The New Luxury Power Play? Customer Experience

In today’s premium retail landscape, great products alone aren’t enough—the real differentiator is how a brand makes you feel. From ultra-personalized service to seamless in-store experiences, customer experience has quietly become one of the most powerful business tools in luxury. In this Q&A, Sandrine Briatte—former executive at LVMH brands Fresh and Guerlain, now Regional VP Americas at CXG—shares how the world’s top brands are rethinking retail, why consistency matters more than ever, and what truly separates memorable luxury brands from forgettable ones.

The LVMH Legacy: Given your extensive background with iconic LVMH brands like Fresh and Guerlain, what is the single most important lesson from the world of prestige beauty that you are now applying to the broader luxury landscape at CXG?

My key lesson from prestige beauty is simple: the more client‑centric a luxury brand is, the more personalized and therefore differentiated its experience becomes. That was true at Guerlain and Fresh, and it’s the same principle we apply today at CXG across the entire luxury ecosystem.

The Experience ROI: From a business perspective, many retailers still view “customer experience” as a soft metric. How does CXG quantify the direct link between a high-impact experience and a brand’s bottom-line performance?

Experience becomes measurable when you link it to execution. At CXG, we see retail excellence as the first step toward retail performance: the better brands understand and manage client touchpoints, the more they can improve conversion and that’s where experience turns into real ROI.

The Toronto Lens: You are in Toronto to host top-tier retail partners. What specifically sets the Canadian luxury consumer apart from their global counterparts in terms of expectations and brand loyalty?

Canadian luxury consumers are extremely loyal – but only to brands that genuinely understand them. They expect personalization, transparency and consistency across every touchpoint. When those expectations are met, loyalty in Canada is deeper and more durable than in many other global markets.

The Consistency Challenge: CXG helps brands deliver consistent experiences across diverse global markets. How do you maintain a “premium” feel in a digital-first world where the human touchpoint is becoming rarer?

Premium experience in a digital world is about orchestration. Technology ensures consistency and insight; people deliver emotion and meaning. At CXG, we use digital to amplify, not replace, the human luxury experience.

The Differentiator: In a crowded market, what is the one “Experience” factor that currently sets a growing brand apart from one that is stagnating?

Growth today comes from relationship continuity. Brands that systemize personalization and client recognition grow; those that revert to process‑driven selling stagnate.

The “Vibe” Check: If you had to describe the “ultimate luxury experience” using only three words, what would they be?

Personal. Consistent. Meaningful. Because in luxury, the ultimate experience is one where the client feels recognized, the brand feels trustworthy, and the relationship lasts beyond a single purchase.

The Future of Retail: We often hear that “retail is dead,” yet premium brands are thriving. What is the one thing brick-and-mortar stores can do that an algorithm will never be able to replicate?

Algorithms predict preferences. Humans create trust. The role of the store has evolved: it’s no longer just a point of sale, but a space where brands bring their values to life through people. When frontline teams are empowered to create emotional moments, not just execute processes, physical retail becomes irreplaceable.

The Partnership Secret: You are hosting this event alongside EVP Clément Barthélemy. When you sit down with top-tier retail partners, what is the most common “pain point” they are currently asking CXG to solve?

The biggest pain point brands share with us is not collecting client data – it’s turning that data into consistent, meaningful relationships. The Loyalty Code, our 2025-2026 Survey proves that loyalty today is driven by recognition, not rewards.

Personal Luxury: As someone who has spent her career in high-end retail, what is a “small luxury” in your own daily routine that makes you feel like a VIP?

For me, true luxury today is being surprised. We can buy almost anything, anytime. That’s no longer what feels special. What really makes me feel like a VIP is when someone pays enough attention to truly understand who I am — and then does something thoughtful, unexpected, and perfectly aligned with my personality. It can be very small: a handwritten note, a recommendation that shows someone remembered a detail about me, or a gesture that comes without being asked. That element of surprise, rooted in genuine attention, is what makes an experience feel personal rather than transactional. To me, that’s the purest form of luxury: feeling seen.

The 2026 Trend: Looking ahead through the rest of the year, what is the “Experience Trend” that every retail executive should be obsessed with right now?

Simplicity and community – doing less for clients, but meaning more to them.” It’s about removing friction, reducing noise, and creating experiences that feel effortless, personal, and human — while building real relationships and a sense of belonging around the brand.