by NR INDRAN / INT
Mumbai : A Franco-Indianresearch projecton ‘CommunicatingLuxury to theAffluentMasses’, betweenJWT Mumbai and theFrench Grande Ecole, ESC Dijon-Bourgogne presented their initial findings atthe ‘Private Label Forum’ of the World Brand Congress in Mumbai onNovember 25th, 2011. The objective of the study was to gain a deeperunderstanding of‘How luxury brands can retain exclusivity whilstmarketing to a wider audience’.

Theonline survey was targeted to consumers between the age group of 25-45 acrossIndia, who had indulged in luxury shopping in the preceding 6 months of thesurvey. The survey found that only 43% of respondents agreed that luxury brandsare of significant higher quality than non-luxury brands. The paper explainsthree phases in the evolution of the market: luxurification, de-luxurificationand re-luxurification.It suggests connoting a sense of‘distance’ as being the key to building long terms brand success.

Mr.GlynAtwal, Professorof Marketing at ESC Dijonsaid,“Theluxurification of Indian consumer society means thatconsumers are now developing brand preferences. The challenge for luxury brandsis to decode the aspirational DNA in order to connectwith the Indianluxury consumer.” Hefurther adds, “Astriking example iswithin thejewellery sector.Jewellery is still valued as aninvestment but it is also about aesthetics and design. It also reflects thespirit and personality of the owner. Jewellery brands evoke verystrongemotional and symbolic values.”

Ms.Shaziya Khan, VP and Executive Planning Director at JWT,commentingonthe study said,“Luxury brands need to retain the aura of prestigeand exclusivity.Luxury brands have a range of techniques to evoke a senseof distance. This will give luxury brands a sustainable competitive advantage.”

Animportant and paradoxical revelation of the research study was the process ofdeluxurification in India. According toMs.Shaziya Khan, “Asluxury brands reach out to newer affluent and aspirational consumers, luxurybrands risk eroding their brands perceived exclusiveness. Luxury brands canreach out to the affluent masses but they need to retain the aura of prestigeand exclusivity.”

Thestudy concludes that luxury brands need to consider a strategy ofreluxurification.Ms.ShaziyaKhanfurtheradds,“This is about creating a sense ofdistance. If something is within reach, you don’t value it as much as you valuesomething that is far from you or beyond you.”

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