{
  "id": 1413343,
  "title": "Everybody wants to be a premium brand in a tough economic environment",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/everybody-wants-to-be-a-premium-brand-in-a-tough-economic-environment",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-17T04:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Modern Retail",
    "slug": "modern-retail",
    "url": "https://www.modernretail.co/operations/everybody-wants-to-be-a-premium-brand-in-a-tough-economic-environment/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "During its second-quarter earnings call in August, Wayfair sought to highlight the success of its high-end furniture division, Perigold. The luxury brand's sales surged by over 35% during the quarter, while the company's overall revenue increased by 7.5% compared to the previous year. CFO Kate Gulliver attributed this growth to the company's core strategy, stating that \"we have really nice momentum in mass, but we're definitely doing very well in specialty and luxury.\"\n\nWayfair is not the only retailer aiming to attract more affluent customers. In discussions with industry executives this summer, a recurring theme was the need to target a new demographic with higher income levels than the company's existing customer base. This sentiment is evident in the strategies employed by various companies to increase the spending of their most valuable customers.\n\nModern Retail published an exclusive article detailing these trends, which can be accessed on modernretail.co. Subscribers can continue reading for more insights into this growing trend in the retail industry.",
  "summary": "In conversations with executives this summer, one consistent theme has been that everybody is trying to court a new demographic that’s in a slightly higher income bracket than their core customer. Or, they're grappling with how to get their highest spenders to spend more. Here's what's driving seemingly every brand to try to position themselves as a premium brand.",
  "key_points": [
    "Wayfair's luxury brand Perigold sales grew 35% in Q2",
    "Company's overall revenue increased 7.5% YoY",
    "CFO attributes growth to success in specialty and luxury"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Retailers are shifting focus to attract affluent customers, with high-end divisions like Wayfair's Perigold driving growth, as companies seek to boost spending from their most valuable customers.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}