Establishing Essay Content, Structure & Supporting Quotations

Question: To what extent do hand-made techniques and finishes of packaging design create appeal 

to the upper-class consumer at point 

of purchase?

Introduction  

Establishing thesis

Point One

Explicit identification of the difference between standard packaging and luxury packaging.

Quotations:

Calver

'Prestige brands offer the best quality in their class, the notion of quality being rooted in a cultural myth about quality.' (Calver, 2003: 22)

'Every market sector behaves in it own way and, over time, this behaviour can result in strong visual language. Some people call this language "sector cues."' (Calver, 2003: 54)

'People have indefinitely different needs and desires. Partly these needs and desires are fuelled by the sheer abundance in our lives.' (Calver, 2003: 58)
'Necessity is embedded within the cultural rhetorics of lower incomes and even poverty. Luxury, at the opposite end of the scale, signifies massive wealth, but also taste.' (Nayar, 2009: 50)

'Consumer individuality has resulted in the development of niche markets...each niche market has its own idiosyncrasies and understanding these in fundamental to the design process.' (Calver, 2003: 60)

'There are times when you look at a piece of packaging, or feel it in your hands, and you absorb feelings of quality, exclusivity, refinement, and luxury.' (Calver, 2003: 154)

Robinson

'While L'Oreal Paris would introduce a product with glamorous packaging, a space-age name with ingredient X, and an ad campaign featuring a celebrity spokesperson, Lance might introduce virtually the same product with ingredient X "respun" with a chic French name, different luxury packaging, and a slightly different claim for essentially the same ingredient.' (Robinson, 2004: 37)

Reece et al

'Companies percieved to have the highest level of product or service quality, service excellence, and/or luxury create a very loyal base of customers.' (Reece et al., 2013: 34)

'Consumers value quality, convenience and service on some items and they don't mind paying a premium when they perceive equitable value in return.' (Reece et al., 2013: 34)

Twedt

'Differences in package excellence are directly translated into corresponding differences in sales appeal.' (Twedt, 1968: 58)

Nayar

'High-end consumption - or conspicuous consumption, which is not about necessities, but about lifestyle - is increasingly possible to the consumer through a democratisation of comfort.' (Nayar, 2009: 47)

'Comfort is the cultural logic of mass manufacture, marketing and consumption, while luxury is the cultural logic of niche manufacture, marketing and consumption.' (Nayar, 2009: 47)

'Douglas Holt (1997) has argued that consumption almost always occurs within 'cultural frameworks' - of taste, ideology, aesthetics and efficiency.' (Nayar, 2009: 50)

Point Two

The role of packaging finishing and consumer experience.

Quotations:

Calver

'For many years certain types of packaging had a role beyond the purely functional. Packaging has become something to value in its own right, something to be displayed because it has a certain cachet.' (Calver, 2003: 8)

'Packaging acquires an importance disproportionate to the product itself.' (Calver, 2003: 8)

'The bottle of Coke and the memory are inextricably linked, so much so that the bottle - the packaging - has become symbolic of the brand and the experience. (Calver, 2003: 44)

'The packaging becomes a manifestation of the brand itself and, because a brand is more than just the product itself, the packaging becomes a compound of consumers' perceptions, memories and feelings. In effect, a brand becomes a compound of "tangible" and "intangible" values. (Calver, 2003: 44)

'You must understand what emotional and rational triggers the target market will respond to if you are to create packaging that communicates a powerful proposition.' (Calver, 2003: 60)

'Material selection is important in controlling consumers' perceptions of a product - both initial perceptions and more considered appraisal.' (Calver, 2003: 112)

'Perceptions can be manipulated through the look of a piece of packaging through the way it feels in the hand. Most people instinctively associate certain attributes - such as quality, elegance, youthfulness, exclusivity, and trendiness - with certain looks and sensations. (Calver, 2003: 112

Different types of materials all coalesce into an impression of a product.' (Calver, 2003: 112)

'The finishing of a piece of packaging can communicate the exclusivity and value of a product.' (Calver, 2003: 112)

'The process of unwrapping the product heightens consumers' expectations and suspends the pleasure of buying or receiving it.' (Calver, 2003: 112)

Reece et al

'Companies that successfully differentiate their brand from others in their category can maximise prices to what the market will bear.'  (Reece et al., 2013: 34)

Twedt

'The potential contribution of a superior package to profitability is simply too great to be ignored.' 

(Twedt, 1968: 58) 

Nayar

'Goods posses meanings that are dependant upon their appropriation by the users. Material culture, therefore, is not simply about things and objects. Rather, it is about the intimate connection between the object and its users. Issues of style, fashion, aesthetic appeal are not properties inherent in particular objects, but the result of a social and cultural evaluation of these objects.' (Nayar, 2009: 49)

Point Three 

Sustainability vs. Luxury.

Quotations

Calver

'Environmental concerns affect manufactures and retailers alike. For many they now form part of their corporate responsibilities.' (Calver, 2003: 62)

'Recycling affects packaging design because it influences the choice of materials.' (Calver, 2003: 62)

'Choosing recyclable substrates is approaching the issue from the other end and is often favourable: using recycled substrate is an easier way to demonstrate one's environmental credentials than using a substrate consumers can't recognise as good or bad for the environment.' (Calver, 2003: 64)

'The role of packaging designers in the great environmental debate will aways be influenced by the client, by cost, by individual responsibility, and ultimately the brief, because the brief encapsulates the commercial imperative behind any design project.' (Calver, 2003: 64)

Press

'The move to sustainability became a more conscious initiative.' (Press, 2009: 110)

'In luxury packaging, people use foils, and thats not recyclable, so we came out with a new product called Curt Chrome, which is an environmentally friendly alternative to foil.' (Press, 2009: 110)

'Most packages have an overabundance of packing materials and by simply by limiting such excess you can be more eco-friendly.' (Press, 2009: 110)

Yang

'The rise of incomes has produced a consumerist ideology and way of life. Excessive and extravagant consumption is prevalent.' (Yang, 2013: 201)

'Out of the yearly production of nearly 3 million tons of domestic waste, different kinds of commodity packaging materials amount to 830,000 tones. Out of this, 600,000 tones are caused by over-packaging.' (Yang, 2013: 201)

'One-third of domestic waste comes from packaging, out of which one-half is from luxury packaging.' (Yang, 2013: 201)

Nayar

'The marketing and consumption of eco-products and nature is within a cultural framework of environmentalism.' (Nayar, 2009: 50)

Analysis 

'Tiffany Blue Box.'

Quotations

‘Tiffany has one thing in stock that you cannot buy of him for as much money as you may offer, he will only give it to you. And that is one of his boxes.’ (New York Sun: 1906) 

'Crowned with a white ribbon, the Tiffany Blue Box is an international symbol of style and sophistication.' (Tiffany: 2017)

'Tiffany Blue Boxes make hearts beat faster, and epitomize Tiffany’s great heritage of elegance, exclusivity and flawless craftsmanship.' (Tiffany: 2017)

Conclusion - Answering of the question.

Sources and Harvard Referencing

What is Packaging Design? by Giles Calver.

Calver, G. (2003) What is packaging design? (essential design handbooks). Mies, Switzerland, Switzerland: Rotovision.

In-text citations: 

• (Calver, 2003)
 

Packaging Life: Cultures of the Everyday by Pramod K Nayar.

Nayar, P.K. (2009) Packaging life: Cultures of the everyday. India: SAGE Publications India.

In-text citations: 

• (Nayar, 2009)
 

Start Your Own Green Business: Your step-by-step guide to success by Entrepreneur Press.

Press, E. (2009) Start Your Own Green Business: Your step-by-step guide to success. 

Canada: Entrepreneur Press.

In-text citations: 

• (Press, 2009)
 

How to innovate in marketing (collection) by Various Authors.

Reece, M., Tasner, M., Davila, T., Epstein, M., Shelton, R., Light, L. and Kiddon, J. (2013) How to innovate in marketing (collection). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: FT Press.

In-text citations: 

• (Reece et al., 2013)
 

Toss the gloss: Beauty Tips, Tricks & Truths for Women 50+ by Andrea Q. Robinson.

Robinson, A.Q. (2014) Toss the gloss: Beauty Tips, Tricks & Truths for Women 50+. 

Berkeley, California: Seal Press.

In-text citations: 

• (Robinson, 2014)
 

How Much Value Can be Added Through Packaging? by Dik Warren.

Twedt, D.W. (1968) How Much Value Can be Added Through Packaging? In: Journal of Marketing.

Madison, Wisconsin: American Marketing Association. 

In-text citations: 

• (Twedt, 1968)
 

Chinese Research Perspectives on the Environment, Volume 1 by Dongping Yang

YANG, D. (2013) Chinese Research Perspectives on the Environment, volume 1: Urban challenges, public participation, and natural disasters. China: BRILL.

In-text citations: 

• (YANG, 2013)

Tiffany & Co: The Epitome of Luxury Packaging

The indispensable importance of product packaging within any sector is undeniable, however is seemingly of greater importance within the realms of luxury and high-end consumption. Relying on perception, emotional investment, tactile quality and the consumer experience — luxury packaging must be designed to target consumers on a level that indubitably surpasses the purely superficial. Perhaps the most iconic brand to have achieved such acclaimed success, alongside what some may even consider as the epitome of luxury packaging, is none other than Tiffany & Co.

Introduced in 1886 following founder of the company Charles Lewis Tiffany’s release of a catalogue featuring stationary and fancy goods, the ‘Tiffany Blue Box’ — a phrase even trademarked by the brand — immediately became an item just as coveted, if not more so, than the jewellery itself.

As reported by the New York Sun in 1906, ‘Tiffany has one thing in stock that you cannot buy of him for as much money as you may offer, he will only give it to you. And that is one of his boxes.’ (New York Sun: 1906) In the brand’s signature trademarked ‘Robin’s Egg Blue’ colour, Tiffany boxes bare the most protected Pantone colour in branding history (Pantone No. 1837, as to reflect the year of foundation). Said to have been chosen to reflect the popularity of the turquoise gemstone in 19th-century jewellery, according to Pantone Color Institute executive director Leatrice Eiseman the colour ‘evokes positive thoughts and reactions, and this, combined with the status that Tiffany has assigned to it, makes for perfect packaging.’ (Eiseman) The tops of the boxes are also embossed with the brand name, Tiffany & co., in Baskerville Old face, though even without they are unmistakably belonging to the brand. The ‘de rigueur' accompaniment to the blue box comes in the form of yet another trademarked accent, a white satin ribbon tied in front of the consumer at point of purchase which transforms a simple purchase, into a memorable experience.

Tiffany & Co. use these packaging devices in order to target the niche desires of the luxury consumer. It is the carefully considered design decisions in conjunction with the formal finishing and experience at the point of purchase that have unquestionably put the company at the very heart of brand excellence. Every aspect of the packaging, from the colour to the tying of a ribbon, has been used to enhance sales appeal and evoke greater consumer appraisal via heightened suspense of receival and/or ownership. Considered internationally as a symbol of ultimate style and sophistication, Tiffany’s white satin ribbon crowned blue boxes are said to ‘make hearts beat faster, and epitomise Tiffany’s great heritage of elegance, exclusivity and flawless craftsmanship.’ (Tiffany: 2017)

Toss the gloss: Beauty Tips, Tricks & Truths for Women 50+ by Andrea Q. Robinson - Source Quotations.

'Major beauty corporations own or license several brands in a wide range of price points.' (Robinson, 2004: 37)

'While L'Oreal Paris would introduce a product with glamorous packaging, a space-age name with ingredient X, and an ad campaign featuring a celebrity spokesperson, Lance might introduce virtually the same product with ingredient X "respun" with a chic French name, different luxury packaging, and a slightly different claim for essentially the same ingredient.' (Robinson, 2004: 37)

Chinese Research Perspectives on the Environment, Volume 1 by Dongping Yang - Source Quotations.

'The rise of incomes has produced a consumerist ideology and way of life. Excessive and extravagant consumption is prevalent.' (Yang, 2013: 201)

'Out of the yearly production of nearly 3 million tons of domestic waste, different kinds of commodity packaging materials amount to 830,000 tones. Out of this, 600,000 tones are caused by over-packaging.' (Yang, 2013: 201)

'One-third of domestic waste comes from packaging, out of which one-half is from luxury packaging.' (Yang, 2013: 201)

Start Your Own Green Business: Your step-by-step guide to success by Entrepreneur Press - Source Quotations.

'The move to sustainability became a more conscious initiative.' (Press, 2009: 110)

'In luxury packaging, people use foils, and thats not recyclable, so we came out with a new product called Curt Chrome, which is an environmentally friendly alternative to foil.' (Press, 2009: 110)

'Most packages have an overabundance of packing materials and by simply by limiting such excess you can be more eco-friendly.' (Press, 2009: 110)

Study Task 06: Consumer Identities

In what ways can products/services relate to consumer's identities?

Representation of self (Goffman).
Reinforce or establish social roles. Consume to reinforce others opinions of yourself. Institution.
Creating an expectation of behaviours fitting towards certain sectors of class.
Belonging - to a group or ideal.
Actual self / ideal self / ought self - people use products to negotiate this triad.
Escaping actuality of circumstance.

How do consumers use products/services within social interaction?

Upwards Comparison vs. Downwards comparison.
Upwards comparison - celebrity endorsement.
Downwards comparison - presenting one product (personality) as superior to another.
Community / Group identity / Bonding, cohesion.
Bottom up / Top down cycle.
Maintaining or Creating community.
Identites are of what these
Symbolic interactionalism.

Using theorists discussed - suggest some visual communication strategies that effectively promote a product to its target consumer.

Apple - associate personality types with products.
Nespresso - George Clooney (celebrity endorsement) Lifestyle association. Upward comparison.
Body image - the ideal self.
Actual Self - Dove campaign.
Humour - group identity / social interaction.

Are there any ethical issues?

Stereotypes people into categories.
Defining oneself in opposition to others.
Self fulfilling prophecy.
Unconscious.
Perpetuating negative body images.
Narcissism.

'Identity and Consumption' by Catherine Jansson-Boyd explores the interrelationship between consumerism and consumer perception of self, others and groups - this in-turn influencing not only the products and services that we buy, but the specific brands that we choose such products and services from as a means of creating an ego-ideal perception socially.

The products and services we buy and endorse as individuals transmit statements of identity and self to those around us, forming ‘social comparison’ potentials that allow for us to showcase who we are to the rest of society, enabling others to form an opinion of us based on our ideal-self created perception. This in turn enables similarly perceived individuals or elements of desirability in one or another to be identified, leading to the establishment a connections - be they friendships, partnerships, relationships or collectives etc. Comparison of ourselves in regard to others is the primary methodology we use in establishing social groups and identification of our own social standing. This comparison comes in two sectors: upwards comparison or downwards comparison. Through upwards comparison we see aspirational perceptions, while through downwards comparison we see the superiority of others in relation to ourselves. The reasoning for such comparisons are for the potentials of finding like-minded individuals with who we can create groups, friendships or communities for a sense of belonging within society.

The content of Jansson-Boyd's article relates to commercial visual communication in that it details the importance of contextual understanding of society and its comparative structure in creating an expectation of behaviours fitting towards certain sectors of class through which products and services can be marketed to specific targets through promise of contribution to the ideal self and associative perceptions. 

When undertaking my practical investigation I will consider the ideals of my specific target in order to produce resolutions that they would wish to endorse and use to create comparative potentials that 

allow the consumer to feel part of a particular sector of society and reinforce others opinions of their established ego-ideal - making for more appeal and therefore greater market yield potential. 

Packaging Life: Cultures of the Everyday by Pramod K. Nayar - Source Quotations.

'High-end consumption - or conspicuous consumption, which is not about necessities, but about lifestyle - is increasingly possible to the consumer through a democratisation of comfort.' (Nayar, 2009: 47)

'Comfort is the cultural logic of mass manufacture, marketing and consumption, while luxury is the cultural logic of niche manufacture, marketing and consumption.' (Nayar, 2009: 47)

'Humanity is intimately linked to material culture and the objects that constitute material cultures. That is, objects are central to the formation of humans as subjects because we are engaged in a relationship with them.' (Nayar, 2009: 48)

'Material objects have a deeper meaning than simply utility for their users...people give meaning to material objects.' (Nayar, 2009: 49)

'Goods posses meanings that are dependant upon their appropriation by the users. Material culture, therefore, is not simply about things and objects. Rather, it is about the intimate connection between the object and its users. Issues of style, fashion, aesthetic appeal are not properties inherent in particular objects, but the result of a social and cultural evaluation of these objects.' (Nayar, 2009: 49)

'Necessity is embedded within the cultural rhetorics of lower incomes and even poverty. Luxury, at the opposite end of the scale, signifies massive wealth, but also taste.' (Nayar, 2009: 50)

'Douglas Holt (1997) has argued that consumption almost always occurs within 'cultural frameworks' - of taste, ideology, aesthetics and efficiency.' (Nayar, 2009: 50)

'The marketing and consumption of eco-products and nature is within a cultural framework of environmentalism.' (Nayar, 2009: 50)

'No product can now be marketed as simply ' necessity' - it needs a little extra something.' (Nayar, 2009: 51)

How to Innovate in Marketing (Collection) by Various Authors - Source Quotations.

'Companies that successfully differentiate their brand from others in their category can maximise prices to what the market will bear.'  (Reece et al., 2013: 34)
  
'The cost to produce some cosmetics is minimal, and even after adding the cost of expensive packaging and marketing, the profit is substantial.' (Reece et al., 2013: 34)

'Companies percieved to have the highest level of product or service quality, service excellence, and/or luxury create a very loyal base of customers.' (Reece et al., 2013: 34)

Unique brand positioning and effective marketing strategies reinforce their leadership position.' (Reece et al., 2013: 34)

'Consumers value quality, convenience and service on some items and they don't mind paying a premium when they perceive equitable value in return.' (Reece et al., 2013: 34)

What is Packaging Design? by Giles Calver - Source Quotations.

'In the early days, packaging's role was essentially utilitarian. It aided the efficient distribution of merchandise and presented products in an attractive manner.' (Calver, 2003: 6)

'With the prominence of branding, packaging if often the living embodiment of a brand's values and personality. Time and effort is spent defining these attributes and traits, understanding consumers' perceptions of them, and then manipulating packaging design to communicate them.' (Calver, 2003: 7)

'Packaging design plays a pivotal role in ensuring consumers' perception of the brand is mirrored on the pack.' (Calver, 2003: 7)

'Consumers make a brand purchase just as much as they make a product purchase.' (Calver, 2003: 7)

'For many years certain types of packaging had a role beyond the purely functional. Packaging has become something to value in its own right, something to be displayed because it has a certain cachet.' (Calver, 2003: 8)

'Packaging acquires an importance disproportionate to the product itself.' (Calver, 2003: 8)

'Prestige brands offer the best quality in their class, the notion of quality being rooted in a cultural myth about quality.' (Calver, 2003: 22)

'The bottle of Coke and the memory are inextricably linked, so much so that the bottle - the packaging - has become symbolic of the brand and the experience. (Calver, 2003: 44)

'The packaging becomes a manifestation of the brand itself and, because a brand is more than just the product itself, the packaging becomes a compound of consumers' perceptions, memories and feelings. In effect, a brand becomes a compound of "tangible" and "intangible" values. (Calver, 2003: 44)

'Every market sector behaves in it own way and, over time, this behaviour can result in strong visual language. Some people call this language "sector cues."' (Calver, 2003: 54)

'Brands exist in particular competitor repertories, and these act as the frame of reference within which each brand operates.' (Calver, 2003: 54)

'People have indefinitely different needs and desires. Partly these needs and desires are fuelled by the sheer abundance in our lives.' (Calver, 2003: 58)

'Consumer individuality has resulted in the development of niche markets...each niche market has its own idiosyncrasies and understanding these in fundamental to the design process.' (Calver, 2003: 60)

'You must understand what emotional and rational triggers the target market will respond to if you are to create packaging that communicates a powerful proposition.' (Calver, 2003: 60)

'Environmental concerns affect manufactures and retailers alike. For many they now form part of their corporate responsibilities.' (Calver, 2003: 62)

'Recycling affects packaging design because it influences the choice of materials.' (Calver, 2003: 62)

'Choosing recyclable substrates is approaching the issue from the other end and is often favourable: using recycled substrate is an easier way to demonstrate one's environmental credentials than using a substrate consumers can't recognise as good or bad for the environment.' (Calver, 2003: 64)

'The role of packaging designers in the great environmental debate will aways be influenced by the client, by cost, by individual responsibility, and ultimately the brief, because the brief encapsulates the commercial imperative behind any design project.' (Calver, 2003: 64)

'Material selection is important in controlling consumers' perceptions of a product - both initial perceptions and more considered appraisal.' (Calver, 2003: 112)

'Perceptions can be manipulated through the look of a piece of packaging through the way it feels in the hand. Most people instinctively associate certain attributes - such as quality, elegance, youthfulness, exclusivity, and trendiness - with certain looks and sensations. (Calver, 2003: 112

Different types of materials all coalesce into an impression of a product.' (Calver, 2003: 112)

'The finishing of a piece of packaging can communicate the exclusivity and value of a product.' (Calver, 2003: 112)

'The process of unwrapping the product heightens consumers' expectations and suspends the pleasure of buying or receiving it.' (Calver, 2003: 112)

'There are times when you look at a piece of packaging, or feel it in your hands, and you absorb feelings of quality, exclusivity, refinement, and luxury.' (Calver, 2003: 154)

'Each is used to manipulate consumers' perceptions or engage their senses so that what they see and feel communicate the right message.' (Calver, 2003: 154)

How Much Value Can be Added Through Packaging? by Dik Warren Twedt - Source Quotations.

'The container had to assume a far greater part of the sales burden - in short, it had to be transformed from a mere container to a second generation package.' (Twedt, 1968: 58)

'The potential contribution of a superior package to profitability is simply too great to be ignored.' 

(Twedt, 1968: 58)

'Differences in package excellence are directly translated into corresponding differences in sales 
appeal.' (Twedt, 1968: 58)

'Attitudes toward the same package may be altogether different - depending on such factors as age, education, income, previous experience with the brand, recommendations from friends etc.' 

(Twedt, 1968: 59)

  
'Packages, like people, have definite personalities. Various combinations of design element such as shape, texture, colour, typography, illustration, packaging materials - all contribute to the "Package Gestalt."' (Twedt, 1968: 60)

Study Task 05 - Target Audience Research - The Luxury Consumer

In order to create designs that capture the fundamental requirements of meeting the needs of the target, understanding of their personage is imperative. This means gathering knowledge on the geographic, demographic and psychographic contributing factors that allow for specialised strategic engagement.

In recent times it is reported that the luxury industry has perhaps lost some of its lustre, with 2014 seeing Prada’s third-quarter profits down by 44% and  LVMH (French multinational luxury goods conglomerate responsible for Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Givenchy and many others) sales growth having slowed down considerably. While there are several potential contributing factors to this, one in particular is more responsible for the sectors recent short-comings: the luxury consumer base has changed. Once a market claimed by the older lady, the sector now serves a more youthful cohort of affluence, bringing tremendous growth opportunity for luxury brands to evolve with the changing market.

The New Luxury Consumer

The key to understanding the luxury consumer is undoubtedly becoming more complex, as where there was once only one typical luxury consumer, there are now many different types - each wanting unique things from luxury brands to satisfy their individual desires. The new luxury consumer is defined by the following factors:

1. Income - The luxury consumer sector was previously dominated by the super-rich elite of societies, and while this demographic still represent an integral sector and the majority of luxury consumers, they are no longer the only market for such goods - with consumers from the middle classes now making up a significant and rapidly growing segment of the market.  

While these aspirational consumers may not have the funds to afford a £10,000 bag, they can afford a £300 purse for example. As a result, luxury brands are now identifying the importance in catering to these less wealthy but more ubiquitous consumers with one set of products, whilst also providing more exclusive, limited-edition products for the super-rich.

2. Age - The luxury market, once pioneered by relatively older consumers, is now opening up to younger, more aspirational personage. While the more mature following are still very much in the picture, younger consumers, especially Millennials, are becoming an increasingly large share of the luxury market. These millennial consumer has developed strong social justice values, and are extremely online and social media savvy, resulting in alternate expectations regarding their brand relationships - expectant of a seamless experience between online and offline consumption and of an ongoing dialogue with their most favoured providers of luxury.

3. Gender - The luxury consumer of past times was more than likely female, however, rapid growth in male apparel and grooming categories are beginning to provide balance to market. 

4. Geography - Luxury consumers were previously typically more exclusive to America and Western Europe, though is now a truly global market, with some of the biggest growth coming from emerging markets in Asia - creating new distribution demands for luxury brands. This has led brands to expand their global presence in motives for optimal market yield, with Louis Vuitton opening stores in countries as far ranging as Mongolia and Nepal for example.

Closer to home, the luxury consumer was most typically found in the south of the country, close to the epicentre of fashion and design - London - and while this is still the case for most as a result of this part of the country's acclaimed concentration of stores, brands are beginning to identify opportunities to gain presence further north. 

5. Trends - Luxury consumers crave fashion discovery and finding the next big brand. While luxury used to be synonymous with exclusively classic pieces, it is now often positioned as modern and trendy while still offering classic looks. For example, Burberry, which has made a concerted effort to push into a more fashion-forward space in recent years, still relies on its classic trench for much of its revenue.

6. Value - Luxury goods are most typically valued because of their emphasis on craftsmanship and the intrinsic value of the brand, and while this intrinsic value continues to play an important role -especially to Millennials - there is an emergence of consumers (mostly in emerging markets) that prefer theatrics of glamour over classic craftsmanship.


In the wake of these changes in market and consumer variants, luxury brands have a choice to make -either to pick one sector of the market and serve it exceptionally well or adjust the strategy and business model to serve multiple targets of the market simultaneously. The expectation is that many companies will choose the latter as it provides the most seamless path to continued growth, however this route also comes with additional complexity. This requires different products at different price points in different geographies. 

Though this emerging complexity may challenging for the luxury sector, it also provides luxury brands with the opportunity to reinvent and extend their practices. Primarily, it will be these brands that differentiate themselves from competitors by engaging and providing for all their key consumers, which is ultimately what separates luxury brands from the rest - this being the ability to personalise and customise to fulfil the niche desires of this target. 


Target Personas

01 - Henry (British)

Henry, 25, lives in Clapham, London with his middle-class parents who funded all educational expenditure, from boarding school to university, and has therefore avoided student debt. As an established graduate - now working in the city in the field of investment banking - he has strong career prospects and aspirations with an already higher income than is typical for a man of his age. This, in addition to having no rent to pay-out, means Henry has disposable income. Though not enough to buy a house, his disposable income allows him to save while still being able to splash out on the luxuries his lifestyle requires, all of which can be found on London's famous shopping streets - such as Regent Street, Bond Street etc. A conservative young man, Henry takes interest in world economics, high-end consumption and politics. In his free time he plays polo, continuing his sportsmanship from education, and also enjoys weekends away skiing in the French Alps with his small circle of friends. 

02 - Anastasiya (Russian)

Anastasiya, 30, is the wife of an extremely wealthy Russian oligarch, living in a Knightsbridge (London) townhouse - when not residing in any of their other properties around the world or alternatively, yachting. Residence within this exclusive postcode puts her within close proximity to perhaps the highest density of haute couture stores in the world - Bond Street - allowing for heavy consumption within the one of the world's largest fashion and design capitals. A lady of leisure thanks to a generous allowance from her husband, Anastasiya enjoys lunching with a very exclusive group of 'girlfriends,' pampering sessions, socialising and entertaining amongst other high-cultural activities. Above all she is interested in luxury products and services, from fashion to interiors, only available to the super-rich elite in a perpetual endeavour to own what others cannot. Anastasiya nor her husband have an affiliation to any UK political party.

03 - Deborah (British)

Deborah, 55, is a driven, ambitious and financially independent middle-class business woman based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Divorced and with all children having now left home, she is now at a point in life that has allowed for her to become more selfish - indulging in more luxurious products and services which she could only at one time aspire to. Having come from humble working-class beginnings, she is now mortgage free thanks to her job as a prosperous interior designer. Deborah struggles politically as her family have always been strong labour supporters, however she believes her successes have been enabled as a result of conservative policies - and therefore finds herself becoming more privy to this political standing. Much of Deborah's social life consists of networking and engaging with interior design clients, though she does find time to lunch with friends and her children, spend time with grandchildren and potter around the garden with her dog. She also enjoys shopping, naturally.