I think it is important to define (or redefine) luxury. That word has been abused so much over the last several years that I don’t think most people fully understand what luxury really is. There is a difference between being luxurious, which most brands aim or want to be, and being luxury, in my opinion.
There are very few truly luxury brands left in the world and, for those brands that want to be luxury, they need to be extremely exclusive either through price or access. Deciding you are a luxury brand is stating that you are not for everyone, that you don’t want to cater to everyone and, therefore, your audience and access to that audience gets narrower and more difficult to reach.
There is an audience of people out there who can afford it, who want to be in that exclusive group and who don’t want to be known. Luxury brands don’t need to resonate with today’s consumers as it’s contrary to what they stand for.
For a brand that is more luxurious in look and feel, product offering, pricing and distribution, they need to adhere to the same things as any brand. They have to answer what they do better than the competition and how they solve the pain point of their target audience in a unique and ownable manner.
—Bradley Skaggs
Beauty Independent’s ‘No Stupid Questions’ is a series where beauty industry experts provide candid and practical advice on various topics relevant to beauty brands. It addresses key issues such as team development, ingredient transparency, and understanding market trends, all with the goal of providing essential knowledge for both emerging and seasoned beauty entrepreneurs.