Friday's Big Briefing:
🔥🔥 Must Read: Web Smith's roundup of the "10 new ideas in modern luxury that are now taking shape" is packed with smart insights that should have you nodding in approval.
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Some of you will remember this graphic | 2PM
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The Short Shrift.
Reading between the lines: As with any 2PM report Web puts out, this piece is a must read for the deep thinking involved. This one is a synthesis of several of Web's theses on where the modern luxury economy is going, and how this shift has been accelerated in a big way by the pandemic. The highlight for us regards the description of the HENRY ('high earner, not rich yet') psychographic, which perfectly describes many a Lean Luxer: "The HENRYs are advancers, not necessarily those who have cleared the wealth bar to America’s elite class. In fact, many are working to leave the middle-class as if it’s a blemish on their personal ambitions. In this way, the term is more inclusive than the yuppie moniker of yesteryear. . . . HENRY is a transitional cohort, not a class. A cohort that can no longer be ignored."
👉Get smarter: Read the report here...
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Lean Luxe Update
We're looking for a designer
Tapping the Lean Luxe network
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🔥🔥 We’re kicking off a rebrand and new identity for Lean Luxe.
And we’re looking for partners (studios, up-and-coming designers, etc.) in the Lean Luxe network, either US-based or European, to head this up. We're partial towards folks who display more of a classic, clean, print-influenced eye (Monocle)––less so towards folks steeped in the NYC-DTC design mindset (no Gen-Z stuff, gradients, Matisse cutouts).
Have someone in mind? Please tell us by using this form here. (FYI: If you’re nominating yourself, we need two names of your best competitors too, please).
Thanks everyone,
–– Paul
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In Association with: #paid
A Word from our Sponsor
Q2 | May 2020
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#paid: Influencers or creators?
May Series | Edition No. 1 / 1.
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Here are three ways to tell them apart.
Influencers view their work (mostly) as a way to make money. So they’ll work with anyone, and post anything. But they just end up deleting those posts.
Creators are different. They view work as a craft, so they protect what they post. They take pride in their collaborations, and don’t delete them. Over time, that builds trust and influence with their audience.
#paid only connects you with creators––no influencers.
–– Build your first creator campaign today 👉
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Many thanks to #paid today. Their support makes Lean Luxe a better product. Learn more at:
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Insights Corner
Friday: Taking Stock
Lucid observations
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Grab Bag: Mannequins to fill empty seats?
BuzzFeed beefs with the NYT. Princeton has its first black valedictorian. The Very Good Films project. What’s next for travelers? Quibi’s naivety is more entertaining than its shows. Amsterdam’s clever solution for dining out. Losing your mind on purpose. Bookshop, the indie bookstore upstart. Monocle’s thoughts on measuring a company’s success. How to propagate houseplants. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, remastered. The office is finished. This futuristic dirt bike is grail status. The next social era is here. Plan your weekend around carnitas. Luminary seeks a VC bailout. Scolding ain’t working. The city implications of forever WFH. And using mannequins to fill empty seats?
New brand on tap: United Sodas of America.
There was a lot of back and forth on United Sodas of America (pictured above) earlier this week among members of Lean Luxe: Connect. Equal parts criticism and praise. The critics range from folks who question whether or not the branding of the cans will allow it to stand out on shelves, to those who question the launch of a soda brand that, while cutting back on the sugar, doesn't offer any sort of probiotic or adaptogenic benefits. Fair points, all of them. From our perspective, though, this is a smart brand. Coming at this from the consumer side, we're drawn in by United Sodas of America's mature, simple branding, and strong flavor assortment. Frankly, despite the avalanche of seltzer beverage brands right now, you could argue that the premium soda category hasn't been properly addressed in a way that doesn't feel like it's shooting for Gen Z, and is, instead, designed to capture folks of a certain psychographic, instead of a generational demographic. Fast Company's got more context on the upstart at the link above.
🔥Italic Black: Smartest, boldest launch we've seen this year.
Italic* is going all in on the membership model, and rolling it out slowly. It's invite-only for the right now, but Italic Black is exceptionally brilliant in that for $100 a year, it allows you to purchase unbranded luxury goods––at cost, with zero markup. Haven't seen this anywhere. With this new program, Italic’s hitting all the right notes: locking folks in for the long term (Prime model), and the program naturally also encourages folks to spread the world, to purchase gifts for others at Italic, and look to Italic first for their own purchases. It's a true LTV play, which, in the world of obsessive customer acquisition, is rare. Plus the messaging is on point: "But behind [mission-driven brands'] pretty logos, feel-good missions, and heroic proclamations of transparency or saving the world is a sneaky, almost sinister strategy designed to distract consumers from the truth: these brands are identical to their predecessors and make money the exact same way. The big difference this time, however, is that these new brands are now unabashedly fleecing their customers while simultaneously promising the exact opposite. This charade is never going to last. . . . So, we’re going to try something different and stop talking about transparency and just walk the walk . . . [W]e don’t feel good about making money selling massively inflated products under a false guise of saving the world." Amen
The modern luxury mindset is shifting more towards the home.
That's pretty obvious, given where we're at. But this is also a shift that was ongoing before the pandemic hit, and even more so now. Great quote here that does well to capture the new mindset: "The two-plus months I’ve spent living in isolation has been a real buzz kill to my passion for style. I’m not one of those people with a capitalist brain who thinks they should dress 'properly' while working from home––I’d rather spend my time inside in sweatpants and shorts that are yes, fashionable, but more importantly, comfy. My purchasing habits were initially unimpeded early on, and I wanted to support smaller brands like Noah whose values I support. But the longer the 'rona has stunted my social life, the less drawn I’ve been to purchasing new clothes. It’s hard to get excited or inspired when there’s nothing to dress up for, no social events to ohh and ahh over outfits with likeminded people." Solid read for sure.
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👋Paul Munford, CEO / Editor
mpm@leanluxe.com
@leanluxe
*Disclaimer: Paul Munford is an early investor in Italic.
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The Community
Lean Luxe: Connect
Our invite-only Slack channel
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🔥🔥Join the conversation –– get your invite here!
Yes, the Lean Luxe Slack channel is popping right now. Connections are being made, city meetups organized, debates had, investors found, perks offered. This is strictly for our most active subscribers, so if you'd like to be considered, check the eligibility requirements below, and shoot us an email. There's a waitlist, but we do add people in batches every few weeks. For more insight on the channel read this, as well as Hunter Walk's thoughts on our Slack strategy.
–– Ping us here for your invitation (it's already filled out, just hit send)
*Requirements: 1) You must be a subscriber for at least one month. 2) You must have at least a 60% newsletter open rate based on your profile (ask us for yours).
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The Ticker
Fresh, hot links
Lighter fare
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Taika (adaptogenic coffee) has officially launched
It’s finally available after a year in stealth mode. TechCrunch
Elliot’s relaunching June 18
Nice little teaser vid to mark the occasion. Elliot
Scott Galloway on teaming with Vice TV for his new show:
“Because HBO didn’t ask me!” Forbes
Somewhere Good: A smart new project from Ethel's Club
A family of brands, projects, and platforms for folks of color. Somewhere Good
Omsom launches too
Southeast Asian flavor packets for your discerning pandemic palate. Forbes
Patagonia’s taking its sweet blessed time
As well they should be. NYT
** News or tips for The Ticker?
Send tips on news, quotes, coverage, mentions in the media to info@leanluxe.com.
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Comments, questions, tips?
Send a letter to the editor –– Paul Munford
mpm@leanluxe.com / @leanluxe
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