Okonkwo Prelims

Effect 7: a borderline identity

As has been extensively discussed, the change in the luxury scene raises

several questions about the real meaning of luxury. It also queries the criteria

for defining the brands that can currently be tagged as authentic luxury brands

and what they represent for luxury consumers.

In the previous luxury market scene, luxury brands were meant for a

specific niche consumer group and there were only a handful of brands that

could immediately be identified as luxury brands. This was the era when a

three-tier pyramid could easily be drawn with luxury and prestige brands

placed at the top-end, aspirational fashion brands placed at the middle level

and mass market and supermarket brands placed at the lower level, as shown

in Figure 7.4. Each of the levels addressed a specific social class in the

consumer society. However, today the picture has changed.

In the current luxury environment, the market structure has been diluted

so much that the pyramid is no longer relevant. For example, it would be

difficult to place high-end brands with lower-priced diffusion lines or brands

that collaborate with mass-market brands on the pyramid. Also, it would be

inappropriate to categorize premium-mass fashion brands like Zara, Topshop

and Gap as ‘supermarket brands’. Also, sophisticated premium brands like

Furla and Longchamp would be lost on the pyramid. Despite the current

irrelevancy of the luxury pyramid structure, the following crucial questions

remain unanswered:

1 Have luxury brands become mass brands as a result of increased avail-

ability and access to luxury goods?

2 Are fashion brands becoming luxury brands through elevating their brand-

ing and marketing strategies to reflect premium appeal?

240

luxury fashion branding

Mass market/supermarket brands

Luxury brands

Aspirational brands Middle class

Upper class

Lower class

Figure 7.4 The previous market hierarchy structure of the luxury goods sector

in relation to customer strata in the society. This hierarchy has lost its relevance

in the current market environment.