The business of luxury takes grace, tenacity - and wisdom. Written by luxury executives, renowned experts, and university professors, we are covering some of the world's most-recommended reads on the business of luxury.
The Luxury Strategy: Break the Rules of Marketing to Build Luxury Brands
Written by Jean-Noël Kapferer and Vincent Bastien, The Luxury Strategy is an industry-standard that sits on the bookshelf of every luxury professional. As the quintessential luxury bible for people who think, market, and strategize luxury goods, it's a foundational text that you'll find in many universities.
Why It Stands Out
Kapferer is a professor at HEC Paris, one of France's most selective grandes écoles, and the author of 13 books on brand management and luxury. Kapferer is a professor at HEC Paris, one of France's most selective grandes écoles, and the author of 13 books on brand management and luxury.
His co-author, however, helps to make this book especially remarkable. Vincent Bastien, the co-author of The Luxury Strategy and Luxe Oblige (in French), is a former CEO of both Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent Parfum.
The Big Idea: The 24 Anti-Laws of Marketing
The book includes inspiring examples of how to shape and define a luxury brand that in many ways goes against the traditional laws of marketing. Unlike the luxury space, mass marketing leans heavily into optimizing profit above all else, being everywhere your customer is, and being overly accessible rather than exclusive.
Its most referenced section, The 24 anti-laws of marketing, has laws that includes "keep non-enthusiasts out," "the presumed price should always seem higher than the actual price," and "luxury sets the price; price does not set luxury."
It also offers interesting advice like "don't respond to rising demand," "do not pander to your customers' wishes," and "do not sell openly on the Internet," giving you plenty of food for thought.
Why buy the book
The Luxury Strategy offers a perspective on how to market in the world of luxury, outlining a set of principles to guide your luxury strategy. It's exceptionally written if you want a refresher on the fundamentals or come from a mass consumer background and have quite a bit of unlearning to do.
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