Luxury heavyweights agree value of authenticity and emotion in recession

Published: 25-Nov-2010

Key lies beyond the product


Luxury brand heavyweights, including from the personal care product sector, this month agreed at an International Herald Tribune ‘Heritage’ luxury conference that during economic recessions, authenticity and emotion are the keys to customers’ hearts… and purses.

“Man can cheat, it generates anxiety and people buy on emotion,” said Stanislas de Quercize, ceo of Paris-based Van Cleef & Arpels. Patrizio di Marco, ceo of Gucci, maker of Flora and Guilty perfumes, added: “We want to show the emotion beyond the product.”

Michele Scannivani, who heads Coty Prestige, said authenticity is of the essence. The secret is to understand “the DNA of a brand and translate it into a scent” that carries the codes making the brand unique and conveying timelessness and elitism, sentiments that echoed a Mintel cosmetics report published this year. The report said personal care product buyers increasingly demand trust, reliability and protection, looking for nostalgia and quality ingredients to shield them from the cold outside world.

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