The Ghost of Luxury: Strategic Luxury Brand Management

’Luxury’ is possibly the most maltreated word ever. From luxury water to luxury toothpicks, it has been widely accepted as ’the prefix’ around the globe. It is a universal understanding now that the term ’luxury’ means different to different individuals. It is also not clandestine anymore that it can and will never have a touchstone definition. This being the absolute truth, it becomes even more taxing for a luxury brand to appease every point of view. For some, luxury is the pinnacle of cultivation that should not be made obtainable to masses. Others have a more liberal approach, where its democratisation holds no negative value. Some of them scorn the products with hefty price tags, while others mock the existence of so-called entry-level luxury products.

When the liberty of expression allows an individual to hold a private philosophy on luxury, it also provides adequate room for every luxury brand to execute theirs. As a consequence, risemultiple types of luxury brands, some very exclusive, some only in name, and some, absolutely not. It is unjust to delist a brand from Luxury for modesty of price or for its accessibility through twenty different e-commerce websites. What is more imperative is to discuss the aspects that place a brand within the periphery of luxury. This book classifies luxury by practicality and not on strict and outdated ’not-to-do’ notions about luxury.

Luxury has repeatedly declared its exceptionality through Brand Identity. But it does no good if there are too many similar cores in the market. Paradoxically, the industry itself has crumbled into duplicated and replicated brand essences. The poaching and encroaching of brand identities have become a commonplace. Many luxury brands, in fact only serve grandiloquence in the name of Identity. The concept of Brand Identity may have been efficient for luxury brands in ancient times. But, as everything trickles down, it prolongs to stay pertinent for mass and premium brands only. The book advocates the upgraded concept of Brand Extremity, as an appropriate surrogate for Brand Identity. Real examples are discussed to enumerate creation of Brand Extremity for a few luxury brands.

Many good books and articles are available on the topic of luxury. The greatest amongst them have been formalised with mature luxury professionals in mind. While this book also caters to higher level luxury managers, it does not ignore the academicians, luxury education aspirants and general luxury enthusiasts in any way. It is the reason why each chapter precedes a thought provoking prologue. And, what brand is a luxury brand if it is not a storyteller.

’The Ghost of Luxury: Strategic Luxury Brand Management’ is a radical explication built atop the strong founding principles of legendary heritage luxury houses. It not only highlights classic luxury strategies but also their contemporary replacements. This book throws light on the secret ingredients of mysterious luxury businesses. It is an ideal read for the brands yet to decipher the magical spells mastered by mature luxury brands. Mature luxury brands, on the other hand, will find novice strategies aligned to their own traditional laws, but more aggressive and new age in nature.

Love Ranga is a luxury business leader with more than a decade long experience of working with Global Luxury brands, and Fashion & Luxury education companies. His most recent book Strategic Luxury Brand Management, with over 18K global readers, is widely acclaimed as an exceptional content for luxury brand professionals, educators and students. He is the originator of 'Brand Extremity,' hailed as the most aggressive tool ever devised to facilitate indefinite coherence and extreme differentiation for luxury brands. His work has received recommendations from the executives of globally known luxury brands from across the categories of fashion, perfumery, jewelry, watches, home furnishings, leather and hospitality. Post his experience with brands like Versace, Corneliani and John Smedley, in the capacity of Chief Strategy Officer; he strategized India's first short-term Executive Luxury Brand Management course in association with SDA Bocconi, Milan. Later, he joined a Laureate Network Institute to lead India's first full-time programs on Management of Luxury, validated by Italian design institute, Domus Academy. Often invited as speaker and trainer, he is described as the facilitator of innovation and creativity. He has never watched Game of Thrones, for many years he was under an impression that Ronaldo and Ronaldinho are brothers; and that Pirates of Caribbean is a West Indian T20 cricket team.