靜悄悄的革命：人工智能如何正在變革奢侈品行業(yè)

LUXURY&TECHNOLOGY

ArtificialIntelligence:TheQuietRevolution

Report2024

COLBERT

Depuis1954

BAIN&COMPANY?

Authors

Jo?lledeMontgolfier

Executivevice-presidentintheConsumerGoods,Retail,andLuxurypractices,Bain&Company

CyrilleVincey

Partner,headofartificialintelligence,Bain&CompanyFrance

MathildeHaemmerlé

Partner,headofluxury,Bain&CompanyFrance

CharlotteBouttier

SeniormanagerintheRetail&Luxurypractices,Bain&CompanyFrance

TheauthorswouldliketothankAgatheGuerin,QuentinPlessis,andMariedeMitry,consultantsatBain&CompanyFrance,fortheircontributiontothisreport.

ComitéColbertTeam

BénédicteEpinay

PresidentandCEO,ComitéColbert

LaurentDhennequin

Directorofcabinet,ComitéColbert

Copyright?2024Bain&Company,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

ComitéColbert|Bain&Company,Inc.

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LUXURY&TECHNOLOGY-ArtificialIntelligence:TheQuietRevolution

Tableofcontents

Summary 4

Introduction 6

AIterminology 8

Part1:Thebeginningsofaprofoundtransformationfortheluxurysector 10

Part2:ThestrategicobjectivesservedbyAIintheluxurysector 18

Objective1:AIforoperationalefficiency 21

Objective2:AIattheserviceofcustomerrelations 25

Objective3:AIforaugmentedteams 29

Objective4:AIforthecreativefunction 32

Part3:GivingAIitsrightfulplace:theimperativesofavalue-creationstrategy 38

Methodology 42

Acknowledgments 45

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LUXURY&TECHNOLOGY-ArtificialIntelligence:TheQuietRevolution

Summary

、Sinceanalyticalartificialintelligencewasfirstusedintheluxurymarketmorethanfiveyearsago,adoptionofAIsolutionshasremainedtargetedandquitelimited.Onaverage,fewer

thantwoofthe20usecasesexaminedinourstudyhavebeenadoptedbymembersofthe

ComitéColbert,thetradeassociationfortheFrenchluxuryindustry,andnonehavebeen

adoptedbymorethan30%oftheseluxuryMaisons.TheusecasessupportedbyanalyticalAIareamongthemostwidelydeployedbytheMaisons.

、Withnumerouspilotsunderway,AIadoptionissettoaccelerateoverthenext12–24months:EachMaisoniscurrentlytestingorplanningmorethanfiveadditionalusecases.

、TherearesignificantdisparitiesinthelevelofAIadoption,dependingonthesizeoftheMaison:Largeoneshavedeployedthreetimesasmanyusecasesasothers.However,thegapshould

graduallynarrowwithgenerativeAI’srollout,asitismoreaccessibleandlesscostlythan

analyticalAI.Onaverage,alargeMaisonistestingorplanning5.8usecases,comparedwith

5.3atsmallandmedium-sizedrivals.

、ThebarrierstoAIadoptioncitedbyMaisonsmostlyrelatetoexpertiseandresources(anissuefor55%ofMaisonsinourstudy),datamanagementconcerns(aninhibitingfactorforabout30%ofrespondents),andrisksrelatedtointellectualpropertyrights,especiallyforgenerativeAI

solutions.

、OfthefourstrategicobjectivesservedbyAI—operationalefficiency,customerrelations,

augmentationofteams,andenrichmentofcreativefunctions—usecaseslinkedtooperationalefficiencyaremostpopular:60%ofMaisonshaveadoptedoraretestingAI-basedsales

forecastingsolutionsandtheequivalentproportionis50%forstockallocation.

、AIisalsoaneffectivelevertobringMaisonsclosertotheircustomers,byusing,forexample,personalizedcontentgenerationtoolsorcustomersegmentationtools,beyondthe

enhancementofpre-existingsolutionsforclienteling(thebuildingoflong-termrelationshipswithkeycustomers).

、TheindustryisalsoreflectingonhowtouseAItoolstoaugmentteamsbyfreeinguptimeandfocusingenergiesonthemostvaluabletasks.However,implementationremainsverylimitedatthisearlystageofthetechnology’smaturity.

ComitéColbert|Bain&Company,Inc.

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LUXURY&TECHNOLOGY-ArtificialIntelligence:TheQuietRevolution

、LuxuryMaisonsshowthemostreservewhenitcomestousingAIwithinthecreativeprocess.Withanadoptionrateoflessthan5%,acceptanceremainslimited.ThoseMaisonsthatare

beginningtoexploretheuseofAIinthisfieldaredoingitinawaythatdoesn’tquestiontheroleandcontributionoftheircreativedirector,butratherenlargestheirsourcesofinspirationand

acceleratesvisualizationoffutureproducts.

、ToseizethevaluecreationopportunitiesofferedbyAI,Maisonshaveanumberofimperatives.TheyneedtoputAIattheheartofexecutivecommitteebusinesspriorities,measuringand

sharingitsimpactinanimpartialway;acceleratethemodernizationandharmonizationoftechanddatafoundations;strengthentheircapabilitiesforhandlingunstructureddata;setuprobustgovernancetoensurefluidcoordinationbetweenbusiness-andtechnology-orientedteams;

andnavigatethedelicateprocessofroadmapprioritizationandfunding.Lastly,showingclearsupportforhumantalent(duringroleredefinition,training,communication,etc.)willbekeytofosteringbuy-inandsuccessfullyintegratingAItoolsintoaMaison’sday-to-dayactivities.

、ThepotentialofAIfortheluxurysectorappearstobehuge,andthenumberofongoingpilotssuggeststhatadoptionlevelswillatleastdoublesoon.However,eachMaisonmustdefineits

ownfieldofapplicationforAI,rulingoutusesthatwoulddiminishitsdistinctivenessorharmthetransmissionofinstitutionalsavoirfaire.WhileconvincedofAI’spower,theindustrywantsitto

staydiscreet,sothattechnologyremainsaboveallattheserviceoftheauthenticity,exclusivity,andintimacythatiscentraltoluxury’sappeal.

ComitéColbert|Bain&Company,Inc.

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LUXURY&TECHNOLOGY-ArtificialIntelligence:TheQuietRevolution

Introduction

Areluxuryandartificialintelligenceintrinsicallyopposed?Atfirstglance,itwouldseemso.Luxuryis

synonymouswithexcellence,authenticity,rarity,andexceptionalexpertisepassedthroughtheages.AI,ontheotherhand,ishighlydisruptive,surprisingeveryonewithitspotencyandspeed,constantlyredefiningwhat’spossible.Theformeroffersbeautyofgestureandrefinedservice,thelattercanshrinktimeand

transcendreality.Whileluxuryembodiestheeleganceofsuspendedtime,artificialintelligencesymbolizesperpetualrevolutionandaccelerationofthepresent.

Twoscenarioscouldemergefromthiscontradictorysituation:anoutrightrejectionofartificialintelligencebytheluxuryindustry,or,conversely,anirresistibleattractionbornofopposition.Thereality,asisoftenthecase,ismorecomplex.

First,artificialintelligenceisnotanentirelynewphenomenonfortheluxurygoodssector,whichbegantoembraceitinthelate2010sinitsanalytical—ratherthangenerative—incarnation.Thisgradualramp-upprovidedMaisonswiththetimetoobservethemagnitudeoftheprofoundandlastingtransformationrepresentedbyartificialintelligence.

What’smore,eventhoughit’stemptingtoviewitinthecontextofthehistoricalantagonismbetweenluxuryandtechnology,artificialintelligenceactuallyappearstobeacatalystforthesuccessfulintegrationof

technologicalinnovationattheheartoftheluxurysector.

BalancingthepossibilitiesofferedbyAI,thegrowingdemandsoftheircustomers,andtheneedtopreservetheirheritage,Maisonsmustshapetheirownimplementationmodelanddefinepreciseboundariesfor

AI.Thetechnologyshouldbedeployedwhenitisaleverfordifferentiationandoffersrealaddedvalue.Itsintegrationshouldaugment—notreplace—humanteams,norshoulditdistorttherelationshipbetweenthecustomer,brandambassadors,andtheproductsthemselves.Thisishowthisrevolutionunfoldsdiscreetly,respectingthetraditionsandauthenticitythatareattheheartofluxury.

Finally,farfrombeingantagonistic,luxuryandartificialintelligencecancomplementandenricheachother.Bycombiningtraditionandinnovation,refinementandtechnology,theauthenticandtheartificial,they

pavethewaytowardsfascinatingnewpossibilities,whereartisanalexcellencemeetsdigitalavant-garde.

ThisreportoffersafreshlookatthequietrevolutionofferedbyAIwhenharnessedtotheexcellenceand

uniquenessofluxuryMaisons.Ourambitionistoprovideaninventoryofthelevelofacceptanceand

adoptionofartificialintelligencebyluxurybrands.Ourreportalsoaimstoinspirebyhighlightingusecasesthatcouldtransformthedailylivesofartisansandsalesambassadors,aswellastheMaisons’relationshipwiththeircustomers.Thesearejustsomeofthekeysthatwillenabletheluxurysectortotakepartfullyinoneofthemoststructuralinnovationsofourera.

ComitéColbert|Bain&Company,Inc.

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LUXURY&TECHNOLOGY-ArtificialIntelligence:TheQuietRevolution

Theriseofgenerative

AIisaninescapableand

enduringtrendthatwill

impactourfutureandwillnotfadeawaylikeWeb3orthemetaverse.”

—DelphineTourHelin,

GlobalRetailServicesDirector,YvesSaintLaurentBeauté

ComitéColbert|Bain&Company,Inc.

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LUXURY&TECHNOLOGY-ArtificialIntelligence:TheQuietRevolution

AIterminology

Artificialintelligencereferstotheabilityofamachinetoreproduceactivitiescharacteristicofhuman

intelligence,suchasreasoning,analysis,synthesis,andcreativity.ThereareseveralformsofAI,butwewillfocusonthetwomainones:analyticalAIandgenerativeAI.

AnalyticalAI:usingdatatotakebetterdecisions

StimulatedbytheadventofBigDataintheearly2000s,analyticalAIexperiencedasignificantboominthe2010s,thankstotheexplosionofmachinelearning.AnalyticalAIencompassesapproachesusing

specializedlanguagestogeneratepredictivemodelsaimedatestimatingoneormorevariables,suchasascoreoraprice.StructureddataarecompiledandanalyzedbyAItoproducetoolstoaiddecisionmaking.Thevariedusesincludeclassification,prediction,recognition,andevaluation.

However,thisapproachcomeswithsignificantbarrierstoentry.Toberelevantandbeneficialtoacompany,ananalyticalAItoolneedsenoughreliablecustomerandproductdata,availableacrossseveralchannels,aswellasrelevantandpreciseusecases.

Furthermore,thedevelopmentofthesesolutionsrequiressignificantinvestmentaswellasspecific

in-houseskills,notablythoseofdatascientistsandmachinelearningengineers,todevelopthemodelsandupdatethem.Alternatively,MaisonscanchoosetorelyonanalyticalAIapplicationsprovidedbymajor

technologyplayers.

GenerativeAI:creatingnewcontent

GenerativeAIhasgrownbyleapsandboundswiththemassivepublicuseofChatGPTsinceitslaunch

inNovember2022.Simultaneously,specializedplayers(suchasAnthropicandMistral)andtechgiants(suchasGoogleandAmazonWebServices)havelaunchedsimilarsolutions,enrichingthedebatearoundthistopic.

TheimpressivegrowthofgenerativeAI,oneofthefieldsofmachinelearning,hasbeenpoweredby

foundationmodels.Thisnewtypeofarchitecturecanbeappliedtoanymedia(images,audio,etc.),butismostcommonlyusedwithtext,throughlargelanguagemodels.Thesemodelscancreatenewdataorcontentbyimitatingorextrapolatingfrompreexistinginformation.Theyaredesignedtogenerate,fromstructuredorunstructureddata,varioustypesofcontentsuchassummaries,translations,images,text,music,ornaturallanguageinteractions.

Theprohibitivecostoftrainingthesemodelsexplainswhycompaniesareturningtoexistingoff-the-shelfmodels.MostsoftwarepublishershavealsoalreadybeguntointegrategenerativeAIcapabilitiesinto

theirproducts.

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LUXURY&TECHNOLOGY-ArtificialIntelligence:TheQuietRevolution

ThemainadvantageofgenerativeAIliesinitsaccessibility:Companiescandeploytheirexistingdata

teamstoframemodelbehaviorusingpromptsandlinkittotheirinternaldata.However,thistechnologyrequiresclearrulesofusetolimitethical,security,andintellectualpropertyrisks.

ConvergencebetweenanalyticalAIandgenerativeAI

GenerativeAIwillincreasinglyenableteamstoperformcomplexanalysesautomatically,thanksto

networksofautonomousagents.Inthefuture,theseagentnetworkscouldcoordinateanalyticalAIandgenerativeAImodelsusinganintegratedapproachthatallowsthecomplementarybenefitsofeachtobeleveraged.

WhileanalyticalandgenerativeAIarecurrentlytreatedseparately,withspecificusecases,weanticipatethatthetwotechnologieswilleventuallyconverge,withanintegratedroadmapandusecases,tothepointwherethecurrentdistinctionbetweenanalyticalandgenerativeAIwillgraduallybeforgotten.

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Part1:Thebeginningsofaprofoundtransformationfortheluxurysector

RapidadoptionofartificialintelligencewithinsomeB2Csectors

SomesectorswereprompttouseAItotransformtheirbusinessmodelsandactivities.Oneexampleisfinancialservices,apioneerindigitaltransformation.SpendingonITinfinancialservicesaccountsforabout8%ofrevenues,comparedwith1.5%–4%intheretailuniverse,withluxurygoodsattheupperendofthisrange.

RetailhasalsobeenquicktodeploysolutionsincorporatingAI—forexample,tostreamlineandenhancethecustomerjourney,throughinnovationssuchasHopla,thechatbotdeployedbyCarrefourinJune2023tosmooththeonlineshoppingexperience.

ThisawarenessofAI’spotential,followedbytherapiddeploymentofhigh-impactusecases,ispartlyexplainedbythesignificantinvestmentsmadeinrecentyears.Acrossallsectors,about$50billionwasinvestedintransactionsrelatedtogenerativeAIbetween2021and2023,comparedwithabout$10bninthemetaverse.

ComitéColbert|Bain&Company,Inc.

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LUXURY&TECHNOLOGY-ArtificialIntelligence:TheQuietRevolution

Hopla:deployingAIintheCarrefourcustomerjourney

WithHopla,CarrefourputsAIinthehandsofitscustomers.AccessiblefromtheCarrefour

homepage,thechatbothelpscustomersfulfilltheirshoppingneed,whetherthatbestickingtoa

budget,meetingdietaryconstraints,orfindingmenuideas.Atypicalpromptmightread:“IneedtopreparedinnerforfourpeoplethisFridaywithabudgetof€30.”Hoplawouldsuggestsuitable

recipesandlistthenecessaryingredients,enablingtheseitemstobeaddedtothebasketwithasimpleclickandthendeliveredtothecustomer’sdoorstep.Ontopofthat,Hoplaprovidestipsonhowtoreuseleftoversandcooknewdishes.

Theimpactfortheconsumerisimmediate:Injustafewseconds,thechatbotfillstheshoppingbasket,savingtimewhilesuggestingnewideas.Hoplaalsoaimstopromotehealthierfood,

recommendingseasonalvegetablesandcontributingtowastereductionbyoptimizingquantities.Thetoolcanalsomonitorproductsalreadyavailableintheuser’sfridge.

LaunchedinJune2023,HoplawasdevelopedwithBain&CompanyandMicrosoft,inpartnershipwithOpenAI.“WearethefirsttousethistechnologyinFrance,”statedAlexandreBompard,

CarrefourchairmanandCEO,attheprojectlaunch.HoplaisoneofCarrefour’smanygenerativeAI

initiatives.Ithasalsousedthetechnologytoenrichmorethan2,000productdescriptionsonitswebsiteandtooptimizeitspurchasingprocesses,bygeneratingdraftsfortenders,among

otherthings.

Intheluxurysector,adoptionisstilllimited

Incontrasttothesepioneeringsectors,theluxuryindustryhasbeen,onaverage,moreofanobserverwhenitcomestoAI.ItsembraceofthemainanalyticalorgenerativeAIusecasesisstilllimited.Onaverage,theComitéColbertmemberswesurveyedhaveadopted1.6ofthe20usecasesanalyzedinourstudy.Noneoftheusecaseshasbeendeployedbymorethan30%oftheMaisonssurveyed.

Onlyfourusecaseshavesurpassedthe20%adoptionmark:customersegmentation,salesvolume

prediction,stockallocationandpersonalizationofinteractionsbetweensalesassociatesandcustomers.Asonemightexpect,theseusecasesrelyonanalyticalorpredictiveAI,whichisincreasinglyenablingthecompilationandanalysisofdatageneratedacrosstheMaisons’valuechain.

Inlargerluxurygroups,analyticalAIisapproachingamaturestageofdeploymentatscaleandcontinuousimprovementofnumeroususecases.“Wearenolongerinaracetowardsinnovation,butinaphaseof

consolidationtodeployouranalyticalAIsolutionsatalargerscale.Wehaveundertakeneducationalworkwithourcountrybusinessunitstoonboardthemonour‘beautytech’servicesthatarebusinessengines.Wehave,forexample,deployedourskindiagnosistoolsinallourmainpointsofsale.Atthesametime,

wearecontinuingtoimproveexistingsolutionstobetterintegratethemintoourcustomers’andbeautyconsultants’journeys,”confirmsDelphineTourHelin,globalretailservicesdirectorat

YvesSaintLaurentBeauté.

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ComitéColbert|Bain&Company,Inc.

LUXURY&TECHNOLOGY-ArtificialIntelligence:TheQuietRevolution

Figure1:LevelofadoptionofAIusecasesinluxuryindustry(excludingtests)

Emerging

Established

Adopted

Nascent

Generaladoption:

adoptionrategreaterthan70%

Fromideationtoadoption:Adoptionatscale:

adoptionratebetween10%and30%adoptionratebetween30%and70%

Ideation:

adoptionratelowerthan10%

Customersegmentation

Automatedoperations

Marketing contentgeneration

Qualitycontrol

Stockallocation

Knowledgemanagement

Personalizedcommunication

Recruitment

Website

personalization

Employeetraining

Chatbots

Counterfeitdetection

Predictionofsalesvolumes

Communitymanagement

Customerservice

Direct-to-customer

recommendation

Key:

.ProductdevelopmentCustomer

Personalizationofsalesassociateinteractionswithcustomers

Trendprediction

Storefootprint

optimizationProductdesign

(channelsandmarketing)Operations

Enhancedemployees

Source:ComitéColbertandBain&Companysurvey(May–July2024)

ThisstatementisalsotrueforLVMH,whichhasdevelopedasalesforecastingsolutionasoneofitsfirst

applications.LVMHisworkingtoadjustthissolutiontocertainsectorsnotyetcovered—suchaswinesandspirits,whichhavedifferentdistributionmodels—andthusfurtherincreaseitsdeployment,whichtodaycoversmorethanhalfofthegroup’ssales.

Arevolutioninthemaking

Whileadoptionisstilllowandverymuchfocusedonafewapplications,theluxurysectorisfarfrom

ignoringtheAIphenomenon.Thesubjectisnowaregularitemontheagendaofmanagementcommittees:41%oftheMaisonssurveyedciteAIasoneoftheirtoptenstrategicprioritiesforthenextthreeyearsand

another44%haveAIontheiragenda,evenifnot(yet)ontheirtoptenprioritieslist.

TheprospectsforacceleratingAIadoptionarealsopromising:Maisonsarepilotingorplanninganaverageof5.4additionalusecases(comparedtothe1.6alreadyadopted)outofthe20analyzedinourstudy.

ComitéColbert|Bain&Company,Inc.

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LUXURY&TECHNOLOGY-ArtificialIntelligence:TheQuietRevolution

Figure2:ExtenttowhichAIhasbeenprioritizedbyMaisons,byproportionofrespondentsciting

AIisamongourtop3prioritiesforthenext3years

AIisamongourtop10prioritiesforthenext3years

AIisoneofthemanyinitiatives

wearedriving

AIisnotapriority

3%

38

16

44

Source:ComitéColbertandBain&Companysurvey(May–July2024)

Underconventionalassumptionsofconversionbetweenplanningandadoption,two-thirdsoftheusecasesanalyzedcouldbecome“established”,i.e.,adoptedbymorethan30%oftheMaisons,within12–24months.

Whilerecentdeploymentshavefocusedonafewcoreusecasesinoperationsandcustomerrelations,AIpilotsandstudiesaretacklingfreshusesintheseareasandextendingintonewfieldsofapplication.

Forexample,knowledgemanagement—anon-luxury-specificskillthatenablescross-functionalaccesstoinformationforallemployees—couldbecomealeadingAIusecase:Itcouldbeadoptedbymorethan50%ofMaisonswithintwoyears.Today,theadoptionrateisquitelowasMaisonsarewaitingtobenefitfromtheexperienceofothersectorsandtoidentifyprovenAIsolutions.

Theluxurysectorisalsobeginningtofocusonthehighlysensitiveareaofproductcreationand

development:About35%ofthebrandsandgroupssurveyedaretestingorstudyingtheuseofAItosupportproductdesign(forprototypevisualization,forexample).

Thiswaveofpilotsandtestssuggeststhebeginningofaprofoundandlastingtransformationinthesector,likethedigitalrevolutionthatbeganadecadeagowiththeriseofe-commerceandomnichannelstrategies.TheAIrevolutioncouldaffectallparametersofthebusiness,fromcorecustomerengagementfunctionstosupportfunctionsandtheproductionline.

ComitéColbert|Bain&Company,Inc.

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LUXURY&TECHNOLOGY-ArtificialIntelligence:TheQuietRevolution

Figure3:ProportionofMaisonsthathaveadoptedoraretestingvariousAIusecases

Established

Emerging

Adopted

Nascent

60

53

50

50

49

4

46

43

7

27

23

44

44

24

22

26

19

39

18

26

37

37

35

3434

33

6

30

7

29

7

19

16

24

10

29

34

28

28

27

24

4

21

6

21

21

16%

16%

21

21

27

25

2

2

Store

footprint

optimization

34

26

Employeetraining

Communitymanagement

Chatbots

Website

personalization

Qualitycontrol

Customerservice

Personalized

communication

Stock

allocation

Knowledgemanagement

RecruitmentTrend

prediction

Automatedoperations

Productdesign

Counterfeitdetection

Direct-to-Customer

customersegmentationrecommendations

Personalizationof

salesassociate

interactions

withcustomers

Marketing

content

generation

Predictionofsalesvolumes

Enhancedemployees

Deployedpartially/atscalePiloting/planningtheopportunityProductdevelopmentCustomer(channelsandmarketing)Operations

Source:ComitéColbertandBain&Companysurvey(May–July2024)

Incontrasttotheracetowardsthemetaverseandnon-fungibletokens(NFTs)afewyearsago,luxury

playersseemtobeadoptingapostureofintensivemonitoringofAI’spotentialapplications,whilethemostadvancedtakeaconsideredapproachofproactiveexploration.

SignificantdisparitiesbyMaisonsizeareexpectedtodiminish

CompanysizeiscurrentlythemostinfluentialfactorinthelevelofprioritizationofAIintheluxurysector:78%oflargeMaisonshaveputAIintheirtop10strategicprioritiesforthenextthreeyears,comparedwithjust19%ofsmallandmedium-sizedMaisons.

SizealsoinfluencesthelevelofadoptionofsolutionsintegratingAI:LargeMaisonshavedeployedonaveragethreetimesmoreAIusecasesthansmallandmedium-sizedMaisons.

However,withinthenextfewyears,thatimbalanceshouldchange,asthereislessofasizegapwhenit

comestoplansforfutureAIdeployment.LargeMaisonsarepilotingorplanninganaverageof5.8usecasesforAI,comparedto5.3atsmallandmedium-sizedMaisons.SowhydowethinkthatsmallerMaisonscouldcatchupoverthenexttwoyears?

WhileanalyticalAIsolutionshaveproveddivisiveintheirrecentadoption(astheyrequirehighlytrainedandexpensivedataanalyststobuildandmaintainanalyticaltools),generativeAIisaccessibletoawiderpanelofMaisons.ThosewhohadnotpreviouslyallocatedresourcestoanalyticalAIarenowfindingit

ComitéColbert|Bain&Company,Inc.

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LUXURY&TECHNOLOGY-ArtificialIntelligence:TheQuietRevolution

78%19%x3

oflargeMaisons

considerAltobe

amongtheirstrategic

priorities

ofsmallandmedium-sized

MaisonsconsiderAltobe

amongtheirstrategic

priorities

Alusecasesadopted

bylargeMaisonsvs.

smallandmedium-

sizedMaisons

easiertotacklegenerativeAI,becauseofitslowerentrycostsandusecasesthatarebettersuitedtolowvolumecategories.ThisisthecaseforBoucheron,asLauraCals,itschiefofstafftotheCEO,explains:

“OurMaison,previouslyanoviceintheuseofartificialintelligence,isnowtakinganinterestingenerativeAIsolutionsandtrainingourcreativedepartmentsandhumanresources.Wearenowconsideringthe

possibilityofincorporatinganalyticalsolutionsandpredictivemodelsaswell.”

ThegreateraccessibilityofgenerativeAIhasadvancedMaisons’thinkingontheAIfront:80%ofthesmallandmedium-sizedMaisonssurveyedhavealreadyidentifiedareasofapplication,whileonly58%havedonethesamethingforanalyticalAI(100%ofthelargeMaisonshavedonesoforbothanalyticalandgenerativeAI).“Wearemindfulofnotbeingleftbehind:wehavesetupanAIobservatory,withambassadorsineachdepartment,toidentifyandqualifythesolutionsdevelopedinthemarketandselectacouplethatwill

createvalueforLongchamp,”confirmsHervéStab,chiefinformationofficeratLongchamp.

WhetherornotaMaisonispartofamultibrandluxurygroupwillbeacrucialfactorinhowquicklythese

usecaseswillbedeployedinthefuture.SmallerMaisonswithinaluxurygroupbenefitfromacentral

impetusandanadaptationofsolutionsalreadytestedanddeployedbytheirlargercounterparts.As

JérémyMuras,chiefdigitalofficerofGivenchy,explains:“SynergiesareimportantbetweenMaisons;asa

smallerMaison,webenefitfromthegroup’simpulseandexperiencesharingonsolutionsdevelopedwithinpioneeringMaisons.Inanycase,thesolutionsweinheritmustbeadaptedtoourspecificneedsand‘trained’toourheritage.”Amongthesmallandmedium-sizedMaisonssurveyed,42%ofthosebackedbyaluxury

groupalreadyhaveaclearvisionoftheirgenerativeAIstrategy,comparedtojust13%ofindependentMaisons.

ComitéColbert|Bain&Company,Inc.

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LUXURY&TECHNOLOGY-ArtificialIntelligence:TheQuietRevolution

In-depthreflectionneededtoremovebarrierstoadoption

WhenaskedaboutthemainbarrierstoAIadoption,Maisonsmostfrequentlyidentifiedlackofin-houseexpertiseandresourcesasablockage.TheproportioncitingitasanissuewasslightlyhigherforanalyticalAI(60%)thanforgenerativeAI(50%).ThisdifferencecanbeexplainedbytheneedinanalyticalAI

torecruitteamsofdatascientistswithcutting-edgeskillsthatcandevelopthemosteffectiveartificialintelligencemodelfromscratch.GenerativeAI,ontheotherhand,requiresmorecommoditizedskills(softwareengineering,prompting)toassemblepreexistingmodels.

Thesecond-mostcommonbarriercitedrelat