Merging Brands in Luxury
Honesty is the best policy
We are being bombarded with information. We're on overload. So what can brands do to help our weary minds? Well one thing that would help is if brands became more focused and sharp. With clear careful positioning and offering a clear message in place of a broad one that ticks all the boxes, we could all benefit.
Interestingly, what we are now are seeing is luxury brands doing the very opposite of what they did a few years ago. They're reverting back to simpler days when they had a clear offering. Many previously decided to expand and offer diffusion lines. This in turn meant we were all left feeling confused about which line to buy into as there were so many differing price points. Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Stella McCartney - they're all guilty.
One brand please
Luxury brands should take a leaf out of the bible of Hermès and Chanel. Both brands have cleverly demonstrated how to successfully sell a variety of price points under one name. This diffuses any confusion and allows for consumers to buy into a single idea.
You many also remember when Burberry decided to start expanding and created Brit, London and Prorsum. They have since unifed so there is an easier single vision.
This is where the internet makes thing interesting though. When you're not shopping instore, it's considerably easier for brands to create easy access to various product lines through their websites. First and foremost, consumers care more about the design and overall quality of the label over the sub-brand any day.
Times are changing
We're all aware that the internet has dramatically changed the landscape of our shopping habits. We simply don't frequent the shops in the same way as we used to.
These days we are seeing more and more luxury companies investing much more in their e-commerce experience and marketing campaigns online. Yes digitalisation has been the number one driver in this brand consolidation trend, but that can be seen as no bad thing. It has ultimately created a simpler, more efficient business model and that should be celebrated. Here's to being more efficient in our shopping!
