it’s not in the name of aesthetic innovation: The Italian brand is microchipping its products to clamp down on counterfeiters costing the European luxury industry an estimated £5bn a year.

Hidden microchips
In the future your new shoes or bags won’t just come with smart buckles, bows or tassels, but with hidden microchips hidden inside. Footwear will conceal this smart device in the heel, while leather bags will hide chips discreetly within their lining.

Rather importantly, the chips are discreetly invisible, cannot be imitated, and cannot be tracked (they can only be read at a distance of 4cm or less).

Better for the brand and buyers
It’s not only hoped that the move will help the company to identify fakers selling subpar goods, but that it will help customers to make the most of their luxury purchases.

Many shoppers regularly update their wardrobe and attempt to sell the last season’s models online, but fear of fraud means that although Ferragamo shoes sell for up to £1,500 (and handbags at around £2,000), the resale value online is usually only about £1 for every £100 of the original price.

Being able to guarantee that items are genuine means you can bring the price back up to £30 or £40 for every £100 it originally cost.

“People who can afford to spend thousands on a purse often get tired of them after six months and tend to sell them on eBay,” Greg Furman, of the Luxury Marketing Council in New York told The Times.

(....)

[READ THE FULL ARTICLE]

Nous l'avons ici maintes fois annoncé : les Etats-Unis renforcent progressivement leur législation visant à restreindre l'usage de certains produits ou composants jugés nocifs pour la santé et l'environnement dans les produits de soin et de beauté. Une illustration : l'interfiction prochaine de produits à base de microbilles en raison de leur pouvoir de dissémination élevé dans l'environnement marin.

Extrait de Que Choisir, 06 Mars 2016

Présentes dans certains produits cosmétiques, ces minuscules billes relâchées par milliards dans l'environnement seront bientôt interdites aux États-Unis. Vous pouvez anticiper la probable future interdiction européenne en évitant dès maintenant les produits qui en contiennent.
  
Arrivées en masse sur le marché de l’hygiène-beauté dans les années 1990, les microbilles (microbeads, en anglais) améliorent l'effet exfoliant des cosmétiques et le pouvoir nettoyant des gels douches et des dentifrices. Elles sont faites de polyéthylène ou de polypropylène, une famille de plastiques bon marché et sûrs, utilisés depuis des décennies en emballage alimentaire.

La première alerte est venue de Nouvelle-Zélande. Des chercheurs de l'université d'Auckland ont publié en 2009 un article dans la revue Marine Pollution Bulletin. Ils se sont aperçus que les stations d'épuration ne filtraient pas ces microbilles, trop petites (entre 0,1 et 0,02 mm), et qu'elles finissaient dans le milieu marin. De nombreux travaux ont complété ce constat. Le dernier en date, publié en janvier 2016, émane de l'Ifremer (Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer). Conduite par Arnaud Huvet, directeur du laboratoire d’écotoxicologie de Brest, l'étude a montré que les microbilles, en très fortes concentrations, perturbaient le cycle de vie des huîtres, qui les absorbent comme du phytoplancton. Cela confirme les travaux de François Galgani, également chercheur à l'Ifremer, qui avait évoqué à plusieurs reprises la nocivité de ces microbilles.

En volume, comme il en faut plusieurs centaines de milliers pour faire un gramme, elles représentent une fraction infime des quelque trois millions de tonnes de déchets en plastique générés chaque année par un pays comme la France. Le problème est leur capacité de dissémination et leur persistance. Chimiquement stable, le polyéthylène met des décennies à se dégrader.

Bientôt bannies des États-Unis
Les États-Unis ont adopté une loi d'interdiction de portée nationale fin 2015 qui entrera en vigueur début 2017. La Californie et l'Illinois (État qui borde les Grands lacs) avaient déjà légiféré dans ce sens. Il est fort probable que l'Union européenne s'oriente elle aussi vers une interdiction des microbilles à brève échéance. La question sera examinée lors d'une conférence internationale à Lanzarote (Canaries) les 25 et 27 mai 2016.

La protection de l'environnement pose souvent des dilemmes, nombre de produits étant à la fois néfastes et très utiles. Rien de tel dans le cas des microbilles. On cherche en vain une étude sérieuse démontrant leur efficacité cosmétique.L'Oréal a d'ailleurs annoncé que ses produits n'en contiendraient plus à partir de 2017.

[RETROUVER L'ARTICLE DANS QUECHOISIR.ORG]

Eco-labels are becoming increasingly evident in the cosmetics industry. Ethical consumers are looking for organic, natural, cruelty-free and similar logos on their cosmetic products. However, a new label is emerging that is targeted at one of the fastest growing consumer groups in the world. The Halal cosmetics label is designed for Muslim consumers, comprising 20% of the global population.

The Halal label is already well-established in the food industry. It has been gaining popularity in the cosmetics industry since the Malaysian government introduced the Halal cosmetics standard (MS 2200: 2008) in June 2010.

The Halal label is given to cosmetic and personal care products that meet the strict rules of Sharia law. Like natural / organic standards,the Halal standard has a permitted and prohibited set of ingredients.
 
The Halal label appeals to Muslim consumers seeking integrity and authenticity in their cosmetic and personal care products. Concerns about animal-derived ingredients – such as gelatine and collagen - in cosmetic products are fuelling demand. Some consumers perceivesuch products as ethical as they typically avoid such ingredients.

International sales of Halal-certified cosmetics and personal care products are upwards of USD 5 billion. A growing number of cosmetic and ingredient firms are taking up Halal certification in Asia. The highest adoption rates are in Muslim countries where multinationals that includeColgate-Palmolive and Avon have launched certified products. As will be shown at the Asia-Pacific edition of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit, international chemical firms like BASF and CP Kelco are also getting ingredients certified for such markets.

(...)

At present, 57 certification agencies are authorised to certify products according to the Halal cosmetics standard. Although the highest adoption rates are in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, certification is also catching on in Europe and North America. In the latter regions, a growing number of Muslim consumers are interested in Halal-certified products. However, these products often fall short in terms of their ecological credentials as the formulations are similar to conventional cosmetics.

Organic Monitor sees high potential for such products in the Middle-East and Asia. In many of these countries, the market for natural & organic cosmetics is growing by over 20% a year. Rising consumer affluence, coupled with growing knowledge of cosmetic formulations, is making consumers pay a premium for cosmetics that meet their ethical / religious beliefs. However, they have to decide between Halal-certified conventional cosmetics and natural & organic products not meeting Sharia rules. With a lack of local brands of natural & organic cosmetics in these regions, there is a clear gap in the marketplace. A major challenge is formulating cosmetic products that meet two or more standards, as many European brands have discovered.

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