Luxury Brand Management in the Fashion Industry: Basic Conceptions and Models

Abstract

The article considers topical issues of brand specifics and luxury brand management in such a dynamic and competitive industry as the fashion industry both world-wide and in Ukraine. The aim of this research is studying the global experience of luxury brand management in the fashion industry, as well as generalizing the methodical and practical aspects of the process of efficient brand management in the enterprise in order to develop a national conception of positioning companies belonging to the luxury segment in this sphere. Based on the information obtained from scientific sources, the efficiency of luxury brand management is assessed using the methods of observation and abstraction plus the comparative analysis method. The need to analyze brand management in the world of luxury to assess the company’s potential in the fashion sphere is substantiated, based on the importance of brands as intangible assets for an efficient competition and as an instrument for building up business reputation. The main categories of luxury brands in the fashion industry are defined as follows: haute couture; ready-to-wear deluxe; ready-to-wear. On the results of the research, two global players are identified and examined in detail: Italian and French businesses. Various instruments are studied to identify the brand’s ethical and aesthetic constants, among which the most common is the Jean-Noel Kapferer’s prism, which provides a more detailed picture of the problem. It is demonstrated how one can use the brand identity prism with the French luxury «Chanel», the key elements of this brand’s identity are identified. In the course of analysis, two main business models of the luxury brand management category: «pyramid» and «galaxy», as well as their practical embodiment on the example of well-known world brands, are examined.

Keywords

• brand
• luxury segment
• brand management
• fashion industry
• brand prism
• brand identity