Briefing
The latest from across luxury business: the moves, deals and numbers that matter, gathered as they break.
This briefing is compiled twice a day using Worthbury's AI agents, finely tuned to meet our editorial standards. While we test and review their work, mistakes can sometimes happen. See exactly how it works.
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Watches of Switzerland Group has reported an 11% rise in full-year revenue, with chief executive Brian Duffy citing record revenue, strong profit and excellent cash generation.
The retailer reported an 11% rise in full-year revenue and called for an encouraging start to the new financial year.
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Luxury home sales are driving US median prices to record highs, with coastal cities leading the gains, according to Robb Report.
Wealthy purchasers, concentrated in coastal cities, are the main force behind record median home prices nationwide, underscoring the resilience of top-end real estate demand.
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Estée Lauder will keep Too Faced, Smashbox and Dr. Jart+, while Coty is returning Gucci Beauty to Kering ahead of schedule.
Two of the world's largest beauty groups are quietly redrawing their brand portfolios, with Estée Lauder retreating from a sale and Coty exiting a licence early.
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China is on track to overtake France as the world's leading foie gras producer, according to Robb Report.
China's rapid build-out of foie gras production capacity echoes its earlier disruption of the global caviar market, raising questions for French producers who have long dominated the delicacy.
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Peter Nygard has been convicted in a Montreal sexual assault and forced confinement case after a plea deal in Quebec court.
The disgraced fashion mogul entered a plea deal in a Quebec court, closing another chapter in a years-long reckoning that has already unravelled his business empire.
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Marks & Spencer unveils a glammed-up Pantheon flagship, with new interior design and bespoke offers aimed squarely at a more premium Oxford Street shopper.
The retailer has unveiled a refurbished flagship and a bespoke design offer at the eastern end of Oxford Street, signalling a deliberate push upmarket for its home and fashion business.
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Two US sneaker chains have filed for bankruptcy, a sign that athletic footwear retail is sitting on too much inventory heading into a softer consumer environment.
The collapse of two US sneaker and outdoor retailers points to an oversupply problem across athletic footwear that has been building for months.
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Washington threatens a new Hormuz toll and blockade, and Dubai moves to build a bypass port as oil jumps past $80.
A renewed US threat to blockade Iranian ports and levy a charge on Strait of Hormuz traffic is accelerating plans for alternative Gulf shipping routes, with knock-on risk for luxury goods and travel flows through the region.
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LVMH is funding a research chair at the IFM fashion school, to study how creative minds engage with technology as AI reshapes design work.
The group is funding academic study of how designers work with artificial intelligence, a sign of how seriously the luxury sector is treating AI's impact on creative process.
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Rituals is spending €40 million to refresh 1,500 stores across 30 countries, compressing the work into 30 days to bet that physical retail still drives its growth.
The Dutch beauty retailer is staking its largest-ever European store overhaul on the belief that physical retail remains central to its growth.
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De Beers is shutting a South African mine for two years to save cash, the latest sign that the natural diamond industry's crisis has no quick fix.
The one-time monopoly will pause production at a South African mine for two years, underlining how deep the natural diamond downturn has become.
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Auction market rebound is real but lopsided, with Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips all up in H1 yet gains skewed to fewer, larger sales.
The big three auction houses all reported stronger first-half sales, though the rebound is concentrated rather than broad-based.
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Tailored Brands has filed for an IPO, betting that five years of post-bankruptcy discipline will win over public investors.
The menswear group behind Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank is testing Wall Street's appetite for its post-restructuring turnaround.
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The US has eased export controls on AI chips to the UAE, a shift that Emirati officials and American technology companies had long pushed for.
Washington is easing export restrictions on advanced American technology to the UAE, placing the Gulf state closer to the access enjoyed by its closest allies.
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Scorpios Bodrum has closed, just two years after opening, following a dispute with its local hospitality partner.
The beach club operator's Turkish outpost has shut after a falling out with local partner Maxx Royal Bodrum, exposing the risks of licensing lifestyle concepts abroad.
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Shein says its legal fight with Lacoste continues, after a French court awarded the heritage brand damages.
Shein says a legal battle with Lacoste over alleged counterfeiting and brand damage remains unresolved despite a French court awarding the polo shirt maker damages.
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Perfect Corp is going private, with founder Alice Chang leading a buyout at $2 a share.
Alice Chang is buying back the AI beauty-tech firm she took public, betting she can build faster away from public market scrutiny.
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UAE's e& sells its entire Vodafone stake for $6bn, offloading roughly 16.21% of the British telecom group's capital to France's Niel family vehicle, Vega.
The UAE telecom operator's full divestment of its Vodafone stake marks a strategic pivot away from passive European telecom holdings and towards operating assets closer to home.
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Belle Brands acquires Versed, adding the clean skincare and make-up line to a portfolio that already includes JVN Hair, Pipette and KVD Beauty.
The Katherine Power-founded skincare line joins JVN Hair, Pipette and KVD Beauty under the Windsong Global-backed roll-up, underlining continued consolidation in accessible clean beauty.
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Hermès confirms couture debut for January 2027, with Nadège Vanhée fronting the house's first made-to-measure collection.
The leather goods powerhouse will present its first made-to-measure collection during Paris Couture Week, a rare move by a house that has resisted the category for nearly two centuries.