The Cult of the Luxury Brand: Inside Asia's Love Affair with Luxury

Abstract

The Cult of the Luxury Brand is the first book to explore how and why an amazing “luxeplosion” is rocking Asia, sweeping up not just the glitzy upper crust, but secretaries toting their Burberry bags, junior executives sporting Rolex watches, and university students in Ferragamo shoes. Hong Kong boasts more Gucci and Hermes stores than New York or Paris. China’s luxury market is growing with such gusto that it will single-handedly be the biggest by 2014. Even India, the new kid on the luxury block, has three-month waiting lists for hot items, while in Tokyo, the epicenter of the cult, 94% of women in their 20s own a Louis Vuitton bag. The cult of the luxury brand is so powerful that Asian consumers account for as much as half of the $80 billion global luxe industry. Radha Chadha and Paul Husband explain the paradox of simultaneously pumping up your product’s status while pumping it out to the masses. They crack the code of the cult, offering a tried-and-tested approach to creating an explosive following for your brand. They outline a powerful model that explains the spread of luxury in developed markets such as Japan and Hong Kong, while predicting the future course for emerging markets such as China and India. They also examine the phenomenon of geniune fakes, impossible to tell from the real thing but detracting from its sales. Written by world-leading experts in a highly accessible style, the book draws on over 150 interviews with industry experts, market studies in 10 countries and the authors’ collective experience across Asia. It offers a glimpse of the thriving retail scene, from glorious flagship stores in Tokyo to bustling local markets in Seoul, and compares the various consumer segments to understand the inner motives for their obsession. It demonstrates how the continent’s massive economic and social transformation is dismantling centuries-old ways of defining your place in society and how your spot on today’s social totem pole is marked by your Chanel suit and your Cartier watch. Whether you are a business professional targeting the Asian consumer, a marketer interested in trend spotting or a shopper fascinated by luxury brands, this book opens the door to success.

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