Bernard Arnault Isn’t In A Hurry To Sell Virtual Fashion
The chairman of French luxury conglomerate LVMH, Bernard Arnault, is interested in the potential applications of the metaverse and NFTs, but he is in no rush to jump on the bandwagon.
“At present, we’re in the real world selling real products. Surely, it’s captivating, it’s interesting, it’s fun. But we have to see what the application of the metaverse and these NFTs will be,” Arnault said during his recent annual presentation to investors. “It could surely have a positive impact on our brands — if it’s well done,” he continued.
“But it’s not our objective to sell virtual sneakers for 10 euros. We’re not into that. But there may be more relevant applications.”
Rival luxury brand, Gucci, has been an early adopter of virtual fashion, offering $12 virtual sneakers on the app Wanna and staging brand activations on virtual reality and gaming interfaces, including Roblox and the Sims. Gucci also recently teamed up with Vermont-based entertainment brand, SUPERPLASTIC, to offer an ultra-limited collection of NFTs.
Arnault’s cautious approach toward NFTs and the metaverse are not unfounded as there are several parallels that can be drawn between the explosion in recent demand for virtual products and experiences and the early 2000s dot com bubble.
“That was a bubble that burst. There were all sorts of things cropping up left, right, and center,” Arnault said. “There were quite a few Facebooks, but only one pulled through.”
Originally published at https://retailbum.com on January 28, 2022.
