Okonkwo Prelims

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luxury fashion branding

• The positioning must be distinctive and cannot be shared by competitors.


• The positioning must justify a luxury association.


• The positioning must be relevant for the moment but also have the capac-
  ity to be extended with time.


• The positioning must have a contingency positioning plan.

The following exercise provides an illustration of the elements of brand posi-

tioning. The two-axis positioning map of Figure 5.3 shows two labels, several

empty boxes and a list of luxury brands. You can take a few minutes to fill the

empty boxes, according to the axis label indicators, with the brand names

provided. If you succeed in filling all the boxes, then you understand the

message of this section. The axis attributes can also be changed with varying

positioning factors.

Brand loyalty

This answers the question: ‘Who wants you?’

Brand loyalty is simply a consumer’s preference for a brand in a product cate-

gory. It is often both a conscious and unconscious decision, expressed

through an intention to purchase or the actual repurchase of the products of a

brand continually and habitually.

Brand loyalty is clear evidence of the success and relevance of branding to

both consumers and companies. For consumers, it reduces the search costs,

Prada, Louis Vuitton, Donna Karan, Versace, Gucci, Hermes, Ferragamo, Sonia

Rykiel, Armani, Miu Miu, Chanel, Anna Sui, Max Mara, Coach, Ralph Lauren, Dior

Design and

style

Tradition and heritage

Figure 5.3 The luxury fashion brand positioning map