The considerable stresses and strains of the last few years – geopolitical, social, and economic – have certainly created circumstances in which many shoppers yearn for the escapism promised by retail therapy.

Intriguingly, however, companies across the apparel, fashion, and luxury (AF&L) sector have often fared quite differently to each other in recent times, with the specific segment of the market in which a given brand operates frequently having a profound effect on its…