customization. Also customized products can now be manufactured en masse
as advanced technology has made their production cheaper. Although this
strategy is now feasible for luxury goods, several luxury brands seem reluc-
tant to adopt mass customization and determined to remain in Henry Ford’s
world of mass production. It is now past the time to rethink this stance.
The history of the luxury goods sector shows a strong link to customiza-
tion, although mass production later overtook this. It is interesting to note that
the majority of the successful luxury brands of today were started by skilled
artisans and craftsmen who produced made-to-fit goods mainly by hand, with
the assistance of a limited number of machines. This process was rewarding
but also time-consuming, expensive and labour intensive. As time progressed
and innovative manufacturing techniques were developed, luxury brands
adopted the use of machines that produced more goods at less costs without
compromising the product qualities and style. This however led to the stan-
dardization and uniformity of goods. Several brands, however, retained a
limited range of products that continued to be manufactured by hand. These
products are currently classified as ‘bespoke’ or ‘made-to-order’. They
usually have a high price cost (approximately €5,000 for a Hermès bespoke
Birkin bag); and high time cost (six to eighteen months waiting period for a
Hermès bespoke Birkin bag and approximately four months for a Gucci
made-to-order men’s shoe).
However, the current provisions of technology have made it possible to
produce more personalized goods using mass production techniques without
substantial additional costs. Companies that manufacture goods in other cate-
gories, including mass fashion brands, effectively utilize these techniques to
optimize production and sales. Luxury brands are, however, yet to apply
advanced systems in the production of customized goods for a mass client
base.
The view of some luxury practitioners regarding mass customization is
that it is at odds with the need to retain the ‘exclusivity’ attribute of luxury
brands. It has been argued that if customers are provided with the tools to
customize their products, the products might lose their ‘superiority’ appeal.
This rationale is however negligible as luxury goods are currently purchased
by a mass group of consumers globally and luxury brands have increased
their production capacities to welcome this ‘mass’ consumer base. It is,
however, purely logical to streamline the operations approaches of mass
production to include one of the major needs of this mass consumer group,
which is customization. Satisfying the needs of consumers has nothing to do
with diminishing a brand’s attributes but everything to do with enhancing the
image and equity of the brand.
Previously, the product design and manufacturing process of luxury brands
was driven by standardized products and services, parallel markets and long
product lifecycles. Today, the situation is the reverse and the consumer has
become the strongest market force in the luxury market. These consumers248
luxury fashion branding