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June 30: Saks Turns the Page on Bankruptcy as Exemplar Luxury Group; Prime Day Hits $26.4B but Inflation Tells the Real Story; the Last Affordable Ferrari
Today: Saks Global exits bankruptcy and rebrands as Exemplar Luxury Group; a record Prime Day turns out to be more an inflation story than a demand story; where the bargains still hide in the Ferrari market; plus the European open and a look ahead to Art Market.
ALT/FNDATA
- Membership (Use PODCAST15 for 15% on your first year): https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260630
- Market reports: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260630-r
- Podcast episodes: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260630-p
Saks Turns the Page
- Saks Global, the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, has formally exited bankruptcy and rebranded as Exemplar Luxury Group. CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck says the new identity marks a new chapter and a higher standard with brands, customers and staff.
- The takeaway: even with the top of the market thriving, the business of selling luxury, the department stores and multi-brand retailers, has had a hard decade. The brands are strong; the middlemen are under pressure.
And the Top Keeps Printing
- Christie's closed its Paris luxury season with a jewelry sale that totaled 10.5 million euros, double its presale estimate. The houses that sell luxury are under pressure, while the objects themselves have rarely been worth more.
A Record Prime Day, and What It Really Means
- Amazon's Prime Day drove a record 26.4 billion dollars over four days, up 9 percent, by Adobe Analytics' estimate (Amazon doesn't release its own figures). But Adobe attributes much of the growth to inflation, not to people buying more.
- The same split we keep tracking: real, record demand at the very top; bigger everyday numbers that are as much about higher prices as healthy appetite.
The Accessible End of Collecting
- In a market where trophy Ferraris trade for eight figures, Robb Report argues one Ferrari is still within reach: the Mondial, roughly 40,000 to 80,000 dollars, the cheapest way into the marque. It is cheap for specific reasons: a four-seater, never the fastest, and long overlooked by collectors.
- The catch: a cheap Ferrari is not a cheap car to own. Servicing costs the same as any Ferrari, a major service running past 30,000 dollars, more than half the price of the car.
- A reminder that the collector car market is not only the eight-figure headline. There is an accessible end, and it is often where the value sits. More on Thursday's Auto Market.
Quick Hits
- Hearts on Fire is marking its 30th anniversary by remaking itself from a diamond wholesaler into a fine-jewellery house, with its sights on Asia.
- Lululemon's shareholders backed the board, settling a public standoff with its founder.
The Markets (Tuesday open)
- European luxury opened under pressure: Kering down more than 3 percent (the soft spot), LVMH down about 0.9 percent, Hermès down about 0.7 percent, Burberry down about 2.2 percent, Richemont and Swatch close to flat. Full read tonight on Closing Price.
Also from ALT/FNDATA:
- Art Market — this morning, the week in the art world
- Closing Price — this evening, the day's signals
- Open Bid returns Wednesday
Today: Saks Global exits bankruptcy and rebrands as Exemplar Luxury Group; a record Prime Day turns out to be more an inflation story than a demand story; where the bargains still hide in the Ferrari market; plus the European open and a look ahead to Art Market.
ALT/FNDATA
- Membership (Use PODCAST15 for 15% on your first year): https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260630
- Market reports: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260630-r
- Podcast episodes: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260630-p
Saks Turns the Page
- Saks Global, the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, has formally exited bankruptcy and rebranded as Exemplar Luxury Group. CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck says the new identity marks a new chapter and a higher standard with brands, customers and staff.
- The takeaway: even with the top of the market thriving, the business of selling luxury, the department stores and multi-brand retailers, has had a hard decade. The brands are strong; the middlemen are under pressure.
And the Top Keeps Printing
- Christie's closed its Paris luxury season with a jewelry sale that totaled 10.5 million euros, double its presale estimate. The houses that sell luxury are under pressure, while the objects themselves have rarely been worth more.
A Record Prime Day, and What It Really Means
- Amazon's Prime Day drove a record 26.4 billion dollars over four days, up 9 percent, by Adobe Analytics' estimate (Amazon doesn't release its own figures). But Adobe attributes much of the growth to inflation, not to people buying more.
- The same split we keep tracking: real, record demand at the very top; bigger everyday numbers that are as much about higher prices as healthy appetite.
The Accessible End of Collecting
- In a market where trophy Ferraris trade for eight figures, Robb Report argues one Ferrari is still within reach: the Mondial, roughly 40,000 to 80,000 dollars, the cheapest way into the marque. It is cheap for specific reasons: a four-seater, never the fastest, and long overlooked by collectors.
- The catch: a cheap Ferrari is not a cheap car to own. Servicing costs the same as any Ferrari, a major service running past 30,000 dollars, more than half the price of the car.
- A reminder that the collector car market is not only the eight-figure headline. There is an accessible end, and it is often where the value sits. More on Thursday's Auto Market.
Quick Hits
- Hearts on Fire is marking its 30th anniversary by remaking itself from a diamond wholesaler into a fine-jewellery house, with its sights on Asia.
- Lululemon's shareholders backed the board, settling a public standoff with its founder.
The Markets (Tuesday open)
- European luxury opened under pressure: Kering down more than 3 percent (the soft spot), LVMH down about 0.9 percent, Hermès down about 0.7 percent, Burberry down about 2.2 percent, Richemont and Swatch close to flat. Full read tonight on Closing Price.
Also from ALT/FNDATA:
- Art Market — this morning, the week in the art world
- Closing Price — this evening, the day's signals
- Open Bid returns Wednesday
Creators and Guests
What is Open Bid — Daily Morning Briefing on Auctions, Luxury & Markets?
Open Bid is your weekday-morning briefing on the world of luxury and collectibles. In under five minutes, host Sharon Obuobi covers the biggest stories across fine art, jewelry, watches, handbags, and collector cars — the record auction results, the moves inside the luxury houses, and what the markets are doing that morning — all backed by proprietary data from ALT/FNDATA. Whether you collect, invest, or just love this world, it's the fastest way to start the day informed.
Learn more at www.altfndata.com.
OPEN BID — Tuesday, June 30, 2026
[INTRO]
Good morning. It's Tuesday, June 30. I'm Sharon Obuobi, and this is Open Bid from ALT/FNDATA.
Today, one of America's most storied luxury retailers turns the page on bankruptcy, we have a record jewelry sale in Paris, results from the recent Amazon Prime Day really tells us about the consumer, and insights where the bargains still hide in the Ferrari market. Plus we’ll take a look at how the European opened today, and Art Market is out later this afternoon.
This episode of Open Bid is brought to you by ALT/FNDATA, the market intelligence platform for insights on the luxury markets and related public equities. With a membership, you can unlock access to dashboards, reports and cutting-edge insights to keep your finger on the pulse of the market and drive your competitive advantage. Learn more at altfndata.com/membership.
[SAKS TURNS THE PAGE]
Saks Global, the privately held owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, has formally exited bankruptcy and rebranded itself as Exemplar Luxury Group. Its chief executive, Geoffroy van Raemdonck, says the new identity is meant to mark a new chapter, and hold the company to a higher standard in how it works with brands, customers and staff. The reinvention of one of the best-known names in American luxury further confirms that while the top of the market is thriving, the business of selling luxury, the department stores and the multi-brand retailers have all been under real pressure.
[AND THE TOP KEEPS PRINTING]
And even as the retailers struggle, the trophies keep climbing. In Paris this week, Christie's closed its luxury season with a jewelry sale that totaled 10.5 million euros, double its presale estimates. It is the contrast that runs through this whole market. The houses that produce and sell luxury are under pressure, while the objects themselves have rarely been worth more in the secondary market.
[A RECORD PRIME DAY, AND WHAT IT REALLY MEANS]
Now let’s take a read on the everyday consumer. Amazon, ticker AMZN on the Nasdaq at 242 dollars, just ran a record Prime Day with 26.4 billion dollars spent over four days. This was up 9 percent on last year, according to estimates from Adobe Analytics. If we take a closer look, the picture is more sobering. Adobe Analytics attributes much of the growth not to people buying more, but to inflation and shoppers paying more for the same goods. This is the same split we keep returning to. At the very top of the market, demand is real and the prices are records. But at the everyday level, the bigger numbers are as much about higher prices as they are about a healthy appetite to spend.
[THE ACCESSIBLE END OF COLLECTING]
We have a note for the car collectors. In a market where the trophy Ferraris typically trade for eight figures, the Robb Report makes a case that one Ferrari is still within reach. This is the Mondial which you can buy at a price between 40,000 and 80,000 dollars. The Mondial is a four-seater, it was never the fastest or most powerful Ferrari, so it has been overlooked by collectors but this catch is worth knowing. However, a more affordable Ferrari is still not a cheap car to own. Servicing costs the same as on any Ferrari, with a major service running past 30,000 dollars, more than half the price of this car. With the Mondial, even Ferrari, ticker RACE on the NYSE at 369 dollars and one of the strongest businesses in all of luxury, has an accessible corner to its market. The collector car world is not only its record-setting trophies. There is a reachable end to it, and that is often where the quiet value sits. We will have more on the cars this Thursday, on Auto Market.
[QUICK HITS]
Two quick notes to close.
Hearts on Fire, the diamond brand owned by Chow Tai Fook, ticker 1929 in Hong Kong at 11 Hong Kong dollars, is marking its 30th anniversary by remaking itself from a diamond wholesaler into a fine-jewellery house, with its sights set firmly on Asia.
And shareholders of Lululemon, ticker LULU on the Nasdaq at 114 dollars, have backed the company's board, settling a public standoff with its founder.
[THE MARKETS, A SOFT EUROPEAN OPEN]
Finally, let’s take a look at how the European luxury names opened under pressure this morning.
Among the majors, LVMH was down about 0.9 percent and Hermès down about 0.7 percent, with Richemont still the same. Kering was the soft spot, down more than 3 percent. The US names open later this morning, and we will have the full read tonight on Closing Price.
That’s it on Open Bid for today, Tuesday, June 30.