Prestige Brands Forum: Mark Ritson on Luxury DNA
Mark Ritson, associate professor of Marketing at Melbourne Business School
At the Prestige Brands Forum last weekend, Jing Daily attended a panel featuring Mark Ritson, associate professor of Marketing at Melbourne Business School. During the discussion, Ritson provided advice on creating a luxury label, reaffirming the belief that a luxury label should never meet more than 70 percent of demand, at risk of becoming too common. Additionally, Ritson noted that while luxury and status have a strong correlation, they are not the same thing — an observation also mentioned by Hublot’s Jean-Claude Biver. Ritson explained that while status can be conveyed through marketing and spin, craftsmanship, quality, and elegance are what truly make luxury, luxury.
During the panel discussion, Jing Daily asked Ritson whether or not he sees a need for brands to localize in the China market, such as we have seen in the case of Hermès’ Chinese sub-brand Shang Xia. Both Ritson and Hublot’s Jean-Claude Biver replied that everyone in the luxury industry is watching Hermès very closely, as their experiment with Shang Xia will become a valuable case study. Ritson went on to say that localization and nationalism may not be as strong a factor as companies may think, as a fascination and exoticism with the Western world is equally strong. China is a completely new market, Ritson added, pointing out that as people are only now being exposed to luxury labels and products, there is a large demand and plenty of room for expansion. Transcription and original audio recordings by Jing Daily team.
On how to appeal to luxury tastes:
If a luxury brand should have flexibility in the Chinese market, what kind of factors should we pay the most attention to?
How do you explain the difference in pricing of luxury goods in China and abroad?
How do you balance tradition with innovation?
Visit our previous posts on the Prestige Brands Forum: Q&A with Jean-Claude Biver, CEO and Chairman of Hublot, Part One and Part Two.