QUESTION TIME
premium position in the market and therefore consumers would not expect you to stock a luxury brand and in fact by stocking them you could alienate some of your loyal customers. Of course it can work in reverse too, it may be tempting as a retailer to offer a lower priced mass market volume brand to tempt in a more ‘ordinary’ shopper but this can alienate your loyal shoppers too by devaluing your shop brand and thereby taking away their pride in shopping with you. Having said that, in many
cases you would not have the option. Luxury brands in particular are very powerful and protective of their brand and they will only allow their products to be stocked in certain profiles of store and they
will often have some geographical limitations too so their products don’t become too readily available. Interestingly the massive
growth in licensing over the last 10 years also reflects the ‘value’
example it could be a children’s book character appealing to youngsters, a brand like Formula 1 being used on luggage and accessories aimed at men or interior designer Orla Kiely’s
“luxury brands in particular are very powerful and protective of their brand”
of brands luxury or otherwise. Again this is a reflection of consumers wanting to own a piece of a brand and it is this aspirational quality that is driving the increases in the licensing industry itself. Licensing isn’t just about luxury brands it works at all levels of the market and a brand’s positioning is dictated by who the brand appeals to; so for
designs being used on a range of kitchenware and bedlinen. Brands are certainly important
in the current retail market and with the growth in licensing there are various ways of offering them to your customers. Whether a luxury brand is right for you and therefore your customers depends on their perceptions of you as a retail brand and what
Our industry THE EXPERTS...
experts provide a compelling
insight into the topical issues of the day
GRAHAM HOYLE PARTNER, RETAIL PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT
Graham Hoyle is a senior retail operator who’s worked with such names as WHSmith, Beaverbrooks and
House of Fraser. He now serves as one quarter of Retail Performance Improvement, advising retailers on topics ranging from product development and buying to retail operations and sales promotion.
HENRI DAVIS INDEPENDENT RETAIL ADVISOR
Henri works as an independent advisor to businesses in the stationery, greetings cards and gift industry. She has 28 years retail experience and she
combines this with her knowledge of future trends and understanding of consumer motivations to analyse markets. As an independent advisor she has worked with many small and medium sized businesses including multi site retailers, national and international manufactures and suppliers.
they expect to buy when they come into your department store. The UK retail market is
changing faster than ever before and this is being driven by technological advances as well as changes in consumers spending habits and motivations. Wherever you are in the retail hierarchy you cannot afford to ignore the changes going on around you and constantly re-evaluate your position so you are clear what your competitors are doing and what customers want and need from you so that you can adjust your product proposition accordingly. While you cannot reposition yourself within the market at whim you may find the appropriateness of luxury brands for you as a retailer will change over time.
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