Emerging Markets
French president Sarkozy’s decision to boycott the opening of the Olympic Games is creating public relations issues for French brands. First, a blog scuffle broke out between Chinese nationalists which accused French supermarket chain Carrefour of supporting pro-Tibet independence groups, and which called for a boycott of French products. And now the luxury industry has reacted.
With China as a booming market for luxury goods, perhaps it’s no surprise that Bernard Arnault has taken the swift initiative to deny that LVMH has any pro-Tibet affiliation.
Arnault denied claims that have appeared on Chinese blogs. He said that LVMH has no any political or religious affiliation ‘whatsoever’ and it is not giving financial support to Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. — (Via Reuters)
Emerging Markets
Indian luxury is booming…
The $450 million luxury brands industry, which plans to stick to its high tagline, is all set to witness a whopping 1.40 lakh families spend on such brands by 2010 as compared to 2,000 families in 2002. — (Via Financial Express)
And is so successful that everyone in India seems to have a premiumization strategy, including McDonalds…
“It is fundamentally a problem of greed,” says Anand Halve, co-founder, Chlorophyll Brand Communications Consultancy Pvt. Ltd, who maintains that just as a mass brand will always envy the margins of a premium brand, a premium brand will always envy the volumes of a mass brand. So, it makes sense for a mass brand to look at improving its margin profile through propositions that could include personalization, premium services and higher price points. — (Via Wall Street Journal)
