方军商业日记 2008年12月18日
经济低迷时期的奢侈品营销
沃顿知识在线最近刊发一篇文章《奢华品牌：经济低迷时期的高端市场营销》，中间的观点非常有启发：“随着2009年即将成为追求奢华品的几代人面临的最具挑战的一年，市场营销人员用来锁定追逐时尚的花季少女和快速扩张进入俄罗斯或阿联酋新富群体的营销计划突然“过时”。如今，在艰难岁月行销奢华品的“流行”方法，是迎合最富有和最忠诚的客户的需求。”
以下是摘录的一些观点与分析：
汤姆·福特国际公司（Tom Ford International）的全球市场营销与广告总监认为，“我认为，我们会发现因为经济危机而失去了一批追逐时尚的客户。……奢华品牌的核心是真正富有的客户。”
小组讨论者一致认为，在经济衰退时期，即便是高端消费者也会发现自己捉襟见肘，去追随居于社会经济层底层的消费者是一个糟糕的策略。
许多专家认为，日益加深的经济衰退所带来的经济上的痛苦，将会不成比例地落到这些行销高档香水、时装或精美时尚饰物的营销人员身上。在贝恩公司（Bain）10月份公布的调查报告中，包括鞋类、珠宝、时装在内的个人奢华品行业已经出现发展速度放缓信号；根据调查报告的预测，如果目前的趋势继续的话，2009年的销售额将会下滑3%-7%。
若干小组讨论者指出，他们的核心客户群，那些真正的富人，可能会削减一些自由支配开支，但是不会对奢华品采购进行“一刀切”。普拉达（美国）的市场营销和广告执行副总裁兰迪·卡巴特（Randy Kabat）指出，公司销售额大约有50%来自5%的客户，但是她担心可能在经济衰退时期流失了一些所谓的“追逐时尚的”中产阶级消费者 – 那些在购买名牌包袋时一掷千金的花季少女们。
关键在于，不要采取任何会使知名奢华品牌价值受损的措施。“良好的管理能够经受住顺境逆境，时尚不会改变，”帕特里克·艾波查拉彻（Patrick Abouchalache）说道。
小组讨论者一致认为，高端奢侈品公司与大型大众消费品公司相比，两者的市场营销和品牌问题是有着很大差别的，后者通常会寻找一定规模的市场空缺，然后创造新产品来填补这类空缺。而对于奢侈品而言，他们指出，业务计划依赖于设计师的艺术想象，并希望能够以此来吸引消费者。
奢华品营销人员认为，他们如能成功营造出需求的光环，那就能让他们最终度过金融危机的难关。这也许是违背直觉的，但是艾波查拉彻认为，对Cheerios谷类食品等消费品的需求是有限的，在某种程度上，对奢华品的需求则是无限的。
尽管全球经济局势紧张，但是奢华品营销人员表示，他们的主要任务仍将雷打不动：将更加富有魅力的生活方式销售给追逐时尚的消费者。“你在购买那个梦想，”卡巴特说道，“你在购买那个华丽主题，而这正是我们的工作。”
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译文:
Luxury Marketing in Downturn
Fang Jun Business Dialy, 18 Dec. 2008
Luxury Marketing in Downturn
Wharton Knowledge on Line issued one article recently Luxury Brand: High-end Marketing in Downturn, in which the viewpoints are very suggestive: “With 2009 is about to be the most challenging year for those generations who pursue luxury, the plan salesmen use to lock those young girls who chase fashion and to expand rapidly to enter the new rich colony of Russia and UAE turns to be 'outdate' suddenly. The 'popular' measure to sale luxury in rough period is to cater for the demand of the richest and the most loyal clients now days."
Here are some extracted viewpoints and analysis:
"I think we will lose a few clients who chase fashion due to economic crisis. ......the core of luxury brand are the really richest clients." the majordomo of global marketing and advertisement of Tom Ford International said.
Team discussants make a consensus, it is a awful tactic to attract those customers who are in the bottom of economic stratum because that even high-end customers also would find themselves restricted by economic situation in downturn.
A great deal of experts consider that the economic suffering brought along by increasing economic depression will be embodied disproportionately on these salesmen who are engaged in such industries as top-grade perfume, fashionable dress and delicate accessories. The investigation report issued by Bain Company in October shows development speed appears the signal of slowing down in individual luxury industry including footwear, Jewelry and fashionable dress; according to the report's forecast, the sale will decrease by from 3% to 7% in 2009 if this current tendency would continue.
Several team discussants point out that, their core customers who are really rich person maybe will cut down some free dominated expenditure but won't do the same thing to luxury indiscriminately. Randy Kabat, vice-president of Prada's (USA) marketing and advertisement, pointed out that approximately 50% of the company's sale benefit from these 5% clients, but she still worried about that they would lose some so called "fashion-chasing" middle-class customers in downturn--those young girls who spend money like water to buy famous brand bag.
Of course it is the key that never take any measure which will damage famous luxury brand. "Good management can stand the favorable circumstance and adversity, remember that fashion won't change forever," Patrick Abouchalache says.
Team discussants have a consensus, compared high-end luxury company with large-scaled mass consumption company; there is a great difference when it comes to the marketing and brand of Patrick Abouchalache. The latter one always seeks some scaled market vacancy in common and then to create new product to fill this kind of gap. However, as for luxury, they point out that the business plans count on designers' artistic imagination, by which they hope to attract consumers.
Luxury salesmen think that they can finally get through this financial crisis if they could create the demand successfully. Maybe this thought is against intuition, however, Abouchalache thinks that, the demand to consumption such as Cheerios and so on is limited, but the demand to luxury is limitless in certain extent.
Despite of global economic situation is intense, the luxury salesmen say that their main task will not be alternated: to sale more fascinating life style to those customers who chase fashion. "You are just buy that dream," Carbat says, "you are buying that splendid theme, which are our job."
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