What Do Luxury Brands Sell Themselves?

Of course, if you want to give the brand a makeover, adequate budgets are essential, and this has become the biggest problem in recent years.

"Many companies have cut their budgets."

"Now everyone is slowing down until they can see the safety signal again," says Randall Stone, creative director of Lippincott marketing strategy consultancy in New York. First, the relaxation of capital and credit, followed by the return of consumer confidence.

Even Marino, who was not worried about business, sighed, "two years ago, everyone in the country asked me," do you want to build a hotel? "I said," of course. "

However, our hotel projects in Morocco, Croatia, Dubai and the Caribbean have been suspended. "

What is unexpected is that for a designer who likes to try new things, budget cuts are sometimes not all bad things.

"If the budget becomes smaller, we may adopt some new artists."

Marino said.

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From Italy to China

With less budgets, we may adopt some new artists.

The design concept has become a realistic project contractor. As of now, the number of luxury brand new stores opened in Shanghai in 2010 has been considerable.

China's overseas brand retail industry has long been dominated by luxury goods, and the confidence of the major brands in this market is self-evident.

Frequent new store opening and global uniform decoration design concept -- how many odd decorative materials and semi finished products are there? How many special display panels are coming from Europe?

Marni has found a more economical and efficient decoration channel.

Consuelo Castiglioni, the founder and designer of its brand, has been working closely with Sybarite architects in London for many years. Before, like many other brands, it has mainly shipped exhibits from Italy to other parts of the world.

Since 2004, a Shanghai based organization has taken over Marni's shop decoration operations.

"Our job is to realize the design concept of the brand."

Sooza design studio founder SusanHerffernan said.

Marni is one of her major customers and the earliest customer of the studio. At present, Marni's human desk, hanger, lighting and all kinds of decorations used in the global shops are made by Sooza.

In addition, the studio's customers include AlbertaFerretti, Moncler, Philosophy, Stefanel and so on.

Before starting a studio, Herffernan did furniture import and export business in China.

She found that furniture prices in Europe were high and delivery was slow. Chinese manufacturers had low prices and fast delivery. Despite the general quality, there was room for improvement.

Her studio was built on this basis: "an order takes two months to deliver in Italy, and we can finish it in half a month."

If the clothing industry has long been a global producer, Herffernan is trying to get luxury brands to put their stores in the world's big factories too.

In her view, the geographical position of Shanghai has an advantage, and the distance from Europe, America, Japan and other places is relatively moderate, which can be described as "the center of the world".

Chinese manufacturers produce all kinds of things, but most of them are reluctant to make products that require special, complex processes, long hours and small shipments.

In order to solve this problem, Soozar invested three cooperative factories around Shanghai, specializing in processing and manufacturing according to special requirements. One is responsible for sofas technology such as sofas, one responsible person stage, and one for stainless steel technology. The whole process is usually completed in the largest stainless steel plant.

Compared with production in Europe, Sooza reduces labor costs and time costs, and there is room for reduction in raw material costs.

"At the very beginning, all the materials we used were external sourcing.

Now we are also trying to get customers to come to China to see that there are also the same things and services here. "

Herffernan said.

They are very strict. They are extremely proud of their products. They are incredibly demanding for quality. {page_break}

LouisVuitton is the best example of some brands that own their own design departments so that they can fully control their image.

Its exclusive construction department has an average age of 32 years old. Under the leadership of DavidMcNulty, it works with architects from all over the world such as Aoki Chun, KengoKuma, Peter Marino, Philippe Barth l my, Syvia Grino, Aurelio Clementi and Kenku Miko, while maintaining brand logo and fixed structural elements, at the same time, instilling a distinct personal style.

Whether it is a brand designed for oneself or a brand designed for a commissioned firm, it is essential for contractors like Sooza to do so.

In Herffernan's words, they are "a link between Europeans and Chinese".

"These customers are not ordinary customers."

Herffernan said, "they are very demanding, extremely proud of their products, and incredibly demanding for quality.

Not all suppliers can understand this. "

Sooza customized tailored clothes hangers for customers, made the prototype of the brand exclusive model, and all kinds of objects from the shop to the sofa and vase.

Because each project has to use at least 6-7 different materials, one item often goes round and round between several factories, and the duty of the studio is "let every factory understand what it is."

In the five years of running in, she learned a habit of thinking: "we are always wrong, even if it is right.

Perhaps factories and customers can write fluent English, but they are still speaking in second languages.

We need to help them understand each other. "

Most of the first-rate luxury brands have their own stores in Hang Lung Plaza.

Louis Vuitton every display in the store is imported from Italy and France. The Fendi shop's people's desk is all imported, and about 50% of the items are purchased in China. Prada and Fendi also have about 50% of the imported products.

Marni has realized the "made in China" of store display. Through this effective supply channel, brand new stores opened in Hangzhou and Shenzhen not only achieve the expected visual effects, but also simplify the pportation process and become more environmentally friendly.

Recently, Soozar first received a Chinese customer, which is seeking to pform the image of Ordos.

"Once you know you have room for improvement, they should accept change."

Herffernan commented on these powerful domestic brands.

How to hang around often

Build a store that allows people to kill time in it.

Peter Marino, an artist who makes luxury more luxurious, thinks that it's hard to do something new nowadays.

"You drew a half day sketch, and you were told," a restaurant in Hongkong was done two years ago. "

His favorite work is Chanel's flagship store in Ginza, Tokyo.

In this project, he found a new type of glass curtain wall -- a glass factory in Austria took 18 months to develop the glass successfully.

"Standing outside the building, you can see the film playing on the glass curtain wall and go inside, and you can look out through the glass.

I am so proud that you can engrave this sentence on my epitaph: he invented a new type of glass.

Marino said.

In order to make customers feel frequent, the brand will change with the new products launched every season for decoration and display in the store.

Cooperation with artists is expensive but easy to take.

At the Louis Vuitton Champs Elysees store, you can see James Turrell's lighting sculpture, TimWhite-Sobieski's video works, and you can also take the elevator designed by Olafur Eliasson.

In the brand London store, there are two groups of works: Gilbert& Goerge, Jeff Koons, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst, Michael Landy and Murakami Takashi et al.

"Luxury and art are ways to express feelings and passions."

Louis Vuitton chairman and chief executive officer YvesCarcelle said, "every two weeks we will check all the installations in the shop carefully."

The concept of Marino is to build a store that allows people to kill time in it.

"If someone comes in well, you have to make them happy.

After all, if shopping is not an interesting, attractive and unusual experience, why do you go shopping? "He said.

In his opinion, his work is no different from KarlLagerfeld and John Galliano.

"I always go to their fashion show.

They are all great artists. Every show is like an exhibition of art.

I like to see how Pat McGrath make-up and how GuidoPasquale makes hair for girls.

Of course, look at the breast and fat buttock is also my request.

He said.

It is because of his thorough understanding of fashion that he will use Dior's gray gray as the keynote, and use 56 different tonal ashes for the renovation of Montaigne Avenue flagship store, so that he can build a ChanelNo.5 perfume box on the Rodeo Drive with white glass and black steel bars.