Digital Luxury Group Unveils "World Luxury Index Handbags".

Consumers are increasingly turning to the Internet to research their luxury purchases. Not surprisingly, brands and marketeers have taken note and are scouring those searches for insight into purchasing behaviour. The latest analysis of the kind to be released is authored by Geneva-based consulting group Digital Luxury Group. Dubbed "World Luxury Index Handbags", the report offers a ranking and analysis of the most searched-for handbag brands based on consumer search inputs using major Internet search engines. The report examines over 130 brands and over 130 million searches in eight countries.

Taken at face value, what does the World Luxury Index Handbags' brand ranking tell me about the current state of the luxury handbag market? When a mid-range fashion brand like Coach (and to a lesser extent Longchamp) ranks well above Hermes in a report of consumers' Internet searches, I can only come to two conclusions. First, consumers are not able to distinguish between a mid-range fashion product and a luxury product. Second and more importantly, consumers are unable to distinguish between a mid-range brand and a luxury brand.

A third possible conclusion relates to the report's methodology. I mean no disrespect to either the Coach brand or the authors of the survey, Digital Luxury Group (a group of professionals I know personally and have a great deal of respect for) but I simply don't believe Coach can be legitimately considered a luxury brand and therefore lumped in with the likes of Chanel and Hermes. Labeling brands and products "premium" or "affordable luxury" does not change the reality of materials, craftsmanship and production techniques. Moreover, I think it does consumers a huge disservice as it legitimizes what is little more than a marketing claim.

While there is absolutely no shame in producing a good quality mid-range fashion accessory, there is considerable shame in trying to dress it up as something it is not which is precisely what Coach and many other brands are doing. To me, it is both a matter of legitimacy and credibility vis a vis consumers. It doesn't help that Coach's creative director, Reed Krakoff, produces his own eponymous line of clothing and accessories which can in fact be credibly considered luxury goods with materials and production to match the marketing claim. Compare a Reed Krakoff "Boxer" bag and a typical Coach bag and you'll see what I mean. The contrast between the two brands is stark. It also speaks volumes.

To a certain extent, I blame large luxury brands themselves for having so thoroughly (and opportunistically) muddied the waters throughout the 90's with product categories dubbed "masstige" and "affordable luxury". By steadily eroding the traditional boundaries between fashion and luxury, they have managed to eviscerate the term "luxury" and strip it of any intrinsic meaning. Viewed in this light, the fact that Coach outranks Louis Vuitton and Gucci in a survey of "luxury" handbags, two brands at the forefront of the "masstige" movement prior to the crash of 2008, might be considered just desserts. Reap what you sow. In the meantime, if you happen to be a consumer, caveat emptor.

The full report is available online at: dlgr.com/handbags. More detailed data and analysis is available upon request.

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Comments

[Jose]

Coach success came so fast! They are successful in Department stores, in the web, basically everywhere.
I wonder how they made it.

[Missie Sue]

Thanks very much for the tip. I'm currently about halfway through Thomas' book, and it is indeed eye-opening.

[Rachel S]

I totally agree with you, Helene!

[Helene]

Excellent question! Sadly, I know of no such source of information or even whether such an enterprise is possible.

Few brands are completely forthcoming about their production processes in part to protect their intellectual property and in part because it's simply not in their interest to be forthcoming. Too many brands parse the meaning of "made in" to obfuscate their outsourcing practices and some brands take massive liberties in their adverts although in some instances, they have been sanctioned for this (Louis Vuitton was forced to pull a series of adverts suggesting that certain products were still hand stitched after the UK Advertising Standards Board found the ads to be misleading to the public).

My recommendation to you is to ask difficult questions of the store personnel and don't stop asking questions until you feel perfectly satisfied of the response. If the store personnal are not sufficiently informed, ask for the e-mail & contact details of brand managers and put your questions to them. If a brand is stupid or arrogant enough to ignore your questions, they do not deserve your hard-earned money.

I also encourage you to do your own independent research. There is a wealth of information online from various independent sources but you may have to dig. Business Week and The Economist regularly publish features on the luxury industry. Just stay away from most fashion magazines as they have a far too cozy relationship with the brands to be accurate or completely honest.

Finally, I highly recommend Dana Thomas' book "How Luxury Lost Its Luster" for a better understanding of how the luxury industry has fundamentally changed over the last two decades.

Good luck. Thank you for your excellent question.

Helene

[Missie Sue]

Out of curiosity, is there a way to easily find out the process behind a luxury product (like a handbag)? Are there any reliable websites or databases that cover country of origin, manufacturing processes, and worker conditions for various luxury brands? I'd like to start doing a little more research into my luxury purchases, and thought you might know where to start.