The Hindu Business Line : The `unmistakable sign language' of luxury

Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, Rolex and Armani, as you may know, are names that usually elicit sighs from window-shoppers. But, do you know that the obsession sweeping Asia is taking on these brands as icons of modern life?

Millions of Asians, not all of them rich, are rushing to buy `outrageously expensive designer-label bags, shoes, clothes, watches, jewellery, and other accessories'. And `junior executives in Shanghai happily shell out their entire month's salary for a Gucci purse!' Radha Chadha and Paul Husband explore these and more phenomena in The Cult of the Luxury Brand, from Nicholas Brealey (www.nicholasbrealey.com) .

"You are what you wear," state the authors, as the simple reason behind luxury unleashed. "Loud logos and unmistakable sign language" help you "turn a sizable bank balance into commensurate social esteem." In the `new social protocol', your identity and self-worth are determined by "the visible brands on your body."

As a result, "a different class system is being created where your spot on the social totem pole is marked by your Chanel suit and your Cartier watch."

Lavishness can also splash about in spas and cruise liners, sports cars and swimming pools and exotic vacations. However, the book focuses only on luxury brands, or luxe, `on your person', because "the face you show to the world counts more than how you live."

The spread of luxe, `from Europe's elite to Asia's hoi polloi', has key lessons for marketers, say the authors. "Importantly, it sheds light on something every marketer dreams of - the seeming paradox of charging high prices based on exclusivity while selling your product to every Tomoko, Sadako, and Yoshiko." At one point, 88 per cent of Vuitton's global sales came from Japanese consumers - "38 per cent purchased in Japan, and 50 per cent bought by Japanese tourists."

The first strategy in the luxe gospel is to erect `brand cathedrals' - such as "the Prada Epicenter in Aoyama, Tokyo, a futuristic six-storey glass confection with cave-like tubes that serve as an intimate retail setting." Second, reincarnation of the brands, "virtually abandoning their old avatar for a younger, sexier one," which explains why "in most Asian markets the biggest spenders on luxury brands are young women between the ages of 20 and 30."

The master move, according to the authors, was the third strategy: `logofication' of the handbag, "plastering instantly recognisable symbols in a continuous pattern all over the bag." Strategy four was the stretching, to have a product for every aspect of the consumer. "Something for baby? Hermès has a range for newborns. A diaper bag for mommy? Baby Dior has the look. An iPod case? Try Gucci. Lounging at home? Versace sofa. Going to sleep? Ralph Lauren bed sheets... " Thus, "luxury hasn't just been democratised, it's become inescapable."

Chadha and Husband analyse five stages in "the spread of the luxury model." Stage 1 is `subjugation', characterised by authoritarian rule, poverty and deprivation, all of which build a hunger or a dream. Stage 2 sees `start of money', through economic growth, sales of white goods, and the elitist buying of luxe. India in this stage, opine the authors.

The third stage is `show-off', when people acquire symbols of wealth and display their economic status. When this becomes large-scale, `fuelled by the need to conform', you are in stage 4 of fitting in. The final stage is `way of life', where you are locked into luxe habit!

A book that unravels the invincible luxe code.

http://BookPeek.blogspot.com

D. Murali