Okonkwo Prelims

The e-retail of luxury fashion goods is still in its early introductory phase.

The current situation indicates that the majority of luxury brands are yet to

realize and tap the enormous market potential that exists in the e-retail econ-

omy. As a sales platform, the internet is almost unexploited by luxury fash-

ion brands and the few who have done so, approach it with apprehension.

The reluctance of luxury brands to adopt e-retail is mainly from a fear of

diluting the brand image through more product accessibility, and negatively

affecting the offline sales channels. Several luxury brands are also concerned

that the luxury retail atmosphere and overall high-impact experience cannot

be reproduced online. Another point of view is that since luxury goods are

sensory in nature and involve an innate emotional response, they cannot be

sold online because of the difficulty of reproducing the sensory attributes

184

luxury fashion branding

Figure 6.2 Louis

Vuitton Stores are

found in exclusive

luxury locations like the

Sandton City Shopping

Centre in South Africa

(2004)

Figure 6.3 Louis

Vuitton’s ‘exclusive’

online store for the

European market. The

exclusive retail strategy

is yet to be

implemented in the US

market (2006)

The offline store

The online store