By definition, a luxury brand is an outstanding brand, rightfully valued and intended, at least primarily, for a select group of the socio-economic elite. Luxury is not about unattainability, though. After all, you cannot profit from consumers who cannot buy your brand. Nevertheless, luxury is that the consumer stretches a bit of himself to buy something extraordinary, but rather expensive for its financial possibilities. When you are used to driving a BMW 760 (price: more than 85,000 euros), this is no longer a luxury for you, although you may be pleasantly aware that this is for many. Alternatively, paying 115,000 euros for the Maserati Quattroporte Executive GT Automatic is likely to be more luxurious for you.
Before entering into the hyphen discussion on luxury, I think it would be good to recognize two basic facts:
- Luxury is relative. The luxury of one person is often another (usually richer) everyday life.
- Luxury standard is changeable. Today's luxury is often tomorrow's expected standard. Luxury brands are under constant pressure from non-luxury brands trying to offer the same value to smaller quantities, thus destroying the status of luxury. Much has been said slowly about the changing nature of luxury these days. Although some of the stated changes are nothing more than the result of historical myopia, some events deserve attention.
- There are currently more layers of luxury than ever before to meet new levels of abundance. More billionaires, more multimillionaires, more millionaires, more super documents (annual income of more than 150 thousand US dollars), inflows (annual income of more than 100 thousand US dollars) and about inflows (annual income of more than 75 thousand US dollars). Toyota Camry (about $ 25 thousand) It is considered a luxury car at some level of wealth, at a higher level it is the BMW 7 Series (about $ 115 thousand), Even higher is the Maybach 62 (about $ 375 thousand).
- Some of the luxury buyers are currently somewhat less interested in purchasing single status / identity symbols, and they prefer to develop an individual style and express themselves in original ways. The tension between the traditional (more honestly genuine luxury) and innovation has always grown out of luxury. Nowadays, luxury is more innovative than traditional.
- Now there are more “outside the class”, both up and down. The rich do not always have to buy expansive ones (in fact, rich people usually look for the best deal on what they want to buy, no matter how extravagant they are). The less wealthy also developed an appetite for luxury, when and where they can afford it.
- There is a tendency to a higher price for a luxurious experience, and not for goods, at least among rich Americans. This tendency is stronger among experienced temptations who already know that the attractiveness of objects wears out, and the cherished experiences become better with time, as they are remembered, spoken and questioned.
- Now more luxury hits and less classics. Luxury was previously defined in the traditional past classics. The innovative gift, which is also evident in non-luxury sectors, makes the success of luxury brands of the day sweet, but short-lived.
After all these significant events, the nature of luxury still remained unchanged.
People buy luxury brands to:
- Feel special and out of the crowd.
- Feel superior and privileged.
- A sense of value and importance.
- Exercise and freedom (“I can afford it”, “I can do it”).
- Reward your efforts and achievements.
- The console is one and recovers from failure or failure.
- Signal status and command confirmation and compliance.
- Demonstrate sophistication, knowledge, and / or perfectionism.
- Delight the senses, feel the pleasant sensations and feelings or create the infrastructure for future favorable events.
- Participate in a certain group and lifestyle.
- Signal affiliation and affiliation.
- Remind yourself of the "real" (aspiring?) Identity.
- Enflame hopes and mobilizes motivation and energy.
- Treat yourself and pamper yourself, take care of yourself.
- Feel loved, take care and even spoil.
- Show feelings of gratitude, gratitude or great affection.
Luxury brands are specifically designed to serve as a means for consumers to complete one or more of these tasks. Here are ten eternal principles for the development and management of a luxury brand:
- A luxury brand is, above all, a product and / or top quality service (a quality gap from competitors is recommended, but not necessarily).
- Products and services are not developed or planned depending on the tastes and expectations of consumers, even if they attract and serve sometimes hidden deep desires. The luxury brand sets its own standards and does not adhere to fashion. It has leadership; it is exceptional, unique, original, artistic and creative, unexpected and romance (but never feasible, ridiculous or potentially repulsive).
- The most important value of a luxury brand lies behind the main function of the product or practicality.
- Luxury brands have something extravagant / excessive / excessive and overly generous. Something that is clearly not necessary: the use of unnecessarily expensive materials, performance that far exceeds all needs and requirements, an exaggerated level of service, ...
- A luxury brand always expresses a zeal for quality, highly valuable values or even ideology, excellent culture, as well as feelings of hedonism, passion for life and free spirit.
- A luxury brand will always be associated with the circle of those who "rule the world" in this particular period of time - and with the symbols of the success of that time.
- Behind a luxury brand, there are often legends of eccentric genius creators, mysterious production processes, secret formulas, exclusive preparations, etc.
- A luxury brand is never managed democratically, but rather with power or even dictatorship, the creator of a genius or an inspired leader who demonstrates, inside and outside, a strong passion for the product and pedantry for every little thing.
- A luxury brand should be rare or hard to reach. Brand awareness and desire for it sometimes vary widely (while the number of buyers must be limited), and in other cases limited to a few who are in the know. Even the buyers themselves should not be inclined / able too often to acquire a luxury brand.
- Luxury consumers of the brand expect to distinguish from all others and defend against them (the principle of No-Mix). At the same time, they expect a special closeness between them and the company and its managers, as well as flexibility regarding the rules that suffer from others.
