Coronavirus impact: Ever thought you would be able to buy a Patek Philippe watch costing millions online?

Desperate times require desperate measures.

Even as we wait for the world to open, the businesses that are going to be on the edge are those that offer products we can classify as ‘discretionary purchases’, which is what pretty much of the luxury industry sells.

Altagamma, an Italian luxury brands body and Boston Consulting Group have predicted that coronavirus can bring down global luxury sales between 30 billion euros and 40 billion euros. With store closures and customers stuck indoors, luxury brands have been severely hit.

The brands are scurrying to survive in a post-COVID world as they realise that selling to wary consumers — insecure about the spread of coronavirus, chary to go out and shop and worried about the economy — will become extremely difficult. So, how do you keep the consumer engaged and maybe, just maybe, sell something in these difficult times? From the world’s iconic luxury brands to art biennales and vineyards, here is how luxury is adapting to the situation.

 Patek Philippe

The evolution of Patek Philippe is intricately linked to the spread of the cult of luxury across the world. The 175-year-old Genevan brand, established by a Polish immigrant, defines the best of Swiss watchmaking heritage. Known for its exquisite handcraftsmanship, the brand makes only 62,000 timepieces annually and features high on the list of collectors worldwide.

In November 2019, Patek Philippe’s steel Grandmaster Chime sold for $31 million at a charity Christie's auction. Four months later, the brand, which had an aversion for selling their painstakingly made watches through the e-commerce route, has allowed its authorised dealers to sell online.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced retailers to shut shop and run up losses. The brand responded by temporarily relaxing its policies against online sales, in a move to support retailers—some of whom have worked with Patek Philippe for more than a century. "This is only for a temporary period to help Patek Philippe authorised retailers that are closed due to the COVID-19 situation," the company emailed in a statement.

Napa’s hard-to-get wines go online

For the second time in four weeks, vineyards across the picturesque Napa region went online for an ‘Open the Cellar’ sale. On offer: 250 wines from across 150 vineyards at what they called a ‘bargain price’.

Many more sales will come up over the next few weeks as Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) tries to find ways to stay in the green.

The idea is to help small producers, who sell their wines to travellers and connoisseurs through their cellars and tasting rooms, reach out to a wider world, as tasting rooms remain closed. In 2019, 4.1 million people visited the 500-odd Napa wineries.

Among the vintners who put up his wines for sale is Tom Gamble, who listed his Gamble Family Vineyards 2015 Cairo Cabernet Sauvignon. He says, “This was the best way we could reach out to our customers since we are not part of any big group with a worldwide distribution network. We depend only on cellar and vineyard sales.” NVV members are offering really deep discounts after their annual Auction Napa Valley, held annually since 1981, was called off.

Live streams from African savannahs

When the lockdown forced countries to close borders and airlines to ground flights, WildEarth, which takes travellers on drives across game reserves and forests of South Africa called up Raj Awasthi, a Mumbai-based finance professional who had booked an African adventure for his family, requesting him to postpone his trip rather than cancel it.

Graham Wellington, CEO, WildEarth.

“I intended to do that anyway; I had paid good money and I thought we could go few months down the line,” he says. To keep Awasthi and other travellers who had booked their safaris engaged, WildEarth is doing a daily livestream offering the South African game reserve experience.

The live streams are hosted by experienced guides from two vehicles in the Djuma Game Reserve and one vehicle at Ngala Private Reserve, in collaboration with leading wildlife adventure operator andBeyond.

Graham Wallington, the CEO of WildEarth says that their audience for the live stream has tripled in two weeks since they began. The guides have been reporting scenes involving wild hunting dogs in the private forests in the middle of the day, which was previously unheard of. The shy creatures generally hunt in the middle of the night.

Besides the rare view of hunting dogs, go online to meet some of South Africa’s famous wild animals, like Thandi, the female leopard, or the Birmingham lion pride, who live between both these reserves, moving freely.

Selling the hotel and F&B experience

Hotels and restaurants, much like travel or aviation, are likely to see a huge slump all through 2020. So, what do smart hoteliers do? Some offer their dining experience through fancy takeaways, which opens up new revenue streams for them.

Like many of AccorHotels in India, such as Sofitel Mumbai BKC and Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach, who are either delivering elaborate meals or offering equally widespread takeaway options.

Jaydeep Mukherjee.

This is pretty much what Smoke House Deli is also doing in Mumbai. Jaydeep Mukherjee, Brand Head, says, “Smoke House Deli, Pali Hill is delivering DIY Deli, a range of packages filled with fresh ingredients and recipes which our patrons can use to cook their favourite dishes at home. Each DIY Deli includes a selection of our best mains and desserts. We do the painstaking prep, while people who can just finish the dish.”

Some global hotel brands are extending their offerings beyond the dining experience, to include their signature décor accessories online. Four Seasons is selling their famous bedding, known to be one of the most comfortable in the hospitality space; Fairmont has put out its crystal glassware; St Regis has gone online with its plush bath towels and robes.

Pretty much everything is on sale, from artisan glassware to Pucci pillow covers. SonevaFushi, the luxury spa in the Maldives, is hawking its stunning range of glassware, which is handmade in the Maldives sustainably using old wine glasses and bottles.

Hotels in Italy’s Amalfi Coast, in the meantime, have taken the altruistic route and gifted stays a year down the line, to the first 40 people who donate towards the research of a vaccine for COVID-19. Four of Amalfi Coast’s biggest properties—Le Sirenuse, II San Pietro di Positano, Palazzo Avino and Hotel Santa Caterina — have banded together to offer certificates for future stays and experiences to people who support research and hope to raise €200,000.

The art experience 

A segment of luxury that would perhaps be the worst hit is the world of art, which often faces the brunt of every crisis, from economic to pandemic.

Kochi Muziris Biennale is keeping art collectors and connoisseurs curious by reaching out to artists across the country to share the art they create during the lockdown, on their Instagram handle @kochibiennale. “We want to showcase how artists continue to work during such a situation and the purpose art serves during times like this,” says co-founder Bose Krishnamachari.

The first artist they showcased was Jitish Kallat, who sent out his work in progress, with a note, “The inaugural 10 weeks of the new decade have thrown several unexpected curveballs at us, human species. Since I returned to Mumbai from the US on 14th March I hadn’t visited my home until the end of the month. For that fortnight, I was in self-imposed isolation at the studio across the street from my home. During this time I did one watercolour in which fragments of discarded sculptures sit atop the drawing, and lines freely run over the various elements. I may never end up exhibiting this work but it allowed me a degree of creative nonconformity.”

Since then, several other artists have showcased their work on the biennale’s Instagram handle.

Deepali Nandwani is a journalist who keeps a close watch on the world of luxury.