At Ralph Lauren, a strategic reorganisation plan rolled out in September 2020 to grow online sales and reduce wholesale partners with less reliance on discounts is driving a rebound. 

Ralph Lauren said third-quarter revenue increased 27 per cent to $1.8 billion, beating analyst expectations as investments in the metaverse, such as its Roblox Winter Escape world, lured new younger shoppers.

In addition to the metaverse, digital investments including a new mobile, virtual clienteling tools, live streaming and buy-online, pick-up-in-store capabilities drove sales. 

I love change and disruption. It allows agile brands to disrupt, innovate, inspire, and create extreme value. 

But brands also need a specific mindset, one focused on playing to win and leading the field.  

Adaptability will be critical to winning the hearts of Gen Z. It is the most influential generation for luxury brands right now, and every brand that under indexes with them is putting itself in a vulnerable position. 

"By 2030, Gen Z will be the largest customer group in luxury, and they expect brands to offer different, more customer-centric experiences". 'Jing Daily'

Back in the day your CMO would be the brains and powerhouse between your brand staying front of mind over your competitor in order the customer/client would choose your brand over another. 

Over the last 10 years or so it seems this was done by spending huge sums on 'advertising' which eventually turned the marketing teams into nothing other than the company bullhorn. 

For many this is still the way stuff gets done - despite decimated budgets and revenues, all the associated ad fraud, and outdated ways to measure impact on ROI - and it's really hurting your business.

If you are wondering why most luxury brands are engaging with the virtual world, it’s partly because there is some business to be made. But it's mostly because they are about storytelling and stories will be told very differently in the future.

Today's digitally savvy consumer spends a lot of time playing video games and shopping?

Brands and marketers are finally starting to realise the power of in-game advertising. 

"As the gaming community has expanded in size, so too has the potential for brands to reach gamers directly via their entertainment medium of choice. In accordance with this influx of brand interest, in-game advertising companies have proliferated. Today’s in-game ad firms are building fungible, programmatic in-game ads and immersive experiences that sometimes improve players’ in-game experiences"

Balenciaga delivers skins and hoodies for Fortnite fans while Gucci offers limited edition accessories on Roblox. 

If you’re 18 to 34, it’s like 20 to 25 percent of your time online. So that’s a big blind spot for brands to not target them. It’s more about the audience behind it and how they behave — you know, 2 billion players is 2 billion potential consumers.

So, just like many retailers all those years ago who thought eCommerce was a fad followed by a similar mindset about how to utilise social media let's hope they're not thinking that gaming is just for the 'Sonic the Hedgehog' cohort.