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It isn't often you see a book review in a furniture web
site, so why are we doing this and why does it have relevance to you the
retailer? Well, it has all the relevance in the world as it is the
guiding light of our brand of furniture. It is the reason we are so
sure of our success, through your success, and through the enjoyment, sense
of satisfaction, and personal fulfillment that your ultimate customer will
have as they purchase your Kelsey Collection vignette.
We have seen the rapture and look of awe as children,
mothers, grandmothers, and even grumpy old grandfathers get when they look
at what we have created; and we know that look and the comments we get mean
that this furniture has a place in their lives.
So we are going to throw some terms out here and
definitions from this book and we believe it will strike a chord with you
when you soak it all up.
"rocketing” means spending a disproportionate amount
of income on a single category by consumers who are not considered
affluent….. on products that are emotionally meaningful to them.
“New Luxury” products possess higher level of quality,
taste, and aspiration than other goods in the category but are not so
expensive as to be out of reach…. Always based on emotions.
When a New Luxury brand catches fire…it quickly
changes the rules of its category, grows to market dominance, and forces a
redrawing of the demand curve. As that happens, the category tends to
polarize. Consumers TRADE UP if the category is important to them or
trade down or go without if it is unimportant.
New Luxury leaders follow 8 practices.
- They never underestimate their customers…consumer
has the desire, interest, intelligence, and capability to Trade Up.
- They shatter the price-volume demand curve…earning
disproportionate profits as a result.
- They create a ladder of genuine benefits…..not
meaningless innovations
- They escalate innovation, elevate quality, and
deliver a flawless experience
- They extend the price range and positioning of the
brand.
- They customize their value chains to deliver on the
benefit ladder….control of the chain rather than ownership of it.
- They use influence marketing and seed their success
through brand apostles….they work harder to define their core
audience…spend more time interacting with customers….frequent feedback
from early purchaser.
- They continually attack the category like an
outsider
Women have always had a particular ability to judge
the value of goods and a keen understanding of the complex emotional
meanings and social messages contained in them…the minutest details of
design, manufacture, and packaging - and from a very young age. Women are
the quintessential New Luxury consumers.
New Luxury consumers also like to learn about specific
products and the companies that make them. That’s why so many New Luxury
brands have a narrative associated with them.
Among 20 categories of consumer goods, the home or
apartment topped the list.
THE FOUR EMOTIONAL SPACES
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Taking care of me
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Connecting
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Questing
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Individual Style
Outsider thinking is important in importing ideas and
practices from other industries and culture and applying them to every
aspect of strategy – including product development, pricing, consumer
profiles, organization, and marketing.
Patterning – the connections between elements that
have not been made before, creating a new frame of reference for themselves
and the category.
The most basic definition of quality is “freedom from
defects” and that is a guiding assumption of New luxury goods.
Elements of craftsmanship or artisanal in nature.
This artisanal quality allows for variation in the look and feel of the
goods, yet this is “mass-artisanal” because the basic pattern or process
does not change.
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