Euromonitor is 2016 Luxury Researcher of the Year

Euromonitor is Luxury Daily’s 2016 Researcher of the Year for its comprehensive view of the luxury sector across regions, verticals and for its attention to current events.

Euromonitor won over first runner’s-up Fashionbi and second runner’s-up real estate brokerage firm Knight Frank. These three firms conducted research that painted a broad picture of 2016’s challenges, which included the United Kingdom’s Brexit vote and the United States presidential election, as well as tracking the marketing successes of luxury brands.

The Luxury Researcher of the Year award was decided based on the relevance, ingenuity and scope of research reports. All candidates selected by the Luxury Daily editorial team and from reader nominations had to have appeared in Luxury Daily coverage this year. Judging was based on merit.

Painting a global picture
During 2016, Euromonitor examined international markets closely with research delving into Russia, China and Brazil. As important players for luxury, Euromonitor based its research on these regions’ economics, world events and class structures.

With many research reports focusing on digital and mobile technologies, and how consumer sentiment has evolved due to these advancements, a localized approach offers luxury marketers an on-the-ground view of target regions. Understanding a specific market’s shortcomings or strengths can assist marketers in making sound and relevant choices in unfamiliar environments.

For example, Euromonitor reported that Brazil should expect a 7.2 percent increase in inbound tourists for 2016 due to the country’s role as host of the summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro Aug. 5-21.

Image courtesy of Louis Vuitton; luggage shown in Brazil

Brazil’s recent woes been in the news leading up to the Olympics as the country struggled to properly prepare for the games and is currently in the midsts of a number of social, governmental and economic challenges, all of which have harmed its position as an emerging market for luxury (see story).

Euromonitor also suggested that Russia’s economic trails are actually paving opportunity for luxury, rather than stalling. Devalued currency rates in Russia have spurred an uptick in tourism and the purchase of luxury accessories within the market.

Euromonitor attributed the positive effect on the Russian market to a number of factors including fewer residents traveling abroad to buy luxury goods, as well as an influx of foreign tourists due to lower travel costs. Although Russia’s luxury sector has had its share of highs and lows, many brands have worked to capitalize on its potential (see story).

Image courtesy of John Varvatos; The brand's namesake designer took a trip to Moscow for a store opening

Research based on socio-economics in China were also released this year. Euromonitor found that China’s growing middle class presents luxury with boundless opportunity if brands are attentive.

Chinese opportunity truly lies, according to Euromonitor, in travel among the middle class. As reported in "How to Target Chinese Shoppers Abroad," outbound trips have increased on average by an impressive 13 percent since 2000, helping China overtake Japan as the second largest consumer market in 2011 (see story).

Speaking to current events, Euromonitor was quick to offer insights into how the U.K. exiting the European Union would impact industries, such as high-end automobiles (see story), and how the U.S.’ nomination of Donald Trump as president will affect the luxury market (see story).

Preparedness and readiness to respond to turbulent issues puts Euromonitor at an advantage as individuals in various fields look for answers in uncertainty.

In addition to market overviews and news-related reactions, Euromonitor investigated areas of improvement and focus for the luxury industry’s future.

For example, Euromonitor has pinpointed ecommerce as a bright spot amid luxury’s otherwise stagnant growth. Luxury online sales are expected to rise at a CAGR of 7 percent through 2021. To capture this growing piece of the luxury pie, brands will need to improve their omnichannel, ecommerce and mobile experiences (see story).

Image courtesy of Galeries Lafayette

Also, luxury’s development of color cosmetics is quickly gaining on fragrances in terms of market penetration. This trend demonstrates the importance of fashion licenses and the potential cosmetics has for luxury due to entry-level prices and the creation of creative synergies between fashion and beauty (see story).

Together the subjects examined by Euromonitor in 2016 present those invested in luxury with a window into the future. By understanding market differences and the ripple effects world events have on the market, brands will be more agile and prepare to weather threats and evolve accordingly.

First runner’s-up: Fashionbi
Fashionbi was the first runner’s-up for its continued dedication to investigating brand practices as they apply to trends, product categories, technology and marketplaces.

This year, Fashionbi dedicated its attention to platform-based marketing in luxury, discovering best practices for Snapchat and Instagram. For brands looking to speak directly to millennial and Gen Z consumers a understanding of these two platforms has emerged as a must-have in marketers’ toolkits.

Fashionbi also sought to understand the implications of see-now, buy-now, finding that consumers are turned off by the long wait time between runway presentations and retail availability.

Technological innovations including ecommerce and social media have created a domino effect of consumerism, creating fertile ground for the see-now, buy-now movement.

Fashionbi’s "See-Now, Buy-Now: How Is The Industry Adapting To Fashion's Newest Movement?" laid out the various solutions that designers and luxury labels have settled on to appeal to consumers who have become tired of waiting five months between seeing an item walk down a runway and being able to buy it. The industry agrees on the potential benefits of a realigned timeline, but apparel labels are divided in their approaches to the problem, which may lead to a fragmented fashion calendar (see story).

Fashionbi was also Luxury Daily’s 2015 Researcher of the Year for its comprehensive examination of the trends on both the marketing and consumer side of the fashion world (see story).

Second runner’s-up: Knight Frank
Although known mainly for its dealings in real estate, Knight Frank’s detailed market research reporting earned the brokerage second runner’s-up.

Knight Frank was consistent in providing an overview of the real estate market on a global and local scale. For instance, Knight Frank found that prime global real estate growth reached a two-year high in 2016, lead by property sales in Vancouver and Shanghai (see story).

Based in London, Knight Frank also conducted through research on how the Brexit vote impacted real estate in the U.K. After the vote, Knight Frank expressed through its findings that the referendum’s long-term impact on the U.K.'s housing market will be minimal.

In September, Knight Frank noted a 22.1 percent rise in the number of new prospective buyers in the London market Buyers’ interests in the area are growing despite the dramatization of Brexit, with users viewing listings online 20.8 percent more since last year (see story).

Outside of its core property dealings, Knight Frank also examined luxury investments finding that classic automobiles are being dethroned as the number one venue for investors, as high-quality wine makes a comeback (see story).