Kapferer on Luxury: How Luxury Brands Can Grow Yet Remain Rare Paperback Paperback – 3 Mar. 2015

Kapferer on Luxury by Jean-Noël Kapferer covers the modern rise of luxury brands as we now know them. Like Dana Thomas' Deluxe – how luxury lost its lustre Kapferer addresses the mistake of globalised manufacturing and massification of luxury. However Kapferer points out the 'secret sauce' that makes luxury products luxurious: the hybridisation of luxury with art and the concept of 'incomparability'. The absence of both factors explain why British heritage brands from Burberry to Mulberry have failed in their current incarnations as luxury brands.

Another great book from Prof. Kapferer who manages once again to bring clarity on an industry unlike any other. This book provides deep insights on various aspects of luxury. What I especially liked was the deep analysis of the relationship between digital and luxury as well as more knowledge about the real growing market of the future: Asia. Looking forward to the next one!

Undoubtedly contains the key points on luxury. However, there is a fair amount of repetition which could have been edited out even if this is a collection of essays rather than a coherent work.

Luxury brands are often in a difficult position. They can sell desirable products at a high price with a deliberately constrained level of supply. It can be tempting to add more inventory to squeeze out even more revenue and profit, yet where do you draw the line. Is it worth risking your luxury brand and position by sliding towards commoditisation?The author takes a specialised, focussed look at this thorny issue, hopefully guiding the reader towards the ideal balance. Even to the outsider, this can be a fascinating subject to consider, although the book’s price might mean it is less of an impulse buy to the information-curious. If you have a practical business need for this kind of information and thoughts you won’t even think about the price.Written as a series of essays, the author considers many different issues such as brand sustainability, transforming product positioning, logos, pricing and marketing exclusivity.You don’t need to work within a luxury brand sector-company to get a lot of benefit out of the book. You just need to leave yourself enough time to think about the points raised by the author and really maximise the benefits of his counsel. A lot of the author’s thinking can be applied universally if you try hard enough.