After Kering's Capital Markets Day couple weeks ago — and the lukewarm analyst response — I went down a rabbit hole. How did Gucci become Kering? What made the brand so powerful in the first place?

I found a 2004 Vogue interview with Tom Ford, given as he was leaving. It's a fascinating time capsule. Ford arrived in 1990 when Gucci was near bankruptcy. By the late 90s, it was the most desirable brand in the world. Throughout his career, people accused him of lacking a signature style. His answer: collections have to change. That's the point. But what Ford built was more than clothes. He proved that taste can be systemized. That branding can be more valuable than product. That creative direction, when aligned with business strategy, can scale into billions.

And when he left, it wasn't creative differences. It was business. He wanted to be compensated for what he'd built. When the numbers didn't work, he walked — on his own terms. There's something to knowing when to leave.

Caught my eye

Cherry blossom in Germany - dupe culture applied to travel 🫢 

Trends — what’s bubbling underneath the headlines

• You can now rent a Birkin for $800 a month

  Vivrelle launched Privée — an invite-only tier offering access to authenticated Hermès Birkin and Kelly bags, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Bvlgari jewelry. Request specific styles, materials, hardware. No Hermès relationship required.

  For years, the Birkin has been a symbol of access itself — reserved for those with the right spending history, the right relationships, the right patience. Vivrelle is betting the terms are changing. By 2026, millennials and Gen Z will account for 75% of luxury buyers — and 70% of Gen Z say they prefer access over ownership.

  The shift from ownership to access changes the relationship with fashion. Less "can I justify buying this?" More "how do I want to show up today?"

• Elemis bet on Formula 1. It's paying off.

  I wrote last year about how beauty brand Elemis became Aston Martin's first official skincare partner — among the first brands monetizing the hype around F1.

  It looks like it's going well. This year in Miami, they're expanding.

  F1's audience has exploded. Elemis saw the moment: position skincare at the intersection of beauty, wellness, and sport. I think it’s smart strategy to meet people where the attention already is.

• Search is dead. AI Is shopping for you.

  For decades, discovery meant ranking on Google. Now consumers are asking ChatGPT and Perplexity — and getting answers, not links.

  AI systems are becoming the shopper. They make choices on behalf of people. Brands need to show up where LLMs train — Reddit threads, YouTube tutorials, influencer videos. "A TikTok can matter as much as your homepage," one agency exec says. Also interesting takeaway, brands that overpromise will get caught.

Business moves, big numbers & “wait, what?”

• Vinted lets investors out. Vinted just hit an €8 billion valuation. EQT led a secondary share sale of €880 million — existing investors cashing out, no new capital raised. Teachers' Venture Growth and Schroders Capital bought in.

  Context: Vinted posted €1.1 billion in revenue last year, up 38%. GMV hit €10.8 billion. They became the leading clothing retailer in France — ahead of Amazon.

  The company isn't rushing to IPO. Instead, it's letting early investors exit because everyone believes that there is more growth ahead. Everybody hopes that secondhand isn't a cycle but rather a structural shift.

• The Wildest M&A Play of the Year. GameStop is preparing an offer for eBay. GameStop is the video game company that became a meme stock in 2021, when retail traders on Reddit drove the stock up over 1,000%.

  Now GameStop (market cap $12 billion) is bidding for eBay (market cap $46 billion).

  Why eBay? GameStop CEO’s compensation is tied to hitting $100 billion in market cap and $10 billion in cumulative EBITDA. He draws no salary. If he fails, he gets nothing. Acquiring eBay — a profitable, established e-commerce platform — would instantly give GameStop the scale and revenue to get there.

  GameStop has been quietly building a stake in eBay. If the board says no, he may take it directly to shareholders. GameStop has $9 billion in cash. The offer could come this month.

  GameStop CEO called the strategy either "genius or totally, totally foolish." eBay shares jumped 14% on the news. Whatever this is, it's not boring.

• Reddit grew up—and took the internet with it. A year ago, this was still forums, memes, and comment threads. Daily active users hit 127 million, up 17%. Now it's a 40% EBITDA margin business with a Shopify integration and an AI data licensing.

  Reddit has what AI companies need — real human conversation, at scale. And advertisers are following the attention. For brands, the question isn't whether to show up on Reddit anymore. It's how.

Wish I were there - pop-ups,  collabs, etc.

Pencil in, book the ticket, or just follow on social media — choose your option and let’s discuss afterwards!

• Ongoing | London - Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life In Style exhibition

Next steps

Please feel free to get in touch. I’d love to hear from you!

• Email: [email protected]

• Instagram

• LinkedIn

• TikTok

Forward this e-mail to a colleague or a friend

Read other content here