Luxury Daily annually honors 25 smart women executives who show the potential to make a difference next year in the luxury business. This year’s list features honorees who have set ambitious goals to achieve in a luxury market that, while growing, is also challenged by rapid changes in consumer behavior and technology.
Julie Wagner CEO, Beverly Hills Convention & Visitors Bureau has been named Luxury Daily’s ‘Luxury Women to Watch 2020.’
From the Luxury Daily :
“There are things that keep me up at night with worry. How will retail reinvent itself, what is the new five-star luxury, how does a city like ours provide unique experiences that can’t be seen or bought online?”
What do you most like about your job?
Where do I start?
First off, I love that I represent a brand that has had a special place in my heart for many years.
One of my fondest childhood memories of my mother was our monthly Saturday shopping trips and lunch in Beverly Hills.
I feel so fortunate to work in an environment where innovation is embraced.
We have executed many programs that just started with an idea which were then crafted and massaged and brought to life.
I also like the fact that we are forward-thinking.
It is wonderful working for a mature brand. However, it is also challenging, as many people lock onto your niche that you represent and think that is all you can be/do.
What is the biggest challenge in your work?
I think our budget limits us in some ways.
We have less to work with than most of our local competitors, but we are very resourceful and produce a lot of content with what we have.
What is your work priority for 2020?
In 2019 we created a destination development plan which takes a look at what we need to be concentrating on for the next 10 years.
I look forward to getting the stakeholders involved and mapping out how to meet our long term objectives.
What is your proudest achievement in luxury?
We have done a lot of great things, but I think I am most excited to tell everyone about our Suite 100 project.
The initiative was designed to celebrate our city’s centennial in 2014.
All of our five-star hotels participated by creating custom rooms that matched an era in time over the last 100 years.
How do you see luxury evolving in 2020?
Firstly I hope that we can come up with a different word for “luxury” that isn’t so vanilla and overused, many times, inappropriately.
But that aside, there are things that keep me up at night with worry. How will retail reinvent itself, what is the new five-star luxury, how does a city like ours provide unique experiences that can’t be seen or bought online?
The things we know about luxury today are a given for most people – they expect to receive the finest quality and service when they are seeking luxury experiences and products.
Moving forward, we need to continue looking for new multi-sensorial opportunities and ideas that marry heritage, technology, human interaction, craftsmanship, sustainability and reimagined spaces.
I also think it is imperative that we continue to look for new ways to cut through all the digital marketing noise out there to ensure that we are using our distribution channels in a way that is going to have a genuine and memorable impact.
