Phoebe Philo’s ‘secret sale’ highlights luxury’s quiet struggle with excess stock

The annual cascade of Black Friday newsletters has been hard to escape, arriving with such frequency that even the most discerning shoppers may feel a twinge of fear of missing out. Promotions now cover everything from LED face masks consumers did not know they needed to socks, sweats and, increasingly, luxury fashion.

Excess inventory remains a widespread challenge in the industry, affecting brands across the value spectrum unless they operate strictly on a made-to-measure or on-demand basis. Seasonal sales continue to serve a straightforward purpose: clearing stock to make space for new collections and updated merchandising. Consumer appetite for constant novelty is deeply entrenched, a dynamic that has fuelled the rise of both fast fashion and ultra-fast fashion. These segments thrive not because of sustainability credentials, but because they satisfy a relentless demand for newness at low prices.

Inventory challenges

Earlier this week, subscribers to Phoebe Philo’s mailing list received a discreet message announcing what the brand called a “secret sale”. On the website, there were no banners or visible discount cues. Yet a number of items were quietly reduced, accessible only to those who followed the private link.

Discounting remains a sensitive subject in luxury. While prices have risen sharply across the sector, Bain & Company reported that global personal luxury goods sales reached approximately 362 billion euros in 2023, driven in part by ongoing price increases from houses including Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermès, overt markdowns can undermine the aura of exclusivity these brands rely upon. For many labels, a public sale runs counter to the perception of rarity and long-term value.

Discounting, but in secret

It is one reason some heritage brands have historically avoided traditional discounting altogether. Burberry famously revealed in its 2017–2018 annual report that it had destroyed unsold goods worth 28.6 million pounds in that financial year, sparking a global backlash and prompting the company to end the practice in 2018. Other luxury houses take a different route: controlled sample sales, employee sales and invite-only clearances far from the public gaze. While Louis Vuitton and Hermès do not publicly confirm details of internal sales activity, the industry recognises that these controlled channels exist to manage excess merchandise without diluting brand equity.

Calling a discount event a “secret sale” serves a similar purpose. It reframes markdowns as an exclusive moment rather than a mass-market promotion. It allows brands to quietly manage inventory without the optics of red tags or ubiquitous promotional messaging. There are no Instagram stories on Phoebe Philo’s official channels pointing shoppers toward reduced prices, nor any calls to action of the “get forty percent off the Long Shirt Dress now, at nine hundred sixty euros down from one thousand six hundred euros” variety.

As luxury brands navigate a market shaped by high prices, slower demand growth and a consumer increasingly accustomed to constant novelty, discreet discounting may become an increasingly common tool. The challenge is to manage inventory pressures without undermining the aura of exclusivity that defines the sector, whether publicly, privately, or somewhere in between.