Fashion Marketing: Contemporary Issues, Second edition - Pr School

132 Fashion Marketing
The creators
The brand name
LUXURY BRAND
Locations
History
Recognition symbols
Creations
Figure 7.1 Characteristics of luxury brands. Source: Adapted and translated from Alleres (2003).
To give examples: Chanel is intertwined with the personality of its cre ator,
Coco Chanel and her lifestyle. Thanks to the creator’s image, the brand value
(‘rente de la marque’, Bomsel et al., 1998) is ensured. The logo of Chanel has
not changed since its inception and this is commensurate with other luxury
brands. Investment in premier locations and the development of flagship
stores akin to museums is typical, for example Prada’s takeover of the
Gugenheim Museum in New York. Luxury retailers are clustered in certain
streets in capital cities, like Rue du Faubourg St Honoré in Paris and Fifth
Avenue in New York. Burberry tried to reposition itself as a ‘credible high
fashion brand’ by opening a flagship on Bon Street in London (Moore et al.,
2004). Heritage of the brand and the history associated with its founder and
its craftsmanship are built into the luxury brand (Nueno and Quelch, 1998).
The history of the brand is part of its distinctiveness, such as Vuitton’s travel
cases. As Ivar Björkman, 2002 specified: ‘a very important part of the pro cess
in creating aura is the stories that surround the company’. The symbolism
associated with these brands is instantly recognizable and memorable at an
international level (Dubois and Paternaut 1995) and is linked with cultural
identity (Dubois and Duquesne, 1993).
In addition, Jackson (2004) suggests that luxury fashion brands are distinguished
by:
Global recognition
Critical mass
Core competence and other products
High product quality and innovation
Powerful advertizing
Immaculate store presentation
Superb customer service.
Indeed, these dimensions serve to build up a relationship with consumers
and at the heart of this is a sensorial and experiential basis (Rieunier, 2002).