Looking back at our autumn/winter series of seminars

This autumn, Farrer & Co, in conjunction with Julia Carrick OBE, was proud to host a programme of breakfast seminars for the luxury brands industry. The series brought together sector leaders, entrepreneurs and key advisers in the luxury industry to promote discussion around the challenges and concerns facing brands, at different stages in their life cycle, created by shifts in consumer patterns and developments in technology. We were joined by fantastic panellists and attendees, all of whom make valuable contributions.

Our first seminar, held on 5 September 2018, focused on the theme of building a brand. Key points from the discussion included:

• The shift in consumer behaviour toward a return to demanding quality, provenance and authenticity from their brands has changed the brand landscape 
  
  
• How social media and modern technology have promoted and facilitated the resurgence of the artisanal and premium craft brands and given smaller brands access to a much wider audience than they would previously have had, and
  
  
• That the premiumisation of a brand (no matter the industry) is a concept that works well for all participants of the market: producers, distributors, retailers and consumers. 

One month later, on 4 October 2018, our second seminar focused on the issues surrounding promoting and managing a luxury brand. The key topics discussed included: 

• The challenges and opportunities created by the speed and immediacy of digitisation and social media 
  
  
• The risks and benefits for brands around relinquishing control of their marketing to influencers, and
  
  
• The steps that all brands should take to ensure that they are prepared to move quickly and effectively when a crisis strikes.

This month, Farrer & Co hosted the final seminar in this autumn series. Discussion centred on exporting a brand and covered the key considerations for brands as they export themselves internationally and the different challenges facing British brands as they enter the powerful consumer markets of the US and China. Three key considerations for brands looking to export are: 

• Protecting the product and branding
  
  
• Ensuring compliance with new tax and regulatory environments, and 
  
  
• Building a strategy for how to engage with the new market and a strategy to exit if it doesn’t go to plan.

Farrer & Co will be hosting a further series for the luxury brands sector in spring/summer 2019. Further information will follow in the new year – watch this space!

If you require further information about anything covered in this briefing note, please contact Luiza Grizzelle, or your usual contact at the firm on +44 (0)20 3375 7000.

This publication is a general summary of the law. It should not replace legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.

© Farrer & Co LLP, November 2018