Michael Kors Decline Predicted–Forbes contributor Robin Lewis has an interesting take on Michael Kors’ current standing as a luxury brand. Comparing the label to Tommy Hilfiger, who shared a similar success and eventually saw a decline in its market share and image, Lewis predicts the crash of Michael Kors. Lewis argues that Michael Kors is becoming ubiquitous, explaining “Its distribution is racing towards ubiquity, wholesale and retail (online, its own stores, outlet stores and internationally). Even worse, a rocket-propelled accelerant to ubiquity is its expansion into multiple product categories and sub-brands, so they can compete at all price points. Some would argue all of those segments will simply end up competing with each other, thus cannibalizing the top end of the spectrum.”
Lewis sees Michael Kors’ hot factor as a result of people wanting the next “it” bag or status symbol. Once everyone realizes that the brand is so accessible that it’s everywhere, Lewis predicts a crash. Bringing back to mind the similarities of Tommy Hilfiger, Lewis explains that the brands shared the same hot trajectory with the acknowledged crashing in the 90s. Silas Chou and Lawrence Stroll, who helped with Michael Kors’ recent IPO played a hand in Tommy Hilfiger’s rise, moving on before the crash. In regards to Michael Kors, in 2012, “they decreased their share ownership from about 52% of the company (just before the IPO in 2011), to just over 15%.” Read more at Forbes.com.
