蘑菇AV

The luxury sector is facing a 鈥渃hallenging鈥� and 鈥渟omewhat unprecedented鈥� environment, Prada Group chairman Patrizio Bertelli said鈥攃ausing even once-hot brands like the company鈥檚 namesake label to lose momentum. Luxury companies for the most part view the current downturn as a cyclical blip in an otherwise robust industry. But the prolonged slump is revealing structural challenges鈥攏amely, heavier reliance on American and Chinese consumers, as well as a tendency to lean on price hikes rather than innovation to drive sales.

The news: President Donald Trump signed an executive order to close the so-called de minimis trade loophole, which allows foreign packages valued under $800 to enter the US tariff-free. Effective August 29, all shipments under that threshold鈥攔egardless of origin鈥攚ill be subject to duties based on value and country of origin. The White House already ended the exemption for packages from China and Hong Kong on May 2. Our take: Eliminating the de minimis exemption levels the playing field between international ecommerce sellers and domestic retailers鈥攂ut could also drive up prices for consumers.

The situation: Despite logging a sixth consecutive quarter of negative comps in鈥疐Y鈥疩3, CEO Brian鈥疦iccol鈥攚ho famously steered Chipotle out of its food鈥憇afety crisis鈥攕aid Starbucks鈥� turnaround is running ahead of schedule. Our take: While it鈥檚 encouraging to see Starbucks take some small steps in a positive direction, the road is still steep. Consumers remain price鈥憇ensitive, agile rivals in the US and China are taking multiple paths to steal share (both value鈥憀ed and trend鈥慸riven), and commodity costs are rising. To break out of its sales slump, Starbucks must execute on four fronts: Make service faster and better. The chain needs to speed up service without sacrificing the high-touch hospitality that Niccol is seeking. Find ways to differentiate. It鈥檚 easy to roll out new offerings, but it's hard to develop unique beverages that consumers will clamor for rather than recoil at (who can forget Starbucks鈥� Oleato line of olive oil-infused drinks?). Lean on technology. Refreshing Starbucks鈥� Rewards program and revamping its app are proven tools to drive occasional customers back into its stores. Stabilize China. Price cuts may lift traffic, but Starbucks needs to balance volume gains against margin erosion and fend off lower鈥憄riced competitors such as Luckin. Nailing these pillars鈥攕peed, product innovation, tech鈥憄owered engagement, and a calibrated China play鈥攚ill determine whether early green shoots turn into sustained growth.

The challenges: UPS鈥� turnaround remains in the early innings due to structural inefficiencies, operational missteps, and mounting macroeconomic headwinds. Our take: UPS faces a difficult road ahead. The company is actively trying to streamline operations鈥攑lanning to shutter up to 10% of its buildings, downsize its fleet, and reduce its US workforce to better align with leaner volumes. It鈥檚 also trimming low-margin business, notably cutting back on Amazon deliveries, which made up as much as 11.8% of its total revenues last year, in an effort to prioritize more profitable shipments. Still, with demand under pressure and cost headwinds mounting, stabilizing performance will be an uphill climb.

The news: Z.ai鈥檚 new open-source GLM-4.5 model is undercutting DeepSeek and US rivals in cost and efficiency and intensifying global AI competition. Our take: For marketers, open-source tools like Z.ai offer affordable alternatives to costly AI platforms, levelling the playing field for smaller agencies looking to compete. But Z.ai (formerly Zhipu) is on the US Entity List due to its Beijing ties after OpenAI flagged its rapid progress. With this in mind, companies piloting open-source options should do so cautiously and consult with compliance teams before integrating.

Digital鈥檚 rapid adoption in recent years has made it the dominant medium with which people spend time in China, Japan, and South Korea, with consumption booming in India.

The news: The Nintendo Switch鈥�2 shattered hardware sales records despite a $150 price hike over its predecessor and higher game and subscription prices. US sales hit 1.6鈥� million units in June鈥攖he best console launch month ever鈥攕urpassing the PlayStation鈥�4鈥檚 November鈥�2013 record of 1.1鈥痬illion. Our take: Nintendo鈥檚 end-to-end control over hardware, software, services, and first-party games sets it apart in a gaming industry chasing endless content and fragmented subscription models. By owning the full experience, Nintendo delivers consistency others can鈥檛. To ride the wave, brands can partner with Nintendo for themed consoles, accessories or in-game downloads. Or, they could seek out third-party developers for subtle, story driven placements in games.