Session 1

The Luxury Concept

Past, Present and Future
LUXURY: The Definition

 In middle ages, people thought luxury is unnecessary and superfluous

 A luxury product would be much more sophisticated than the standard
product which satisfies the same need.
 Today, the word carries a much less negative connotation.
 The new concept- ”Branding”
 A luxury object is one that carries a brand that is well known, credible and
respected.
 With the brand signature, the concept of exclusion disappears and the focus is
much more on the quality of product offering.
Fashion Vs Luxury

 Fashion Brand: Any Brand which deals in textiles or accessories.

 Luxury: is when this brand achieves stability and the quality of being
timeless.

 A fashion brand has to be creative & come up with new ideas, new concepts
and new products every season.
 As they develop classical models that sell year round, which become
permanent best sellers with a signature style, its status moves from fashion to
luxury.
 The distinction is though a very thin line.
Approaches to Luxury

 Perception: consumer decision of luxury- quality of service in a sophisticated

environment.
 Production: manufacturer decision- careful craftsmanship, sold in
sophisticated environment, promoted in an exclusive way with major focus on
brand description and core values.
 Social & Individual Behaviour: what makes an individual stand out from the
crowd- hedonistic approach- individual satisfaction & genuine pleasure gained
by the owner due to sophisticated product.

 The brand identity must be cohherrent and consistent with what the product
represents and should bring an additional value without betraying it.
Luxury Value Set

 Exclusivity: rare & slightly difficult to acquire.

 Quality: should be better looking. Clear & generous warranty, sophisticated
packaging, relatively high prices.
 Hedonism: pleasant to own and use giving personal sense of satisfaction.
 Brand Image: renowned but also unique, different and strongly positioned.

 Ultimately, Luxury is all about status: providing customers & clients with
status, directly or indirectly, in whatever form or shape.
SEMIOTIC SQUARE OF CONSUMPTION VALUES

Logic of need - Logic of Desire- Existential

Utilitarian Values Values
PRACTICAL UTOPIAN/MYTHICAL

Logic of Interest- Logic of Pleasure-

Non existential values Non utilitarian Values
CRITICAL- ECONOMICAL DIVERSIONARY/ AESTHETIC
Types of LUXURY

 Authentic Luxury

 Intermediate Luxury

 Eccentric Luxury

 Sensible Luxury
AUTHENTIC LUXURY

 Clear differentiation from mass market- Crafsmanship

 Added durability
 Pleasant to handle & use
 Rewarding Brand Identity
 Timelessness
 Sophisticated detailing & craftsmanship values
 High priced
 Brings additional emotional value to the owner
INTERMEDIARY LUXURY

 Upgraded traditional middle-of-the-road consumer goods with luxury values –

creativity, communication & brand identity.
 Not the result of individual crafsmanship
 Upper middle range of the price scale
 Produced in relatively large quantities by automated factory process
 Brand identity is carefully developed and controlled over time.
ECCENTRIC LUXURY

 Practically individually created products that are truly different from the standard.
 Ex: Ferrari. Although Porche is an authentic luxury product, Ferrari provides
eccentricity.
 Manufactured in very small quantities
 Freedom of creativity
 Individual collectors items

 “A Luxury Brand must respect 3 conditions: it should stamp beautiful objects, it

should select its customers & promote them as individual promotion agents and it
should be able to decide freely and without any constraints what it wants to do.”
Jean Louis Dumas, Lt Chairman of Hermes.
SENSIBLE LUXURY

 Not luxury at all- special case of intermediate luxury at best.

 Ex: Zara- creative products changing rapidly in efficient way, with
psychological satisfaction to customers.
 Reasonable price
 Brand identity carefully managed and promoted with clear long term view.
 “trading up” possibility