Vogue Business Index: Winter 2021 Update

This article is part of our Advanced Membership package. To enjoy unlimited access to The Long View from Vogue Business and bi-monthly Market Insights Reports and webinars, sign up for Advanced Membership here. In the winter 2021 update of the Vogue Business Index, Dior emerges as a clear winner — a result that reflects a consistently high performance across all five pillars and an unrivalled cross-channel digital strategy. We assess brand performance in ESG, digital, omnichannel, innovation and consumer perception, which is backed by our unique luxury consumer sentiment survey capturing 6,101 Vogue and GQ readers across 12 markets. In this edition, we’ve reconfigured what’s important, removing financial metrics in place of innovation metrics to reflect the pace of change in the industry. With the addition of the new innovation pillar, Gucci has emerged as the most innovative brand in the Index, as a one of the first movers in the metaverse and an early adopter of new tools like virtual clienteling. In a tough economic environment, 22 of the brands have buy-now-pay-later schemes while only nine brands have living wage commitments. Meanwhile, our luxury consumer sentiment survey indicates that Hermès wins on trust, the value correlating strongest with purchase intent. Our full ranking, available exclusively to Advanced Members, includes rankings for all 60 luxury brands in the Index, as well as performance metrics across the five pillars. Watchlist: New brands to watch in 2022 Early in the new year, we’ll be publishing a spin-off from the Vogue Business Index looking at 20 up-and-coming brands that consumers have organically cited as favourites in our bi-annual luxury consumer sentiment survey. These brands, validated by our expert editors, are fast becoming disruptors, bringing important lessons and investment opportunities to the industry. Watch this space for the new report in Q1 2022. Methodological changes bring to light new challenges The winter 2021 edition of the Vogue Business Index contains an updated methodology accounting for some of the biggest industry changes we’ve witnessed, particularly in sustainability and technology. With innovation replacing financial success as the fifth pillar of the ranking, brands are being measured on their readiness to adapt to consumer demands in new spaces. We’ve also added Weibo data to the digital pillar and included the Middle East in our luxury consumer sentiment survey for the first time. The full study helps brands to explore the following questions: When it comes to innovation, what’s more important to consumers — the metaverse, virtual clienteling or new channels such as rental and resale? What’s key to capturing consumers in the Middle East? How are domestic Chinese brands competing against global luxury competitors? Which brands are progressing from commitment to implementation when it comes to sustainability goals? Innovation creates new benchmark for differentiating performance In this edition of the Vogue Business Index, we are measuring early adoption of the metaverse for the first time, as well as dynamic new features like virtual clienteling, livestreaming and AR/VR try-on. Yet it’s not just new technology that is driving change, but behaviours and attitudes too. Within this pillar we’ve also included metrics on rental and resale and interaction with the gaming world, through both product collaborations and experiences. In this report, you’ll find out which brands are the first-movers when it comes to these initiatives and which innovation trends are resonating most with consumers. To download the full winter 2021 edition of the Vogue Business Index, click the link below. Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.

Make better business decisions

Make better business decisions