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Purposeful luxury: The strategic playbook for sustainability in luxury industries

By Stéphane J. G. Girod

Overview

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Overview

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If by 2040-2045 the Earth’s climate continues to deteriorate at today’s rate, luxury businesses will be the first to lose their social license to operate – as society becomes hostile towards conspicuous consumption and satisfying basic human needs becomes a priority.

And yet few luxury brands executives have taken this challenge as seriously as they should.

In Purposeful Luxury, Stéphane J.G. Girod – an expert in luxury brand strategy and sustainable business transformation – draws on a decade advising the likes of CHANEL, Richemont and Audemars Piguet to offer a rigorous and practical roadmap for meaningful change.

This book argues for positive-impact sustainability as a strategic opportunity to strengthen the future-readiness of luxury brands, leveraging purpose for long-term viability. It brings together quantitative and qualitative research to offer practical frameworks and tools for the transformation required to turn planetary and societal risks into opportunity.

Meet the author

Stéphane J.G. Girod

Professor of Strategy and Organizational Innovation.

Video

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Media Articles

Newstalk

Stéphane Girod talks about the changes that are needed in the luxury sector

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France24

Stéphane Girod talks about what is in store for luxury brands

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Breakfast Business with Joe Lynam

Shares in luxury companies are very much out of favour

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CEOWORLD Magazine

How luxury can stay profitable by becoming more sustainable

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i-invest online

Essential business books

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European Business Review

Luxury’s next competitive advantage

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Fast Company

Big luxury has become its own worst enemy

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ISBN

978-1394369232

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Marvis in America: Can a European competitor disrupt the US toothpaste aisle?

By Douglas Quackenbos Martin S. Roth and Dominique Turpin
Case reference: IMD-2787 ©2026

Summary

Niccolò Francalanci, General Manager – EMEA & Americas of Ludovico Martelli S.p.A., the maker of Italian Marvis toothpaste, found himself at a crossroads. Francalanci, an experienced marketer, had assumed his current leadership role nearly four years earlier. In 2021 he was recognized by Forbes magazine as one of 'Italy's 100 Most Successful Marketing Directors.' In the early summer of 2026, however, he faced a new and unfamiliar challenge – How should the Marvis premium toothpaste brand go to market in the United States, one of the world's largest and most competitive consumer goods market? As is typical of international expansion initiatives, Francalanci's challenge is one of answering two fundamental and discrete questions. Should he recommend opening a US sales and marketing subsidiary and secondly, which products should he offer – standardized or customized? He must also determine if the US market will accept the current and desired 'premium' positioning. Ultimately, he is tasked with making a recommendation to the company CEO, Giovanni Galeotti.

Reference IMD-2787

Organization Marvis

Industry Consumer Goods

Available Languages English

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