The Apparel, Fashion and Luxury industry has seen amazing growth to USD 2.4 trillion, unprecedented levels of value creation and a significant increase in cultural and societal relevance since the beginning of the century. Globalizing markets, the success of American pop culture, Fast Fashion, and the emergence of prospering middle classes in emerging markets have created helpful tail winds. And even a global pandemic with revenue declines of 20+% did not manage to derail that. From 30,000 meters, the industry looks more resilient and profitable than ever.
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However, taking a closer look at the industry reveals a more complex and challenging picture: most Western developed markets show stagnating revenue levels for the last decade, the industry gets more and more polarized (with the top 10 "Superwinners" creating 81% of the industry's value generation), the Chinese consumption engine is stuttering, the luxury frenzy is cooling down ... and the industry has still not found a compelling answer on how to massively reduce its carbon footprint.