2.4 The risc study
Risc International is a consulting firm specializing in consumer research and brand marketing, and a pioneer of research into attitudes toward luxury in different countries.
RISC conducts studies every year in three major zones: The United states, Japan, and five European countries (France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, and Spain).
The overall brand interest (the dream) is summarized in Table 1.
TABLE 1 Top Luxury Dream Brands
Japan
United States
Europe
Rolex 40.9% Rolex 39.3% Armani 21.6%
Hermes 31.1% Tiffany 32.6% Chanel 20.1%
Bvlgari 30.2% Calvin Klein 27.3% Calvin Klein 18.1%
Gucci 29.1% Gucci 25.7% Hugo Boss 16.5%
Louis Vuitton 28.5% Armani 25.5% Dior 14.8%
Tiffany 27.6% Tommy Hilfiger 25.1% Rolex 12%
Ralph Lauren 24.7 % Cartier 10%
Cartier 24.4% Gucci 10%
From this we can see that only two brands – Rolex and Gucci – are common to all three zones. Very few of the others – Tiffany, Armani, Calvin Klein, and Cartier – were in more than one zone, Here, again, we can see the differences in perception and in brand status.
In Japan, there is a strong concentration on a few iconic brands, with very high percentages, Also, of the six top brands, only Gucci is really a fashion brand; all the others are high-status jewelry, watch, or leather-goods brands.
The RISC studies go well beyond presenting brand performances and can explain major shifts in those performances. They can also compare social and cultural trends and the differences in each zone between purchasers and nonpurchasers of luxury products, as illustrated in Table 2. Here, the responses of the users of luxury products are recorded and measured against n index of 100 that is used to indicate the level of interest of the average consumer. If we take, for example, the first figure of 148, this indicate an average interest in fashion of 100, those who are luxury-product users register 48 percent higher than the average consumer.
TABLE 2 Values Specific to Luxury-Product Users (index of 100 for average consumers)
Japan United States Europe
Interest in fashion 148 181 156
Self-performance 154 141 158
Multiple identity 134 137 142
Gender identity 173 173 140
Seeking challenge 142 158 140
Cultural mobility 138 169 139
Personalization 138 141 139
Body enhancement 142 139 137
Personal impression 136 148 137
F ame and fortune 142 122 134
There are few differences between the three zones. While, at first sight, it might appear that the Americans have a greater interest in fashion than other nationalities, in fact, luxury product users are less numerous in percentage terms in the United States than, for example, in Japan. They simply stand out from the crowd more than in Japan, where the interest for luxury is more general.
From these results it appears that luxury purchasers all want:
To be individuals. They seek self-development, individual freedom, personal creativity, and autonomy.
To mix styles. They play with codes and integrate foreign ways of life.
To be winners. They have a strong social presence, they seek challenges, and they like to experiment.
To be distinctive. They want to be different from others and to assert their individuality. They are fashion trendsetters, using their appearance to express their difference, their modernity, and their creativity and to achieve their social ambitions.
To look and perform better. They care about their body, looking on it as a source of sensations and pleasure, as a partner to their success.
To keep their vitality – physical, mental, and emotional.
From everything that we have seen in this part, it is clear that creating a brand that satisfies every customer in the world is a real challenge. This is a situation in which market research is absolutely necessary, but market research that is based on consumer attitudes and expectations.
As I finish my review of the luxury client, it must have become obvious that in this very strong marketing environment, where emotional values have an overriding impact on the acceptability and desirability of a product, market research, undertaken in different parts of the world, is an essential tool for success.