Okonkwo Prelims

6 Test-marketing involving the complete or partial launch of products in a
specific market. This is practised by luxury brands that avoid launching
certain products uniformly in all the markets where they operate.
7 Launching and retailing of the product.

Product management

Creating new products is only the beginning of the Product Manager’s job.
Products need to be managed so that they can remain relevant and appeal-
ing. The product management system that a brand adopts depends on the
range of the product portfolio. For example, brands with a mono-product
range such as Manolo Blahnik who designs and manufactures purely
footwear could handle product management through a single product-plan-
ning division. Other brands with a multi-productrange such as Celine,
which has bags, shoes and apparel in its product range, would have a broader
product management system. Yet other brands that have diversified their
range to include products and services with sub-brands such as Armani,
which has a multi-brandportfolio ranging from Emporio Armani to Armani
Exchange and Armani Casa, among others, would have a more extensive
product management system. Another category comprises of a brand like
Louis Vuitton, which has maintained a single-brandapproach while extend-
ing its product range and introducing services such as an art exhibition
centre.
In order to clearly craft an effective product management strategy, it is
important to first understand the structure of the products in a brand’s range.
The product structure comprises of the lengthof the product, which indicates
how many types of major product groups are in the brand’s complete range.
The second component is the breadthof the product, which indicates how
many different sub-products are within each major product group. The third
is the depthof the product, which shows yet how many types of products are
within these sub-product groups.
To clarify this structure, let’s take a look at the product range of a typical
luxury brand. The examples of products shown are divided into broad prod-
uct and sub-product categories, to act as a basis for a general overview of
luxury products and are not definite in nature. The information in Figure 5.6

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the art of creating and managing luxury fashion brands

Product length

Bags

Shoes

Small leather goods

Product depth

Tulita, Theola

and so on

Product breadth

Evening handbags,

classic shoes,

weekend handbags

Figure 5.6 The luxury fashion product classification