Okonkwo Prelims

of the advert is simply that consumers are not sheep and should not be treated
as sheep by companies, including luxury brands. Consumers are, rather,
among the major assets and leeway that companies have for increasing
revenue. They should therefore be considered as such and treated accord-
ingly. The days are long gone when luxury consumers exhibited the charac-
teristics of sheep through unbending single-brand loyalty. Consumers used to
be pleased to make purchases from their favourite brands without seeking
alternatives, but today the luxury fashion consumer is everything that is the
opposite of a sheep.
Having said this, we have to understand the relationship between
consumers and luxury brands and the role of luxury brands in the lives of
consumers. The reason for the purchase of goods, regardless of category, is to
fulfil consumer needs. When people pay for products or services, they are
actually looking for solutions to problems and needs, and luxury goods form
a part of those solutions. They are objects of desire that consumers view as a
means to solving multiple problems and fulfilling multiple needs. Some of
these needs are related to the consumers’ real or aspirational identity, person-
ality and lifestyle. Luxury brands help consumers define and accentuate the
type of person they are or who they would like to be and also assist in
communicating this definition to others. This is one of the roles of brand asso-
ciation in the luxury sector.
As is highlighted throughout this book, the concept of branding begins and
ends with the consumer. The relationship between consumers and a strong
brand is a type of bond or pact that starts with a psychological process in the
mind of the consumer and is manifested through product purchases. This rela-
tionship is highlighted even more between luxury brands and consumers
because of the profound role of the branding factor in the development of

chapter 3 61

the luxury fashion consumer

Figure 3.1

Consumers

have

evolved

from the

previous

tag of

‘Sheep’ to

the current

tag of

‘Smart’!