Eva Morletto

Following in the footsteps of the fashion industry, the beauty industry is now forging partnerships with leading players in F1. Scuderia Ferrari and SkinCeuticals, owned by L’Oréal, have signed a deal. The dermocosmetics brand, which has surpassed €1 billion in turnover, aims to boost its visibility by tapping into Formula 1’s audience and Ferrari’s premium image.

The partnership is historic: from 2027, Gucci will become the first luxury brand to lend its name to a Formula 1 team, renaming Alpine as the ‘Gucci Racing Alpine Formula One Team’. The partnership was officially signed yesterday, Wednesday 27 May.

On the shores of Lake Como, the Villa d’Este hotel has epitomized the excellence of Italian luxury hotels since 1873. The eponymous company has just reported strong financial results, with revenue up 14% in 2025 to €115.3 million, while EBITDA jumped 19% to €47.5 million.

The constellation of brands managed by the group LVMH is set to shed some of its stars. The so-called “accessible” luxury brands are now seen as shooting stars with fleeting and unstable success.

In Geneva, the international auction house Phillips has just broken an all-time record. In partnership with Bacs & Russo, it has just achieved the largest watch sale in history, with a total of 74.8 million Swiss francs ($96.3 million) realized at the Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII held on May 9 and 10.

Yesterday, June 2, Stéphane de La Faverie, CEO of Estée Lauder Companies, publicly confirmed that talks between the Puig and Estée Lauder groups had broken down due to a disagreement over the deal’s valuation.

Thirteen years after opening in the Chinese capital, Galeries Lafayette’s Beijing store is closing its doors. The French retailer is thus turning the page on an expansion model built on the boom in luxury consumption in China.

Chanel returns to growth, according to its 2025 results published on Tuesday 19 May. The fashion house announced revenue of $19.3 billion in 2025 — approximately €16.4 billion — up 2% at constant exchange rates, following a 4.3% decline in 2024.

Despite criticism of its governance, Swatch Group saw its shareholders overwhelmingly renew their confidence in the Hayek family at the annual general meeting. The rejection of activist investor Steven Wood’s candidacy confirms the strength of family control within the Swiss watchmaking giant.

The Venice Biennale, which will take place from May 9 to November 22, 2026, is set to become a strategic event for the growth of Bulgari, one of the jewels in the LVMH crown.

In Milan, the issue of subcontractors – brought to light, among others, by the Loro Piana case – reveals the flip side of an industrial model in which artisanal excellence coexists with production lines that are becoming increasingly difficult to control.

For its 2026 edition, which will conclude on June 7, Roland-Garros is embracing its strategy: the tournament now aims to go far beyond the realm of tennis by accelerating its transformation into a global platform for entertainment, hospitality, and premium brands. These ambitions are also generating tensions.

In the fall of 2023, Birkenstock made its debut on Wall Street with a clear ambition: to transform a 250-year-old orthopedic sandal into a contemporary luxury brand. Backed by LVMH through the L Catterton fund, the German brand rode the wave of “quiet luxury” and forged numerous prestigious collaborations, from Dior to Manolo Blahnik. Today, that narrative is beginning to crack.

Players in the mid-range segment are suffering from the global economic slowdown. Breitling, famous for its Navitimer watch designed for pilots, is now facing the limits of its growth strategy.

Puig, the Spanish group, has just formalised a three-year partnership with the Dries Van Noten Foundation. This new cultural organisation, founded by the Flemish designer Dries Van Noten and his partner Patrick Vangheluwe, was launched in Venice during the Biennale on 25 April.