Brands have wised up to the benefits to be gained from associating their name with art venues and exhibitions; creative contexts whose audiences are also potential customers.

Swatch Group is struggling to convince investors. Its share price has been virtually flat since January, after losing 42% over the last seven months of 2018. Richemont, in comparison, is making headway. Meanwhile, French luxury groups are flying high.

Material luxury is good. Experiential luxury is even better. Studies show that this market segment is the biggest growth driver right now, prompting multi-million transactions.

A struggling brand in 2015, in the past two years Gucci has seen exponential growth in the region of 40%. This extraordinary performance owes much to creative director Alessandro Michele, the man behind today's baroque, ethical and connected Gucci. Millennials love it.

The year has got off to a resounding start for publicly-traded luxury companies, with double-digit growth and a strong outlook for the full twelve months. For watch companies, it's a similarly rosy picture.

Chanel took the financial community by surprise when it published its annual results. Firstly, for such a show of transparency from an unlisted company and secondly for the quality of the numbers that put the French firm at the top of the luxury pyramid.