The jury is still out on the hybrid work model + Luxury goods purchases are up
Leadership and employees remain at odds over the hybrid work model: 87% of employees believe they are working productively while 85% of surveyed managers believe the shift to hybrid work has challenged confidence in productivity, a Microsoft survey reports. In an earlier survey, the challenge of hybrid work was illustrated by 38% of hybrid employees reporting their biggest issue was knowing when and why to come into the office while only 28% of companies had established and defined the new parameters. A rise in digital exhaustion was also reported, with 13% of employees saying that working remotely had extended the work day by 46 minutes, and after-hours work on the weekend or in the evening had increased by 14%.
Luxury goods remain robust despite a looming recession: LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE — the world’s largest luxury brand — reported robust sales up 19% y-o-y exceeding analysts estimates of a 13% increase, Reuters reports, citing data from Visible Alpha. The sharp rise in sales is due to wealthy shoppers in Europe, the US, and Japan splashing out on fashion and Americans in Europe capitalizing on a strong USD. “Luxury is not a proxy for the general economy,” LVMH’s CFO told analysts when asked about the “divorce” between the luxury industry and global economic circumstances, Bloomberg reports, explaining that affluent people have their own behavior which is not always completely in line with economics.
Growth despite price hikes: Fellow luxury company Hermes reported annual growth of 24% despite raising prices an average of 4%.The enormous rise in affluence around the world helps explain why demand for luxury products is rising with the easing of China’s Covid-related restrictions is also another contributing factor to the boost in shopping and spending.
Forget skincare, the latest celebrity founder craze is investment firms: Football player Lionel Messi is launching his own investment firm, Play Time Sports-Tech HoldCo LLC, according to a statement picked up by Bloomberg. The firm will focus on sports, media and technology, deploying funds to help startup founders build football-tech companies or invest in teams. “I am excited to extend our roots into Silicon Valley, and I am thrilled that Play Time will collaborate with daring entrepreneurs from all over the world,” Messi said. Last month, we reported that reality TV star Kim Kardashian and Carlyle’s former global head of consumer, media, and retail Jay Simmons, are launching a new private-equity firm, Skky Partners.