Cultural, not just commercial
Leading luxury brands are often born from a philosophy that evolves to become a business. Their origins are not in a clever business plan that re-imagines a historical brand story. While many of these brands have sustained successful businesses for centuries, they never appear to have been motivated by profit alone. More often than not, the brand originally embarked on a mission to bring unadulterated excellence to the market. The creators of these brands were artisans, not MBAs.
Considering the centuries of change that they’ve witnessed, it is not surprising that today’s leading luxury brands feel as though they have a cultural mandate. In a modern and fractured world, leading luxury brands stand out not only because of their product quality, but also because of the standards they have retained. They are paragons of style, devotees to detail, and keepers of the craftsman tradition. Their magic is not in their history. Rather, it lies in their ability to drive demand by continuously innovating through these legacy qualities – indulging customers, delighting them, inspiring them, and keeping them in a state of sustained desire.
Is new luxury possible?
Luxury brands may be an endangered species. While the brands’ values show that many are in a state of good health, it is questionable that today’s modern business environment could ever again create a luxury brand.
Luxury brands are the equivalent of aristocracy. As we have seen, they achieve their status by being practically untouchable. They take time to create. Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Bulgari, and Cartier did not just appear out of thin air. They began more than 150 years ago and took years to build, only achieving iconic status over time.
Considering the time and cost of capital that this would require today, modern investors wouldn’t dare indulge in the creation of a new luxury brand. Luxury brands are expensive. They seek limited, elusive customers who are difficult to communicate with and even more difficult to ind. And their creation requires the mindset of a higher purpose, verging on the genius – one that transcends the commercial realities of the quarterly earnings call. It is difficult to imagine that the investor psyche of 2008, especially considering the current environment, would tolerate the start-up costs of a luxury brand.
What is the future for luxury brands?
Leading brands come with a history – that is the point. They have been through wars, plagues, deaths, famines and every range of economic climate from despair to jubilation. So what will happen to them in the challenging market of 2009?
Well, to a degree, the consistency with which they have managed themselves to date would indicate that “business as usual” will be their attitude. Rather than attempt to broaden their customer segments, some brands may decide to focus on their loyal, elite audience – perhaps becoming even less compromising, producing goods that are even more over- the -top, exclusive, and expensive.
Some leading brands may even go out of their way to offer wealthy customers an even more superior and uncompromising experience, becoming more innovative and creative about their techniques than ever before. Or maybe they’ll be tempted to compromise their quality and vision, adjusting to stay in business and to satisfy shareholders. But what level of compromise is the step too far: the step that allows the legend to be questioned in customer’s eyes?
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