Luxury consumers and their preferences are changing rapidly, and most brands are not prepared. Once-proud retailers like Neiman Marcus have had to file for bankruptcy, but their issues ran much deeper than the COVID-19 crisis. They included significant deficits in the brand service experience and a lack of digital value creation. In other words: The brand became irrelevant to young luxury consumers. According to the New York Times, this was partly driven by a massive debt of almost $5 billion, as the retailer had owed hundreds of millions of dollars in interest and fees. Earnings were cashed out instead of going towards future investments. Like many other companies, Neiman Marcus became inward-focused and forgot to create extreme value for its customers. These issues were apparent for years but hadn't been addressed. The virus was only a catalyst, not the cause.