The Luxury Item with Scott Kerr

Stefano Canali, president and CEO at Italian luxury menswear brand Canali, talks to Scott Kerr about how the 88-year-old company is shaping its future with new investments and innovations. Stefano discusses the inspiration behind its F/W22 collection, why formalwear is not dead despite the pandemic-induced working-from-homewear shift, the lessons learned from past challenges that helped him naviga...

Scott Kerr is joined by Miah Sullivan, SVP, global marketing & brand communications at German fashion house Hugo Boss to discuss its major rebranding effort and new star-studded global campaigns. She also talks about the company's "Claim 5" growth strategy, the thinking behind Millennial-targeted "BeYourOwnBoss campaign, its record breaking BOSS X Russell Athletic social campaign, how it's lev...

Scott Kerr sits down with Melissa Lefere-Cobb, senior vice president, division head at iconic French luxury fashion house Hervé Léger to discuss reviving the once-popular red carpet staple brand. Melissa talks about why she hired creative director Christian Juul Nielsen to establish a new brand vision and modern-day aesthetic, the challenges of keeping a heritage brand culturally relevant, Gen Z d...

Scott Kerr is joined by Shannon Knapp, president & CEO at The Leading Hotels of the World, a prestigious hotel group with a worldwide collection of more than 400 independently owned and operated luxury hotels. Shannon discusses Leading Hotel's business model, its unique selling proposition to potential member hotels and the brand standards these independent hotels must meet to join the collect...

Scott Kerr sits down with Alex Assouline, chief of operations, brand & strategy at luxury book publisher Assouline. Founded in the mid-90s by his parents Prosper and Martine Assouline, Alex discusses why the brand positions itself as "the first luxury brand devoted to culture and lifestyle" and how he considers traditional luxury goods as competitors to Assouline's fine handcrafted coffee tabl...

Scott Kerr is joined by Ulrik Garde Due, president and CEO at luxury leather goods brand Mark Cross. Having taken the helm of America's oldest luxury brand a few years ago, Ulrik discusses his approach for reviving the 176-year-old 'sleeping beauty' brand whose little black rectangular-shaped bag famously appeared with Grace Kelly in Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window." He also talks about the critic...

Scott Kerr sits down with Gareth Dunsmore, Chief Marketing Officer at British luxury supercar maker McLaren Automotive to discuss how the brand combines hand-built and high-technology to uniquely position itself to a wide range of wealthy customers in an ever more crowded space, plans for engaging younger audiences using NFT collectables, gaining a strong female following and signing its first-eve...

Scott Kerr is joined by Didier Guillon, President and Artistic Director of the Valmont Group and Sophie Guillon, CEO of the Valmont Group. The husband and wife team lead the Swiss luxury beauty brand Valmont, whose roots date back to 1905 and has a strong celebrity following. Sophie and Didier discuss acquiring the cellular cosmetics company more than 30 years ago and driving growth through its fo...

Scott Kerr sits down with Chloe Mendel, co-founder and creative director at sustainable luxury faux-fur brand Maison Atia to discuss reinventing the market before the luxury giants started dropping animal fur. The emerging designer talks about how the first collection came together, channeling design inspiration from 1970s chic, winning the attention of Kate Moss, Gigi Hadid and other style icons,...

Scott Kerr is joined by Andrew Haarsager, head of Cartier's Retail Innovation Lab, to discuss how it designs and tests new forms of retail experiences for the French luxury jeweler and watchmaker, both in and beyond the boutique. Andrew also talks about Cartier's approach to the role of retail in this new world, creating an in-store vitrine to display holograms of select high jewelry pieces, worki...

The Luxury Item podcast returns for Season 5 on Tuesday, November 30, 2021. The Luxury Item is a podcast about the business of luxury and the people and companies that are shaping the future of the luxury industry. Host Scott Kerr interviews industry leaders from across the luxury sector who share crucial knowledge on exactly how they’re sharpening operations to meet a changed sales picture and st...

Scott Kerr sits down with Falguni Desai, chief executive officer of the luxury men’s grooming brand The Art of Shaving to discuss how it's navigating the many challenges in the razor industry. Falguni also talks about how its founders elevated shaving to a luxury experience, shifting from a mall-centric to online sales strategy, winning over beard-loving Millennials, and new creations from its Gil...

Scott Kerr talks with Nick English, who co-founded the British luxury watch company Bremont along with his brother Giles. Nick discusses how they were inspired to launch Bremont by their late father and mutual passion for aviation. He also talks about the enormous task of building a luxury watch brand, bringing watchmaking back to the United Kingdom, winning over young watch buyers, its collaborat...

Yves Saint Laurent Beauty U.S. General Manager Laetitia Raoust talks with Scott Kerr about shifting beauty customer habits, online sales strategies and key brand initiatives. Laetitia dives into the importance of Gen Z customers to YSL Beauty and how it's courting them with the launch of its NU collection of makeup-skincare hybrid products. She also discusses how YSL Beauty is using influencers an...

Scott Kerr sits down with Morin Oluwole, Director - Global Head of Luxury at Facebook/Instagram to discuss the transformation of luxury shopping and the social media platform's investment in tools that are helping customers shop and brands sell. Morin talks about launching Facebook's luxury division six years ago and what it was like changing perspectives of luxury clients on the power of social m...

Scott Kerr talks with Maria von Scheel-Plessen, Global Head of Media and Advertising at the German luxury brand Montblanc about the industry's accelerated digital transformation and her responsibilities overseeing media and advertising strategy across all online and offline channels for the the luxury maison. Maria discusses some luxury customer insights and personas that surfaced during the pande...

Scott Kerr is joined by world renowned Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud and Sebastien Silvestri, CEO of The Dinex Group, the restaurant group of Daniel Boulud. Joining as CEO right before the pandemic, Silvestri discusses how the group's flexibility, creativity and determined grit enabled them to navigate through the pandemic while ensuring its well-known quality and service wa...

Scott Kerr sits down with Paul Lavoie, Co-Founder and CEO Beau Lake, a five-year-old Canadian manufacturer of luxury waterside recreation products including paddle boards and peddleboats. Lavoie discusses how his idea of bringing luxury to waterside recreation became a reality after two decades, why its design-driven products draw heavily from midcentury aesthetics, why its brand positioning as a...

On this episode, Scott Kerr sat down with Geneva Long, founder and CEO of Bowlus, the luxury RV company whose aluminum-riveted travel trailers have deep historical roots dating back to the 1930s and Charles Lindbergh's 'Spirit of St. Louis.' Long talks about why she revived and relaunched the 90-year-old heritage brand, the strategy around its reactivation, and the most important thing she's learn...

Scott Kerr is joined by Tom Nelson, President and CEO of Zero Halliburton, the renowned luxury luggage brand recognized for its iconic aluminum travel cases. Nelson discusses why Hollywood loves using Zero Halliburton cases in films, reinvigorating and redefining the 82-year-old heritage brand, why the new campaign targets the next generation of "individualists," and how the pandemic forced a shif...

Neda Whitney, SVP, Head of Marketing for Christie's Americas talks to Scott Kerr about how NFTs are shaking up the artworld, and why the luxury auction house was early to embrace the NFT market. Whitney also discusses how Christie's is attracting young collectors, the record-breaking $69 million Beeple NFT sale, the NFT opportunity in the luxury and fashion industry, and what brands should be thin...

Scott Kerr talks to Mona Akhavi, Chief Executive Officer of Vrai, the lab-grown jewelry line backed by Leonardo DiCaprio and other high-profile Silicon Valley investors. Akhavi discusses how lab-grown sustainable diamonds made, how they're identical to their mined counterparts, and why its foundry's proprietary plasma reactor technology is so unique. Akhavi also talks about how DiCaprio got involv...

We just wrapped up the third season of The Luxury Item podcast. Thanks to my listeners and guests for making it the #1 luxury business podcast. Season 4 debuts on July 1. You’ll hear from more top decision-makers from across the luxury sector who will share crucial knowledge on exactly how they’re sharpening operations to meet a changed sales picture and strengthening customer experiences in the n...

Scott Kerr sits down with Uma Subramanian, CEO of Aero, which is a newly launched luxury semi-private air travel service from Uber co-founder Garrett Camp. Subramanian, an aerospace engineer veteran, discusses the gap Aero fills between private aviation and flying on a luxurious commercial airline, why she thinks Aero is the "perfect solution for the post-COVID world," and how discovering the way...

Scott Kerr talks with Maximilian Riedel, President and CEO of Riedel, which is one of the world's leading manufacturers of luxury glassware designed specifically for wine or spirits. Sitting at the helm of a company with 265 years of heritage, 11th generation Riedel discusses how it continues to innovate in a competitive wine glass market and how the uptick in premium alcohol sales during the pand...