accordingly, while recognizing the core competences of the sector such as
creativity, skill and brand development. These varying approaches raise an
important question.What is the current luxury consumer and competitor market requirement?The current extremely competitive luxury marketplace calls for the highest
form of innovation in brand management strategies and in product creation
and development. This implies aggressive effective business strategies, a
relentless focus on satisfying consumers and an unparalleled level of creativ-
ity in product design. A balanced combination of these factors contributed to
the immense success of the world’s first fashion entrepreneur, Charles
Frederick Worth, who was British. There are several business lessons to be
learnt from his story, detailed in Chapter 2 of this book.
Although British brands may lack the long history of luxury brands like
Hermès and Prada, and fashion may not be a part of the British heritage, and
the British government may not support the fashion industry as the French
and Italians do, a definite place has been carved for Britain in the modern
luxury fashion scene. As a pointer, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York, recognized this and organized an exhibition devoted to the creative
contributions of Britain to the world of fashion in 2006.Business lessons from the Brits
1 The previously high entry barrier of the luxury sector has been lowered
and it is now possible to launch a successful global luxury brand within a
short time period.
2 A new brand doesn’t need a long history of fashion and cultural assimila-
tion to conquer the twenty-first century fashion market.
3 The role of country of origin in the luxury fashion is declining.
4 Modern fashion management requires constant innovation in product
design and business management systems.
5 There is power in sector knowledge and this power can be used as a core
aspect of the strategy formulation process and competitive leverage.314
luxury fashion branding