LVMH is shifting its focus from handbags to experiences, and Accor is the way to bet on that

While sales of handbags, watches, and fashion have stagnated in recent years, the world’s wealthiest people are shifting their spending elsewhere—namely, toward experiences. French hotel giant Accor is banking on this shift; it is the operational leader of the revived Orient Express brand, which it is developing in a joint venture with Louis Vuitton’s owner, the LVMH Group. The recently launched first Orient Express superyacht, cruising the French and Italian Rivieras, is a tangible symbol of this strategy. Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin openly expects that a new wave of billionaires emerging from the artificial intelligence boom will further accelerate the entire experiential luxury market. His argument is simple. When someone has seven homes, twelve cars, and seventeen watches, they no longer want an eighteenth watch—they want an experience and recognition.

This analysis examines whether Accor is a good bet for capitalizing on this trend. The key question has three layers. First, is the…