Thought Leadership

Walpole’s Thought Leadership and Strategic work raises awareness of issues facing the luxury market and our members. Here Guy Salter, Walpole Deputy Chairmen reports on various issues and topics affecting the luxury sector businesses including the Culture of Craftsmanship, emerging luxury brands as well as brand collaborations.
Thought Leadership Articles

Leather: Enduring Love Affair or Artful Coverup?

11 December 2009
Walpole’s deputy chairman gets under the skin of leather’s relationship with luxury, sparking a debate with British leather goods brand executives about its future.
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Reassessing Luxury Value - and Values

8 July 2009
While 'luxury investment' may be nonsense, 'luxury value' is not.
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Commercial Craft

8 June 2009
LONDON — Along with provenance, integrity and intrinsic value, craftsmanship has long been part of the luxury mantra — and never more so than now.
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Hothouse for Luxury Talent: Walpole's Brands of Tomorrow

1 May 2009
LONDON – This month sees the start of year three of Walpole’s Brands of Tomorrow. The idea is to help British luxury brands of the future fulfil their potential and reach the next stage. As John Ayton, co-founder of Links of London and Chairman of the programme explains: “Walpole Brands of Tomorrow takes selected companies through a quarterly cycle of education, covering areas such as business planning, marketing, distribution and internationalisation, plus one-to-one mentorship meetings with some of the UK’s most experienced luxury entrepreneurs.”
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Making Sense of Luxury Brand Collaborations

4 April 2009
LONDON – To some, talk of ‘collaborating’ may have a whiff of wartime Vichy France. For the luxury industry, it describes the brave new world of co-branding. No longer a new phenomenon, luxury collaborations have been gaining steam in recent years, especially in these current economic conditions which favour cost-effective marketing solutions.
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The Wonderful Story of Soane

2 March 2009
LONDON – “Trade fell off a cliff the day after Lehman’s went under. It just stopped,” recounted Lulu Lytle, co-founder of Soane, British furniture makers, as we sat together on a supremely comfortable handmade sofa in their handsome London showroom a few days ago.
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Back to the Luxury Basics

24 January 2009
Walpole’s Brands of Tomorrow provide a window into the world of active entrepreneurship in the UK luxury goods industry.
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