Discover the secrets to successful luxury brand management with this bestselling guide written by two of the world's leading experts on luxury branding, Jean-Noël Kapferer and Vincent Bastien, providing a unique blueprint for luxury brands and companies. Having established itself as the definitive work on the essence of a luxury brand strategy, this book defines the differences between premium and luxury brands and products, analyzing the nature of true luxury brands and turning established marketing 'rules' upside-down. Written by two world experts on luxury branding, The Luxury Strategy provides the first rigorous blueprint for the effective management of luxury brands and companies at the highest level. This fully revised second edition of The Luxury Strategy explores the diversity of meanings of 'luxury' across different markets. It rationalizes those business models that have achieved profitability and unveils the original methods that were used to transform small family businesses such as Ferrari, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Chanel, Armani, Gucci, and Ralph Lauren into profitable global brands. Now with a new section on marketing and selling luxury goods online and the impact of social networks and digital developments, this book has truly cemented its position as the authority on luxury strategy.

The first book to explore how and why an amazing "luxeplosion" is rocking Asia.

The definitive guide to managing a luxury brand, newly revised and updated What defines a luxury brand? Traditional wisdom suggests that it's one that's selective and exclusive—to such a degree that only one brand can exist within each retail category (automobiles, fragrances, cosmetics, etc.). But this definition is inherently restrictive, failing to take into account the way in which luxury brands today are increasingly identified as such by their placement in stores and how consumers perceive them. This revised and updated edition of Luxury Brand Management, the first comprehensive book on luxury brand management, looks at the world of branding today. Written by two renowned insiders, the book builds on this new, broader definition of luxury and examines more than 450 internationally known brands from a wide range of industries. Packed with new information covering the financial crisis's impact on luxury brands, and looking towards a new period of growth, the book reconciles management, marketing, and creation with real-life examples and management tools that the authors have successfully used in their professional careers. Includes dedicated chapters focusing on each of the main functions of a luxury brand, including brand creation, the complexity of managing brand identity, the convergence of arts and brands, and much more Addresses the practical functions that can make or break bottom lines and affect brand perception, such as distribution, retailing, logistics, and licensing Focuses on brand life-cycle, brand identity, and licensing issues A compelling and comprehensive examination of the different dimensions of luxury management in various sectors, this new edition of the classic text on brand management is essential reading for anyone working with or interested in making the most of a luxury brand in the post-recession world.

Luxury isn't just for the rich, says James B. Twitchell. Today you don't need a six-figure income to wear pashmina, drink a limited-edition coffee at Starbucks, or drive a Mercedes home to collapse on the couch in front of a flat-screen plasma TV. In Living It Up, sharp-eyed consumer anthropologist Twitchell takes a witty and insightful look at luxury -- what it is, who defines it, and why we can't seem to get enough of it. In recent years, says Twitchell, luxury spending has grown much faster than overall spending -- and it continues to grow despite the economic recession. Luxury has become such a powerful marketing force that it cuts across every layer of society, spawning a magazine devoted to spas, cashmere bedspreads on sale at Kmart, and a dazzling array of bottled waters. Twitchell says that the democratization of luxury has had a unifying effect on culture. Luxury items tell a story that we want to identify with, and more people than ever aspire to the story of Ralph Lauren's Polo or Patek Philippe. Shopping itself is no longer a chore but a transcendent experience in which we shop not so much for goods as for an identity. Sharply observed and wickedly funny, Living It Up is a revealing and entertaining examination of why we are all part of the cult of luxury.

First published in 1982. The problem addressed in this volume is the human pursuit of self-definitions. Self-definitions can vary widely with respect to the context in which they are found, and in regard to who aspires to possess them. Violinist, mother, humanitarian, intellectual, equestrian, and French-speaker are all examples of self-definitions.