This is how David Margolis, the founder of WINNERS stores,
used to define his advertising philosophy for the off-price retailer whenever we debated the merits of a particular ad. It worked
wonders. And that was in good times.
It seems it still does even in less favourable times for
luxury goods.
Rob Walker, in his NYT Magazine column Consumed, tells us
that online discounters of luxury brands are flourishing.
“These e-tailers — like RueLaLa.com,
Gilt.com, HauteLook.com
and others — position themselves as more than mere sources of heavily
discounted high-end goods. For starters, they aim for an image of exclusivity,
with “invitation only” setups and a strategy of preventing their wares from
showing up in search-engine results (unlike established high-end e-tailers like
BlueFly.com). And they amplify those elements
of bargain-focused shopping that some people find fun and exciting (like time
limits and unpredictable and quickly rotating supplies). The idea is an online
version of the so-called sample sales that designer brands have conducted for
years.”
For more on how the luxury sector was affected by the
recession, an adman’s belief that it wouldn’t be and data on Quebeckers and
prestige brands, read this previous post.
Comments