LVMH

Luxury retailers lean on outlets for growth

Luxury retailers including Tapestry-owned Coach and Ralph Lauren are investing in and elevating outlet stores to attract aspirational, value-conscious shoppers as demand for luxury softens. Consulting firm Bain reports the luxury market lost about 70 million customers since 2022, and a luxury-focused fund (USLUX) is down about 7% year to date per FactSet. Analysts from Citi, Bernstein and Wells Fargo say upgrading outlet assortments and mixing made-for-factory items with select full-price goods can broaden customer bases and support sales and share-price upside for companies such as Ralph Lauren, Tapestry and Capri Holdings (Michael Kors). Analysts cite rising full-price focus, improved outlet product quality, and easier customer acquisition via elevated outlet experiences.

Sephora's UK Comeback Guides Global Expansion

Sephora, the LVMH-owned beauty retailer, is re-entering the U.K. market with a hyperlocal strategy after withdrawing in 2005. Since 2023 the company has opened 15 U.K. stores and expanded its digital presence, balancing global brand recognition with local nuance. In an Adweek interview at its new Edinburgh store, Sephora U.K. managing director Sarah Boyd said the rollout focuses on earning a place in each city before opening more locations. The article positions the U.K. comeback as a strategic test the company can export to other markets.

L'Oréal Partners with OpenAI to Boost Generative AI Marketing

L’Oréal announced a partnership with OpenAI to integrate OpenAI’s latest models into its CreAItech marketing production system and to provide up-to-date product information for use in ChatGPT. Maybelline will also integrate its virtual try-on app into ChatGPT. L’Oréal says CreAItech — an in‑house generative-AI production platform that already uses models from Seedance, Google, Adobe and Stable Diffusion — has produced tens of thousands of marketing assets, reduced production costs, and trained thousands of staff. The deal includes access to GPT‑Rosalind, an OpenAI reasoning model for life sciences, and L’Oréal is testing paid placements on ChatGPT for several brands. Executives framed the announcement at VivaTech on June 19, 2026.