LSN : News : Japanese start-up brings down the cost of space travel

The appointment-only Gucci Salon opens for top clientele in Los Angeles

Gucci Salon Melrose, US

US – The Italian luxury megabrand hash opened the Gucci Salon in Los Angeles, a lavish retail haven geared towards select VICs.

Gucci’s new retail space takes luxury stores to the next level with an experimental boutique imagined like a salon and only accessible by appointment to a small subset of top clients who will enjoy the ‘true one-off’ transformative and creative space. In the Gucci Salon, VICs will experience bespoke service and access limited editions of apparel, footwear, accessories and jewellery.

The next-gen store occupies a vine-covered building on the prestigious Melrose Place. It celebrates the local culture of Hollywood, with more locations around the world to be announced this year. ‘Disrupting the conventional language and experience of a boutique, each Salon proposes a personal universe, offering intimacy and discretion, for clientele invited by appointment,’ Gucci said in a statement. ‘It is a space for creative conversation, for exploration and indulgence.’

Gucci’s re-invention of the store as a guilded shopping haven taps into the Gated Retail microtrend, centred on exclusivity and immersive in-store experiences.

Strategic opportunity

Take cues from the Gucci Salon – its exclusive and bespoke shopping experience strengthens ties with top clients. It makes the brand more intimate for those on the inside and intriguing and aspirational to spectators

Beauty brand Good Weird is a masterclass in Gen Z marketing

Good Weird, US

US – Good Weird is a newly launched brand based on a simple idea – beauty doesn’t have to be intimidating, complicated or gendered.

You won’t find 10-step tutorials and complex active ingredient lists on Good Weird’s social media. The brand is all about functional and genderless beauty, accessible and inclusive so anyone can feel confident to walk into the beauty aisle regardless of their identity, gender or beauty skills. Good Weird was launched in 2023 with three hybrid products at the intersection of skincare and cosmetics: the Back From Vacay cream bronzer, the Balmy Weather tinted face moisturising stick and the Cold Brew de-puffing eye serum. The products are intentionally multi-purpose, subtle and simple to apply.

Good Weird encourages its audience to be unapologetically themselves, embrace their quirks, and be more playful with wellness and beauty routines. It also enlisted Gen Z poster boy, actor, model and skateboarder Evan Mock as creative director.

From the genderless approach to the functional products and playful visual identity, Good Weird epitomises how Gen Z are re-inventing the beauty industry.

Strategic opportunity

While the concept of celebrities-turned-entrepreneurs is stalling, Good Weird shows how to do it right. Not only does the match feel organic, it also taps into the right demographic and brings the eyes of the actor community to the brand

Japanese start-up brings down the cost of space travel

Japan – Japanese start-up Iwaya Giken aims to make space trips less exclusive by launching commercial space balloon flights at a much lower price. The company has been working on the project for a decade and has developed an airtight two-seat glass balloon that can rise to an altitude of 25km (16 miles) – from where travellers can view the curve of the Earth.

Technically speaking, travellers won’t be in outer space but in the middle of the stratosphere. It is a higher vantage point than where jet planes currently fly, and passengers will have an unobstructed view of outer space. ‘It’s safe, economical and gentle for people,’ assures CEO Keisuke Iwaya. At present, the flight cost is £144,500 ($180,440, €163,560), but Iwaya aims to bring the price down eventually to tens of thousands of dollars – significantly less than the £4.4m ($5.5m, €4.9m) Jeff Bezos spent to travel to space for four minutes.

This emerging space travel market elevates the growing appetite for air-escapism that we explored in Airborne Stays.

Virgin Galactic Interiors by Seymourpowell, US

Strategic opportunity

Space exploration is the new frontier for experiential travel, with considerable opportunities to capture the market for early HNWI adopters

Stat: Majority of US Gen Z say work is ruining their personal life

Photography by cottonbro studio, Global

US – After surveying a representative sample of 6,610 US adults for its State of Workers 2023 report, business intelligence company Morning Consult revealed that 81% of Gen Z workers say they always, often or sometimes feel too tired after work to enjoy their personal life. Some 73% of all US workers surveyed share the same views, which means the youngest workers feel more fatigued after work than their elders.

The report also reveals that Gen Z workers are more likely than the average American worker to embellish how long it takes to complete tasks, use their phone or a work device for pleasure, leave or log off early, take longer breaks or call in sick when not unwell.

In our Work States Futures report, we examined how work-life balance is a priority for Gen Z employees who, for instance, prefer hybrid and remote working over any perks or opportunities to socialise at the office.

Strategic opportunity

From free therapy sessions to a four-day week, employers should consider introducing even more ambitious internal policies to protect young workers from burnout and retain Gen Z employees who are already quiet-quitting