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Kapferer on Luxury: How Luxury Brands can Grow Yet Remain Rare
In an industry where rarity and exclusivity are keys to success, business growth can be both positive and negative. An unknown luxury brand with too few clients is unable to cover the considerable costs of luxury retail, but too many clients endanger the exclusivity factor and luxury experience. How fast should a firm grow and where in the world should it do so? How much volume should a brand sell? When does saturation occur? Jean-Noel Kapferer offers insights into how to address these questions and other conflicts unique to the luxury sector, along with strategies to support sustainable growth. "Kapferer on Luxury" offers a collection of carefully chosen new and popular essays by Jean-Noel Kapferer that address a specific issue relating to luxury growth. These include: sustaining the "luxury dream," the dependency on exclusivity, sustainable luxury, managing luxury brands within groups, artificiation (the process of transforming non-art into art) of luxury, and delocalization (sticking to local production).
240 pages, Paperback
First published March 3, 2015
39 people are currently reading
350 people want to read
About the author
Jean-Noël Kapferer
37 books48 followersJean-Noel Kapferer is the European authority on brand management.
He is internationally recognised as one of the worldwide leading specialists on brands and one of the most influential. He has promoted radical new concepts and methods, written eleven books on communication and brands. All his works have been translated into several languages and widely diffused throughout the world. Kapferer's unique style of in depth analysis and also creative recommendations originates from his highly international vision and background, and a permanent equilibrium between theory and practice.
Jean-Noël Kapferer is recognized as the promoter of key concepts of modern brand management.
He was an early advocate of the concept of brand identity, at a time when american academic pioneers on brand equity did not even know the concept. He is also a constant promoter of the holistic approach to brand identity, congenial to European or Asian brand management, unlike north American theorizing which holds brands as a sum of attributes.
Its major conceptual and operational contributions to the advancement of brand management are :
- the identity prism, a holistic integrated approach to brand identity
- the brand kernel, distinguishing non negotiable brand facets and peripheral facets of brand identity
- the brand coherence grid, to audit the product portfolio of brands internationally and propose optimal architectures.
- the definition of core brand architectures.
- the promotion of wide brand extensions unlike the traditional and limitative product brand approach.
He is internationally recognised as one of the worldwide leading specialists on brands and one of the most influential. He has promoted radical new concepts and methods, written eleven books on communication and brands. All his works have been translated into several languages and widely diffused throughout the world. Kapferer's unique style of in depth analysis and also creative recommendations originates from his highly international vision and background, and a permanent equilibrium between theory and practice.
Jean-Noël Kapferer is recognized as the promoter of key concepts of modern brand management.
He was an early advocate of the concept of brand identity, at a time when american academic pioneers on brand equity did not even know the concept. He is also a constant promoter of the holistic approach to brand identity, congenial to European or Asian brand management, unlike north American theorizing which holds brands as a sum of attributes.
Its major conceptual and operational contributions to the advancement of brand management are :
- the identity prism, a holistic integrated approach to brand identity
- the brand kernel, distinguishing non negotiable brand facets and peripheral facets of brand identity
- the brand coherence grid, to audit the product portfolio of brands internationally and propose optimal architectures.
- the definition of core brand architectures.
- the promotion of wide brand extensions unlike the traditional and limitative product brand approach.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 13, 2021
This book highlights a few key tenets of the luxury industry captured in some memorable phrases ("ordinary of the extraordinary, extraordinary of the ordinary", pricing being deliberately kept much more than value offered)
But since the chapters are collections of essays written for magazines, the same 4-5 tenets keep repeating in all of them.
But since the chapters are collections of essays written for magazines, the same 4-5 tenets keep repeating in all of them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2018
Kapferer è uno dei miei autori preferiti sui temi di brand management e in assoluto il più stimolante quando si parla di management del lusso. Questo volume è una raccolta di saggi su alcuni dei temi cadi per il settore come le strategie di crescita, il ruolo del logo, le scelte di delocalizzazione produttiva, la sostenibilità, le strategie dei poli del lusso e altro ancora. Si tratta di una lettura indispensabile per ogni tesi di laurea sul lusso e di una utile fonte di riferimenti bibliografici sull'argomento.
Va considerato in un certo senso un aggiornamento rispetto al volume Luxury Strategy uscito qualche anno prima e che va letto prima di questo.
Io ho letto la versione originale pubblicata nel 2015, ma segnalo che nel 2017 è uscita per Franco Angeli con il titolo "Lusso. Nuove sfide, nuovi sfidanti" la traduzione italiana del volume "luxe nouveaux challenges nouveaux challengers" che rappresenta una versione aggiornata di "Kapferer on Luxury".
Va considerato in un certo senso un aggiornamento rispetto al volume Luxury Strategy uscito qualche anno prima e che va letto prima di questo.
Io ho letto la versione originale pubblicata nel 2015, ma segnalo che nel 2017 è uscita per Franco Angeli con il titolo "Lusso. Nuove sfide, nuovi sfidanti" la traduzione italiana del volume "luxe nouveaux challenges nouveaux challengers" che rappresenta una versione aggiornata di "Kapferer on Luxury".
March 15, 2020
Having an engineering background and being far from the studies of luxury branding and marketing, I still found the book a very interesting read and I believe that some of the anti-laws of marketing described by Kapferer can definitely be used in other product strategies (different from the luxury market).
July 21, 2020
Book made of several articles he already published, some particularly and uselessly long.
To be honest "The luxury strategy" was great but this one was too ripetitive and redundant and there was no surprise effects.
Overall it's well researched and makes a lot of sense, obviosuly.
I would not recommend it if you already read "The luxury strategy", to be fairly honest.
To be honest "The luxury strategy" was great but this one was too ripetitive and redundant and there was no surprise effects.
Overall it's well researched and makes a lot of sense, obviosuly.
I would not recommend it if you already read "The luxury strategy", to be fairly honest.
December 24, 2024
Been in MSc land so no ‘fun’ reading for me:( As far as textbooks go I really enjoyed it.
July 22, 2025
very usefull
March 22, 2015
Luxury brands are often in a difficult position. They can sell desirable products at a high price with a deliberately constrained level of supply. It can be tempting to add more inventory to squeeze out even more revenue and profit, yet where do you draw the line. Is it worth risking your luxury brand and position by sliding towards commoditisation?
The author takes a specialised, focussed look at this thorny issue, hopefully guiding the reader towards the ideal balance. Even to the outsider, this can be a fascinating subject to consider, although the book’s price might mean it is less of an impulse buy to the information-curious. If you have a practical business need for this kind of information and thoughts you won’t even think about the price.
Written as a series of essays, the author considers many different issues such as brand sustainability, transforming product positioning, logos, pricing and marketing exclusivity.
You don’t need to work within a luxury brand sector-company to get a lot of benefit out of the book. You just need to leave yourself enough time to think about the points raised by the author and really maximise the benefits of his counsel. A lot of the author’s thinking can be applied universally if you try hard enough.
Kapferer on Luxury, written by Jean-Noël Kapferer and published by Kogan Page. ISBN 9780749474362, 240 pages. YYYY
The author takes a specialised, focussed look at this thorny issue, hopefully guiding the reader towards the ideal balance. Even to the outsider, this can be a fascinating subject to consider, although the book’s price might mean it is less of an impulse buy to the information-curious. If you have a practical business need for this kind of information and thoughts you won’t even think about the price.
Written as a series of essays, the author considers many different issues such as brand sustainability, transforming product positioning, logos, pricing and marketing exclusivity.
You don’t need to work within a luxury brand sector-company to get a lot of benefit out of the book. You just need to leave yourself enough time to think about the points raised by the author and really maximise the benefits of his counsel. A lot of the author’s thinking can be applied universally if you try hard enough.
Kapferer on Luxury, written by Jean-Noël Kapferer and published by Kogan Page. ISBN 9780749474362, 240 pages. YYYY
April 29, 2015
a very informative book ((like most of the author) about luxury brands around the world. It tells you about the strategy they adopt to keep their image of luxury, how they must act differently on the market. Rarity is part of the attraction people feel, so making people wait for a Hermes bag or a place in the best restaurants will just increase one's desire to own it or to get there. Luxury may begin with small things, a lipstick from Dior for 25 euros for instance. It may cost huge amounts too, like a Rolls Royce.
Analyzing what is the usual concept of luxury, Kapferer gives detailed information about some of the most famous brands, from Chanel to Prada, through Lacoste, Armani, Cartier and others. I regretted his lack of interest in counterfeited goods, and the consequences it may have, and was surprised by the number of times Gucci was referred to as I would not have thought of them...
Analyzing what is the usual concept of luxury, Kapferer gives detailed information about some of the most famous brands, from Chanel to Prada, through Lacoste, Armani, Cartier and others. I regretted his lack of interest in counterfeited goods, and the consequences it may have, and was surprised by the number of times Gucci was referred to as I would not have thought of them...
July 27, 2015
review out in issue 3 2015 of today's manager
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews