Dana Telsey, CEO and Chief Research Officer at Telsey Advisory Group, Talks Luxury Gifting Trends

Summary

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Podcast Summary – Bloomberg Talks

Episode: Dana Telsey, CEO and Chief Research Officer at Telsey Advisory Group, Talks Luxury Gifting Trends
Date: November 28, 2025
Host: Bloomberg

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Overview

This episode features renowned retail analyst Dana Telsey discussing holiday 2025 luxury retail and gifting trends. She provides real-time insights collected from in-store visits, consults on high-end and mainstream gifting shifts, analyzes the evolving retail landscape—including store footprints, consumer behavior, and hot brands—and weighs in on the challenges and opportunities in luxury and broader fashion retail.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Black Friday Landscape & Macy’s 2025

• New Dynamics: Dana reports a noticeable shift in Black Friday shopping rhythms—crowds arrive later rather than first thing in the morning. Promotions are comparable to previous years, but Macy’s stands out with 40% "newness" in offerings.
  • Quote:
    “Crowds and traffic, the buzz doesn't kick up until later in the day. … 40% newness. Lobo is the hottest thing out there.” – Dana Telsey [01:01]
• New In-Store Experiences:
  • Pop Mart pop-up shops, new cosmetics brands, and brands like Donna Karan and Rag & Bone offer new engagement points for shoppers [01:25].

Consumer Trends and Holiday Spending

• Bifurcation of the Consumer:
  The market is split—high-end consumers benefit from a "wealth effect," while lower-end shoppers are value and promotion-driven.
  • Quote:
    “You really have a bifurcated consumer. … the high end is spending. … [while] on the low end, the pressure points, obviously prices have gone up.” – Dana Telsey [02:21]
• Holiday 2025 Theme:
  Newness and value dominate. Retailers must offer something fresh and value to convert sales [02:21].

Category Drivers & Hot Items

• Outerwear & Apparel:
  Outerwear continues to move the needle, especially as temperatures drop.
  • “It's always about out of outerwear. When it gets cold, it's about apparel.” – Dana Telsey [03:30]
• Tech Accessories & Novelty:
  • Oura rings and Meta glasses are “very popular” for gifting [03:41].
  • Labubu dolls are trending with all ages and incomes [03:46].

Luxury Retail: Store Footprints & Adaptation

• Heritage & Experience:
  Dana reminisces about her childhood awe of holiday windows, highlighting enduring magic and iconic retail experiences [04:14].
• Consolidation vs. Expansion:
  Less focus on mergers in luxury—more on brands expanding store footprints & direct retail, plus ongoing brand reorganizations (e.g., Versace to Prada, the future of Armani) [04:30].
• Gucci’s Path Forward:
  The brand’s revival hinges on blending heritage with innovation and smart digital storytelling.
  • “You need to bring Gucci back to its heritage and be able to update it and modernize it, … have brand ambassadors that everyone wants to follow.” [04:51]

Brick-and-Mortar: Shrinking, Curating & Evolution

• Physical Stores Evolve:
  Store closures have mostly stabilized, with a pivot to smaller, experience-focused spaces—including luxury brand activations (Dior, Hermès) [05:13].
  • Local Favorites:
    • Aritzia is cited as a “destination” [05:35].
    • High-end malls (Short Hills NJ, Chestnut Hill MA, Highland Park TX) will increasingly be centers for curated brands, food, and activities in the next decade [06:08].
  • Quote:
    “In 10 years, they're going to be even more curated. They're going to have more special brands and … more food and activities because people are going to want to gather there.” – Dana Telsey [06:08]

Top Stock Picks & Brands to Watch

• Outperformers:
  • TJX and Steve Madden cited for solid performance, with Steve Madden’s acquisition of Kurt Geiger set to boost margins and sales for 2026 [06:26].
    • “Suede boots. They're back. They also have a Kurt Geiger acquisition that's going to add to sales and margins. Very exciting for 2026 and beyond.” – Dana Telsey [06:32]
• Fashion Must-Haves:
  • Brown suede, tall-shaft boots and wide-leg embellished jeans are on-trend [08:14].
  • Brown rumored as “the new black” for the season, trending since last year’s Milan shows [08:28].

Rising Small Luxury & Streetwear Brands

• Emerging Names:
  • Goyard (handbags), Ma Leon Dore, and Kith (streetwear-luxury crossover) are highlighted as up-and-coming or expanding [07:12].
  • Continued partnership between streetwear and luxury underpins much of “newness and innovation” in fashion [07:38].

Defining ‘Newness’ in Fashion

• Meaning:
  “Newness” means products/looks consumers haven’t seen in previous years—like denim with new embellishments and cuts, especially wide-leg styles [07:41], [08:02].
  • Quote:
    “Look what's happening on denim jeans with embellishment ... at all different price levels that it's appealing.” – Dana Telsey [07:41]

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Memorable Quotes & Notable Moments

• “Super Bowl of the year for me.” – Dana Telsey on Black Friday’s importance [02:03]
• “Offer something new, offer value and you'll get conversion.” – Dana Telsey [02:21]
• “Store footprint is basing out. We’ve already closed a lot of stores. … Stores may be smaller. … New engagement, with buy online, pickup in store and their activations.” – Dana Telsey [05:13]
• “Brown is the new black. Seriously?” – Interviewer [08:26]
• “In fashion today, brown was this color. … when the fashion shows for winter came out.” – Dana Telsey [08:28]
• “In 10 years, they're going to be even more curated … more food and activities because people are going to want to gather there.” – Dana Telsey [06:08]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening & Dana’s Macy’s Observations: 00:34–01:58
• Holiday Consumer Behavior & Newness/Value Trends: 02:03–02:57
• Category Sales Drivers & Hot Gifts: 03:30–03:46
• Luxury Store Dynamics & Consolidation: 04:26–05:13
• Store Footprint and Mall Future: 05:09–06:18
• Stock Picks & On-Trend Fashion Items: 06:26–06:49, 08:14–08:28
• Newness, Innovation, and Small Brands: 07:12–07:41

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Takeaways

• Retailers must balance newness and value to win this holiday season.
• Physical retail spaces are evolving—smaller, more curated, and experience-driven.
• Luxury is adapting by expanding direct retail and telling more dynamic brand stories.
• Certain accessible luxury (TJX, Steve Madden) and trend-forward brands (like Kith, Goyard, Ma Leon Dore) are poised for growth.
• Brown replaces black as the color du jour, and wide-leg jeans plus tall boots dominate winter fashion.

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This episode is an engaging pulse-check on 2025 holiday retail, blending Dana Telsey’s strategic insights with an insider’s feel for fashion and gifting trends.

Transcript

[Indiana University Narrator]

Old playbooks won't solve tomorrow's problems. Indiana University is proving how higher education can create solutions with industry. Our partnerships address future talent and workforce needs, support entrepreneurs and local businesses, and create solutions that turn discoveries into dollars. Together, we're building a model for industry partnerships that fuel economic growth. Explore IU's impact at iu.edu impact.

[Dana Telsey]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News the treatment.

[Interviewer]

For this is simple. Dana Telsey, more than anyone I know, owns the fabric of retail in America. The storied mile of Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue, her heritage with a small shop called Bergdorf Goodman. And we're thrilled she could join us. After stopping at Macy's today, they were the first ones that said let's put things on sale Friday. What did you observe today in the 2025 Macy's?

[Dana Telsey]

Couple things. First, thank you so much for having me and hope you had a great Thanksgiving. What I saw at Macy's, it's a different type of Black Friday than it was in the past. The reason why? Crowds and traffic, the buzz doesn't kick up until later in the day. And that's for a lot of retailers. Macy's opens at 6am but others open later. What did I see at Macy's that was different? 40% newness. Lobo is the hottest thing out there.

[Interviewer]

Still hot.

[Dana Telsey]

Still hot. There's a Pop Mart in store shop at Macy's. The other things that are new and different at Macy's, different brands also, whether it's cosmetics brands, they have a bunch of new cosmetics brands that are different. Whether it's also the engagement with newer brands like the Donna Karan's of the world that are there. Rag and bone that's there. It's been exciting to see the formation of it, but it's always promotional and all the tracking we've done, we're not seeing a much different link between the level of promotions this year versus last year so far.

[Co-Host/Commentator]

So I mean retail analysts like Dana Tesley, this is arguably the most important day of the year.

[Dana Telsey]

Super bowl of the year for me.

[Co-Host/Commentator]

Super bowl of the year for Dana. And clients are calling her and texting her all day. What are you seeing? Because they know she's out at the stores and they want to know what she's seeing out there. How do you expect this holiday season to be? And just in terms of dollars for the retailers, Are the retailers optimistic here?

[Dana Telsey]

I think they're cautiously optimistic. You really have a bifurcated consumer. I mean that high end is spending. Obviously you've seen the benefits of the stock market, the wealth effect that Ed just talked about on the low end, the pressure points, obviously prices have gone up. Retailers are striving to make sure that opening price point items stay as close as possible and no increase. But you are seeing consumers search for value, search for more promotions in order to drive conversion. And that's why what the theme of holiday 25 is newness and value. Offer something new, offer value and you'll get conversion.

[Co-Host/Commentator]

Ed Yardeni, one top strategist on Wall Street. Dana Telsey, top retail analysts on Wall Street. What do they have in common? Tom? C.J. lawrence.

[Interviewer]

What is it about that you were at C.J. lawrence?

[Dana Telsey]

I was at C.J.

[Hiscox Insurance Announcer]

Lawrence.

[Interviewer]

I didn't know that.

[Dana Telsey]

I loved it. I didn't like it there. It was awesome place. Great people.

[Hiscox Insurance Announcer]

Thank you.

[Co-Host/Commentator]

The best research on Wall street, like religion.

[Interviewer]

Folks, folks, those of you younger don't understand this. You used to get things on paper and there was that green ink of C.J. lawrence, which had authority like no, no one.

[Co-Host/Commentator]

Dan, is there anything, is there one category that is going to drive this year's sales or is it more broadly based, do you think?

[Dana Telsey]

I think it's always about out of outerwear. When it gets cold, it's about apparel. We got some other new things out there. The aura rings are very popular.

[Co-Host/Commentator]

I told you, Lisa, you got to get the aura rings.

[Dana Telsey]

Meta glasses are very popular. And what about the Labubu dolls?

[Co-Host/Commentator]

Oh, man.

[Dana Telsey]

For all ages and income levels in.

[Interviewer]

The time we've got left. I want you to talk about your heritage. Fifth Avenue is getting blown up. Prada bought a zillion square feet. You got the whole Louis Vuitton with the rebuild, with a carriage.

[Co-Host/Commentator]

That's right.

[Interviewer]

And all that. You as a child standing in front of the Bergdorf Goodman windows, what was it like to be 4 and 5 years old and it. Nothing's changed. Right. It's still the same magic looks still.

[Dana Telsey]

The same, but it's still the aura. And having that snowflake above 57th street with the Empire State Building in the background with different colors off the top, there's nothing in the world like it.

[Interviewer]

With troubled luxury, will we see mergers this year?

[Dana Telsey]

I don't know. If you see mergers, I think you see more companies opening more of their own stores. You've seen some divestitures. You look at, obviously Versace was sold to Prada. You've seen that. Let's see what happens with Giorgio Armani, given his passing.

[Interviewer]

I got to give you the same question. I gave the wonderful Steve Sedov, who is with us in the last hour, what would you do with Gucci?

[Dana Telsey]

Oh, I think basically you need to bring Gucci back to its heritage and be able to update it and modernize it, whether different colors, different fabrics. You need to tell a communicative story virtually and visually and have brand ambassadors that everyone wants to follow.

[Co-Host/Commentator]

Do we have enough stores or are we still shrinking the footprint of stores in this country?

[Dana Telsey]

Where are we in that store footprint is basing out. We've already closed a lot of stores. If anything, stores may be smaller. There's new engagement, certainly with Buy online, pickup in store and their activations. You've seen it in luxury with the Christian Dior store that open, with Hermes that open. But you're even seeing it with other stores, too. Check out Aritzia. It's a destination.

[Interviewer]

Well, that's how you pronounce that.

[Dana Telsey]

Aritzia.

[Co-Host/Commentator]

Mateo's all in on that, right?

[Lisa Mateo]

Oh, I get. Love their jeans.

[Hiscox Insurance Announcer]

I just went.

[Lisa Mateo]

I went to Soho with my daughter.

[Dana Telsey]

Well, what about puffer jackets? It is cold outside.

[Lisa Mateo]

Yes, yes, yes, Puffer jackets.

[Interviewer]

Did the interview just get taken over at least?

[Co-Host/Commentator]

Mateo?

[Interviewer]

Well, Paul mentioned this the other day. Still, for the halves, it's Summit. What's it called? Summit Hills Mall.

[Dana Telsey]

Short Hills.

[Interviewer]

Short Hill Mall in. Near Summit, New Jersey. Chestnut Hill Mall in Boston. Those Highland park, whatever. Dallas. Where are they?

[Dana Telsey]

In 10 years, they're going to be even more curated. They're going to have more special brands and they're going to have more food and activities because people are going to want to gather there.

[Interviewer]

That's what JPM listen to. Danny Tulsi. But food and activities at the J.P. morgan Building. You're single Best Buy here. We got to make some money.

[Dana Telsey]

I think you're still going to see TJX do well. I like Steve Madden also.

[Interviewer]

Steve Madden, please discuss that.

[Dana Telsey]

Suede boots. They're back. They also have a Kurt Geiger acquisition that's going to add to sales and margins. Very exciting for 2026 and beyond to get all that.

[Interviewer]

Lisa, I saw you taking notes over there.

[Lisa Mateo]

I am furiously Steve Madden.

[Interviewer]

I mean, there's. That's the up and the down and all of a sudden Steve Madden's up again.

[Dana Telsey]

They're up again and they're on trend.

[Co-Host/Commentator]

See, I think being a retail analyst is the hardest one on Wall street because you have to be right about the stocks and the financial analysis, but you also have to be right on, like, fashion stuff. Who knows that?

[Interviewer]

How do you do that? Well, yeah, you Got to pick the pick the winners. Who's the small luxury brand that's up and coming right now? Who's executing best?

[Dana Telsey]

I mean, you're seeing some handbag brands like Goyard is still small and happening to do very well. There's some other small brands like Ma Leon Dore that basically is doing some interesting things out there. Kith is opening more stores. And the collaboration between streetwear and luxury continues to be very fascinating.

[Co-Host/Commentator]

Streetwear and luxury.

[Interviewer]

Streetwear.

[Co-Host/Commentator]

Is that streetwear?

[Interviewer]

What'd you call it?

[Co-Host/Commentator]

Newness?

[Dana Telsey]

Newness and innovation.

[Interviewer]

What in God's name is newness?

[Dana Telsey]

Is that like pulling something you didn't have last year? Look what's happening on denim jeans with embellishment on denim jeans. And it's at all different price levels that it's appealing.

[Interviewer]

We now go to fashion correspondent for Surveillance Worldwide, Lisa Mateo. Are you buying the jeans, Lisa, that are like 7 inches wide? You mentioned Popeye. They look like Popeye jeans from 50 years ago.

[Lisa Mateo]

You have to go with the wide. See, I have, like, the wide ones on because the skinny ones, I told by my daughter, they are out. We can't do it, Mom. You're uncool. So, yes, the wide, which is the.

[Interviewer]

Boot this season, that's the way we always end the interview.

[Dana Telsey]

Brown suede, tall shaft, boot.

[Hiscox Insurance Announcer]

There you go. Boot to ha.

[Co-Host/Commentator]

Tom, you asked.

[Interviewer]

Is this James Chu? Is that they're the ones doing it?

[Dana Telsey]

I think you see a bunch of players doing it, but you have to have that style.

[Interviewer]

What happened with black? Brown is the new black. Seriously?

[Dana Telsey]

I like black, but I basically am different than others. But in fashion today, brown was this color. It was last year when the fashion shows for winter came out.

[Interviewer]

Like in Milan or someplace.

[Dana Telsey]

Yep.

[Interviewer]

Okay. Thank you so much for coming. Where do you go next?

[Dana Telsey]

Oh, basically I'm going to New Jersey to Garden State Plaza.

[Interviewer]

There we go. Dana Telsey, the Telsey Advisory Group, and Joe Feldman, Big box. We'll do with Dana next time. And for your Black Friday shopping, have a safe and wonderful time.

[Indiana University Narrator]

Old playbooks won't solve tomorrow's problems. Indiana University is redefining the relationship between higher education and industry. We're addressing future talent and workforce needs through more than 10,000 industry partnerships, supporting and investing in young entrepreneurs and businesses that create jobs and grow the economy, and facilitating the research and development that lead to breakthrough solutions. This isn't business as usual. Indiana University Plus Industry is a partnership that fuels economic growth. Explore IU's impact at IU.

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