In this exclusive panel recorded live at the Retail Collective Summit, top-tier founders and retail executives come together to decode the shifting paradigms of high-end consumer behavior. Hosted by local celebrity Lori Prichard (KSL) and moderated by Rebekah Kondrat (Rekon Retail), this masterclass features an unfiltered look into product engineering, supply chain adaptability, and the transition into quiet luxury.<br>We explore how luxury has completely redefined itself in modern retail, moving away from loud, logo-driven status symbols toward emotional resonance, extreme convenience, and tactile comfort. The panelists pull back the curtain on how their respective brands navigate volatile global tariffs, execute sophisticated dynamic pricing, and weigh the multi-million-dollar financial commitments of physical retail vs. wholesale channels.<br>Moderators: Lori Prichard | Journalist &amp; Anchor, KSL - Rebekah Kondrat | Founder &amp; Managing Partner, Rekon Retail<br>Panelists: Lauren Smith | Founder, Smith Luxe - Ashley Neeleman Cole | Founder, Cecelia NY - Blake Brown | Founder/Executive, KURU Footwear - Hyaat Chaudhary | Founder &amp; CEO, Luxome

Fashion, Design &amp; Luxury Identity | Retail Collective Summit

Retail War Games

# Full Transcript

**Podcast:** Retail War Games

## Participants

- **Rebecca Kondrat** (Rekon Retail)
- **Lauren Smith** (Smith Luxe)
- **Blake Brown** (Fooley Footwear)
- **Hayat Chaudhary** (Luxome)
- **Ashley Paul** (Sicily, New York)

## Transcript

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Our theme is fashion, design, and luxury identity. And I hope you just start off, I'm going to ask a question. We'll just go down the line to all the information that you represent.

So, given that we have laws ranging here from bespoke, tailored, exclusive design of dresses, to luxury home goods, we've got shoes that are made with Italian leather, shoes that are comfortable. Let's talk about collectively. What does luxury mean? What does luxury mean?

I feel like it's changed so much, and it means a lot of things. I can only speak to my business, I feel like it's totally different from every business on the stage, but for me, I'm in a bespoke home business. So, I sell custom suits and shirts and blazers and pants to busy business professionals. So, men and women who are running companies and just don't have full time to shop. So, for me, luxury is fees, right? So, when clients come to me, of course, they expect luxury products.

They want the finer fabrics. But at the end of the day, they're shopping for me because they don't want a hassle by doing these slippers. So, luxury for me is all the things, but I would say the number one driver for my business is just the thing that's a great difference. And what is your name and what business is? I'm sorry, Lauren Smith, and my company is Smith Lux. Good morning, everybody. Can you hear me? Okay. Blake Brown, I'm going to brand Fooley Footwear.

To me, luxury nowadays is solving a problem for my customers. And at the end of the day, especially being a footwear, you know, every footwear brand could, you know, you have the same materials, you have the same drops, you have any kind of, you know, desirability aspect of it.

But at the end of the day, footwear in general is, we're trying to solve a problem because we're very different than most footwear brands where we actually cut the heel of your foot instead of most brands have a non-functional, it's all aesthetic. Where it's flat inside, but we have to potentially have this technology. So we're kind of the invisible technology, like what she should have alw...

Fashion, Design & Luxury Identity | Retail Collective Summit

Transcript

Built for investment professionals

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Fashion, Design &amp; Luxury Identity | Retail Collective Summit

Transcript

Built for investment professionals

Every day you wait, your competitors are findingedge in conversations you're not hearing.

Fashion, Design & Luxury Identity | Retail Collective Summit

Every day you wait, your competitors are finding
edge in conversations you're not hearing.