June 26: Bain Trims Its Luxury Forecast to 2-4%, but the Top Keeps Booming; London's Art Season Roars Back; the Rise of "Inheritourism"
Bain trims its 2026 luxury forecast after a rough first half, but the very top of the market keeps setting records; London's art season roars back with a second big collection sale in a week; luxury money shifts toward experiences and "inheritourism"; and new arrivals from Rolex and Porsche.

ALT/FNDATA
- Membership: (Use PODCAST15 for 15% off) https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260626
- Market reports: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260626-r
- Podcast episodes: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260626-p

Bain's Forecast, and a Market Split
- Bain & Company and Altagamma trimmed their outlook: personal luxury goods are now seen growing just 2 to 4 percent in 2026, after a punishing first half (Middle East conflict and oil spikes, US inflation at multi-year highs, record-low consumer confidence, the ECB's first rate hike since 2023).
- The split we keep flagging: Bain's caution is about the broad market, the entry-level bag and the aspirational shopper. The very top is another story. This week a single Modigliani sold for $63.9M in London, and in our data the year's top results (a $25.6M jade necklace, eight-figure Ferraris and watches) keep climbing.

London's Art Season Roars Back
- After the record Lewis Collection sale, Christie's quietly sold around 100 works from the Zabludowicz collection for some $20M. Two major single-owner collections to market in one week, both finding buyers, signals confidence has returned to the top of the art trade.

Experiences Over Things, and "Inheritourism"
- CNBC reports luxury money is flowing to experiences over goods: experiences (travel, events, dining) are set to grow 3 to 7 percent versus low-single-digit growth for goods, with cruises drawing first-timers. The trend it calls "inheritourism" is wealthy families traveling together, as a younger, inheriting generation takes on its parents' taste for travel over status goods.

Quick Hits
- Rolex opened what it bills as the world's highest watch boutique, high in the Swiss Alps.
- Porsche unveiled its first GT4 race car based on the 911, aimed at the track-day crowd.

The Markets (Friday open)
- European luxury opened quietly mixed after a wild week: LVMH down about 0.4 percent, Watches of Switzerland down about 1.3 percent, Pandora the standout, up another 3 percent. Full week's wrap on Closing Price tonight.

Also from ALT/FNDATA:
- Closing Price — this evening at 5 PM ET (week in review)
- Open Bid returns Monday at 6 AM ET

June 25: Billionaire's Collection Sells for $392.6M; a Modigliani Bought for $12.4M Sold for $63.9M; Versace's CEO Steps Down
The art collection of British billionaire Joe Lewis smashes records at Sotheby's, led by a 63.9 million dollar Modigliani he bought for 12.4 million in 1995; the CEO of Versace resigns; the rug from The Big Lebowski heads to auction; and the luxury market steadies after a wild week.

ALT/FNDATA
- Membership: (Use PODCAST15 for 15% off) https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260625
- Market reports: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260625-r
- Podcast episodes: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260625-p

The Lewis Collection: A Record Night
- The collection of British billionaire Joe Lewis sold at Sotheby's London for 392.6 million dollars, a record for a single-owner sale anywhere in Europe and nearly double its estimate. Just one of 25 lots failed to sell, and the house guaranteed none of them, a real vote of confidence at the top of the market.
- The top lot: Modigliani's 1917 "Seated Nude Wearing a Necklace" (Nu assis au collier) at 63.9 million dollars, a European auction record for the artist. Lewis had bought it at Christie's in 1995 for 12.4 million dollars, a more than five-fold gain over 31 years.

From Our Data
- The strength at the top isn't new. The most valuable fine-art result in our database over the past year is a 43.8 million dollar Canaletto view of Venice (Christie's), with a tight cluster of eight-figure modern masters just behind. Trophy names with clean provenance keep clearing big numbers, even as the middle of the market turns choosier.

Luxury Business: A Change at Versace
- Versace CEO Emmanuel Gintzburger has resigned. Versace was acquired by the Prada Group last year, and a leadership change was widely expected as Prada integrates the brand, another sign of consolidation at the top of Italian luxury.

Quick Hits
- The actual rug from "The Big Lebowski," the one that "really tied the room together," is heading to auction (Robb Report).
- Wealthy buyers are flocking to Spain, treating prime real estate as a haven from war and turmoil (Reuters).

The Markets: A Quiet Open
- After a whipsawing week, European luxury opened quietly mixed: Hermès and Kering edged up (about 0.25% and 0.9%), while LVMH and Richemont slipped slightly. A calm open is its own kind of good news.

Also from ALT/FNDATA:
- Auto Market — out today (Thursday)
- Closing Price — this evening at 5 PM ET
- Open Bid returns tomorrow at 6 AM ET

June 24:Luxury Steadies as China Pulls Back; $25.6M Jadeite Necklace; Remembering Yaacov Agam; Netherlands and Germany Return 2,000 Artefacts to Ghana
Markets steady after a brutal two days, but China's big mid-year shopping festival flashes a warning for luxury; a 25.6 million dollar jade necklace tops our jewelry database; the Netherlands and Germany agree to return 2,000 looted treasures to Ghana; and the art world remembers a pioneer of kinetic art.

ALT/FNDATA
- Membership: (Use PODCAST15 for 15% off) https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260624
- Market reports: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260624-r
- Podcast episodes: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260624-p

Markets: Steadying, and a Warning from China
- After Tuesday's selloff (Nasdaq down about 4 percent on Fed-hike fears), European luxury steadied at the open: LVMH and Hermès each up about 0.5 percent, Brunello Cucinelli higher. The laggards were the same all week: Burberry down 2.5 percent, Watches of Switzerland down a third straight day (about 2.9 percent).
- The bigger signal came from China. Its 618 mid-year shopping festival grew online sales just 4 percent year on year, down sharply from more than 15 percent last year (Syntun). For a luxury industry reliant on Chinese demand, that is a caution sign. Notably, secondhand and pre-owned sales jumped nearly 80 percent as shoppers traded down: the resale economy grows as the new-goods market cools.

A $25.6 Million Jade Necklace (ALT/FNDATA data)
- One of the highest jewelry results over the past year is a magnificent jadeite bead and coloured diamond necklace, sold for 25.6 million dollars at Christie's last month. Jadeite is the most prized gemstone in Chinese culture, and top imperial-green strands are rarer than fine diamonds.
- The split, again: a cautious mass-market Chinese consumer, and a firm and dazzling top. At the very top, demand is undimmed.

A Homecoming: 2,000 Treasures Return to Ghana
- The Netherlands and Germany agreed to return more than 2,000 cultural artefacts to Ghana, most taken during the colonial era. The Dutch return some 2,000 objects, including a gold ceremonial pipe the Asante king gave the Dutch monarch in 1837; Germany returns a smaller Kpando-linked group. Announced at a heritage conference in Accra, it follows the return of Asante royal regalia to Kumasi two years ago.

In Memoriam: Yaacov Agam
- Yaacov Agam, the Israeli artist and a founding figure of kinetic art, has died at 98. His works shift and change as the viewer moves, and they hang in major museums worldwide.

Also from ALT/FNDATA:
- Luxury Spending — out today (Wednesday)
- Closing Price — this evening at 5 PM ET
- Open Bid returns tomorrow at 6 AM ET