Luxury Lexicon 30 terms

Business terms

How houses plan their business, work with retail partners and measure performance.

All groups

A

Agile
An approach to delivering work in small increments, with regular feedback and adjustment.
APAC
Asia-Pacific: a regional grouping used in business; the countries included can vary by employer.

B

B2B
Business-to-business: products, services or transactions aimed at other businesses.
Back office
Administrative and operational work that supports customer-facing activity, such as stock records, invoices and reporting.
Business intelligence
Turning business data into reports and analysis that support decisions.

C

Change management
Planning and supporting changes to how people work, including communication, training and adoption.
Circular fashion
An approach that aims to keep garments and materials in use through durable design, repair, reuse and recycling.
Cross-functional
Involving people from different functions, such as design, finance and retail.
CSR
Corporate social responsibility: how an organization addresses its effects on people, society and the environment.

D

Data governance
The responsibilities and rules for managing data quality, access and use.
Direct to consumer
Selling products directly to the people who use them, rather than through a separate retailer.

F

F&B
F&B means food and beverage, the hospitality operations that prepare and serve food and drinks.
Flagship
A store given a prominent role in presenting a brand, often through its location, scale or product range.
FP&A
Financial planning and analysis: budgeting, forecasting and analyzing financial results to support decisions.

G

Go-to-market
The plan for introducing a product or service to its intended customers, including channels, pricing and communication.

H

Haute couture
A controlled French designation for fashion houses meeting specific requirements for made-to-order clothing and its presentation.

K

KPI
Key performance indicator: a measure used to assess progress toward a specific business goal.

L

Lean
An approach to improving work by reducing waste and focusing on value for the customer.
Luxury
A market category associated with craftsmanship, distinctive design, service and relatively high prices.

M

Matrix organization
An organization in which people work across more than one management or responsibility structure, such as a function and a region.
Merchandising
Planning which products to offer, in what quantities and at what price, and how to present them for sale.

P

P&L
Profit and loss: a financial view of revenue, costs and the resulting profit or loss over a period.
Procurement
Obtaining goods or services through supplier selection, purchasing and related controls.

R

Ready-to-wear
Ready-to-wear is clothing made in standard sizes and offered for sale as finished garments.

S

Sell-in
Sales from a brand or supplier to a retailer or distributor, before the product is sold to the final customer.
SOP
Standard operating procedure: documented steps for carrying out a recurring task consistently.
Succession planning
Preparing people to take on important roles when their current holders move or leave.
Supply chain
The connected activities that source materials, make products and move them to customers.

T

Transparency
Sharing relevant, checkable information about products and how they are made.

W

Wholesale
Selling products to retailers or other businesses that will resell them.

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