Beyond Prestige: What Make People Stay in the Luxury Industry

Last week’s BoF debrief on The Fashion and Beauty Companies Everyone Wants to Work For reminded me of my own career in the luxury industry.

Years ago, when a head-hunter presented me with the opportunity to work for Louis Vuitton, he framed it like this: “They are the very top of the luxury chain. Everyone dreams of working there. You’ll attend the most spectacular fashion shows, and you’ll have the budget to organise any event you can imagine…”

Everything he presented to me was true, but in the end, what determined whether I stayed longer with the brand or moved on wasn’t any of the factors the head-hunter mentioned.

One of the key highlights of the debrief is that “prestige recruits, but doesn’t retain”. The most iconic names in our industry – Chanel, Hermès, Dior, L’Oréal – remain magnetic to talent. Yet across the sector, BoF found that only 28% of employees say their employer’s external reputation strongly aligns with their day-to-day experience. And among those who feel that gap, 80% plan to leave within twelve months.

Working in the luxury industry, we have spent decades perfecting the way we cultivate client loyalty. What about applying the same amount of focus to our internal clients? How do we make the luxury industry a place people don’t just dream of joining – but choose to stay?

Speaking from my personal experience, and now working with my consulting clients, three things stand out to me: 

In today’s volatile macro environment, the one constant is change – change of leadership and strategic direction, budget cutting. Teams end up in a permanent state of catching up: re-briefing the new boss, re-justifying initiatives already agreed, and waiting endlessly for decisions to be made. It is exhausting, and it affects morale.

The brands that have team loyalty are the ones playing the long game. Rather than cutting budget, some of my enterprise clients — including a luxury homeware brand and a high-end cosmetics brand are doing the opposite: investing in upskilling their people, mapping client-experience opportunities, and deliberately building a talent pathway. 

When your team can see a future being built for them, they stop looking for one elsewhere.

In many luxury houses, there is THE career path – the one that, if you are serious about retail, you should strive to follow – the path to General Manager. 

I was advised, by more than one senior leader, to walk exactly that path. And for a while I was confused – I loved my work in the client development function; did I really have to leave the function I was passionate about to take on something I wasn’t even sure I wanted?

Leaving the corporate world has assured me of my choice: there is more than one path – you can become the subject-matter expert – in training, clienteling, event management. You can also choose to build your own.

If you lead a team, take the time to understand them – their aspirations, their strengths, their passion – celebrate their individualities and help your talent become the best version of themselves.

Speaking from my own experience, working in the luxury retail industry can be stressful. You constantly need to look the part (the term is “on-brand”); there is an evergreen cycle of new product launches and in-store activations.

Leaders can ease that stress by building a team culture – making your people feel that they matter, and fostering bonding among them. When I was at Farfetch, the trade meetings never seemed to end. But I made sure to create regular gatherings, from celebrating team members’ birthdays in Disneyland to camping together in the countryside. During my time, I had a happy core team with 100% retention – without ever compromising on results, of course.

Your brand name brought your team in. Whether they stay has far more to do with you. Regardless of the macro economy, the company tension and the target stress, leaders have such opportunities to make it better – you are the ones your team interacts with daily — make your presence count.

If you’re thinking about how to strengthen loyalty within your team, I’d love to start a conversation.

Source: The Business of Fashion “The Fashion and Beauty Companies Everyone Wants to Work For”, August 2026.

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• Review Your Customer Loyalty Strategy

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