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Luxury Quality+Clear Market Positioning+Brand Building

Luxury brands are different from common products for reasons other than their sometimes higher prices. Luxury is found in the exquisiteness of craft, an object or service’s rarity and the special feeling that arises among those who like the feel, the quality or the core values represented by a luxury item. Luxury reflects the values of those who pursue it.

This is how Zhang Yuejin, general manager of the Beijing Lufthansa Centre, understands the core competitive edge of the world’s leading brands.

Among the first of the high-end shopping malls in Beijing, the Lufthansa Centre has always displayed many international brands, which has helped establish its status as a prime luxury shopping centre. This has, in turn, caused many Chinese domestic brands to seek placement in the Lufthansa Centre, which allows them to compete with international brands while enhancing their own brand value. Well aware of both domestic and international brands, Zhang knows the difference between the two, and has formed his own ideas about how domestic brands should approach the market and speed up their journey in becoming world leading brands.

Luxury brands can bring more value than common brands to their customers. The value of the brand is reflected in its functional aspects, yet they often epitomize cultural, spiritual and other added values. Only when the added value of a luxury product or service surpasses its functional value and begins to give customers a sense of spiritual value and proof of their good taste are customers are willing to pay more for a brand, allowing the brand to prosper. 

But all these values must be unique; that’s why Chinese brands cannot copy others. They must develop their own concepts and ideals, seek the response of targeted customers, and design and distribute its products based on its core values.

China has been known as the world’s workshop for a long time. Many of the products of world leading brands are actually “made in China.” It’s sound proof that Chinese companies are completely capable of producing high-quality goods. Still, they need to create their own brands to earn the largest profit margins.

To be sure, some domestic brands have realized their own value and have found ways to compete on the international market. One is Shanghai Tang, a clothing brand that features a “combination” of traditional Chinese clothes that are gorgeous and elegant and modern fashion elements that emphasize comfort.

The brand has won the love of many Hollywood stars and has opened outlets in the most famous commercial streets in New York, Paris, London and Roma.

“Domestic companies have made a lot of effort in improving their product quality. However, in terms of brand building, they are not paying enough attention,” said Liu. “Many of them try to enter all kinds of stores, which means they do not have a clear idea about positioning their brands,” unlike many international leading brands that have a clear market position and strategic plan. The “Lufthansa” brand, for example, has set its goal as to serve high-end customers by providing top-calibre brands and services. Today, “Lufthansa” has become synonymous with luxury and social status, which has won them a stable of wealthy and dependable customers.

张跃进：高档品牌更讲究心灵的沟通

文/薛京晶

筹办奥运的7年，是北京经济发展稳定性最好、发展最快、持续时间最长的一段时期，在结构不断优化、质量和效益不断提高的基础上，2007年，北京实现地区生产总值9000亿元，同比增长12.5％，连续9年保持两位数增长，地方财政收入达到1492亿元，同比增长33.6%，保持了年均20％以上的增长速度……

据世界奢侈品协会发布的报告显示，2007年，中国消费者在首饰、服装、皮具、香水等奢侈品(不包括私人飞机和游艇)上的消费总额达到80亿美元，占全球市场份额的18%，消费人数占总人口的13%。成为仅次于日本的全球第二大奢侈品消费国。预计到2010年，中国将有2.5亿消费者有能力购买奢侈品，消费总额将达到2000亿元；到2015年，中国奢侈品消费总额将占全球市场份额的32%，并超过日本。

正如北京燕莎友谊商城总经理张跃进所说，燕莎商城定位是为中国和在中国工作、居住的高端消费人士服务的商场。近几年来，随着经营策略的调整，越来越多的国际奢侈品品牌进入燕莎商城。与此同时，前来燕莎洽谈的国内品牌也不胜枚举，这些品牌希望跻身于世界奢侈品的品牌行列，以此提升自己。时常与奢侈品牌打交道的张跃进对国内品牌与国际品牌的差距颇有感触，对中国品牌快速成长为国际名牌有着独到的见解。

张跃进认为，相比大众化品牌而言，奢侈品的品牌能给目标顾客带来更大的价值，这种价值不仅仅是产品功能性的，而是在其中浓缩了品牌的文化成分，因此必须在功能性的基础上增加精神上的价值、文化的价值、附加的价值。“只有超出附加价值的时候，消费者愿意获得更多精神的利益，愿意为它付出更多，同时体现消费者的品位和带来更多的快乐，这一品牌才会成长起来。我们应该从理念上、过程上、思路上更多地了解奢侈品产品的背景及其规律。”

张跃进认为，要创建中国自己的顶级品牌，就不能够抄袭其他国家的品牌，而应该首先在这一产品领域，找到中国自己的独特的理念和信仰，再把这种价值观呈现给世界的消费者，使他们能够接受，“创建顶级品牌的诀窍在于如何发现自我，如何创建一个品牌强有力的具有吸引力的故事，在这个基础上搭建自己的化妆品或者服装的产品线”。

比如在纽约第五大道、巴黎、伦敦和罗马最繁华的街道都开创自己专柜和店铺的“上海滩”，从创建之初到今天，一直都非常尊重中国的文化和历史，也得到了国际奢侈品业的认同。

“品牌品牌，无非由品质和牌子构成，国内很多的生产线，像深圳、江浙这一带，包括东北很多城市，都是给世界很多大品牌加工的。”张跃进认为，国内很多品牌的“品”已经达到了很高的程度，但是却嫁接在别人的牌子上，在国内和国外商场内你很可能买到的是中国产的国际名牌。

在张跃进看来，中国企业普遍不太重视“牌”的经营，在品牌运作中没有把中国博大精深的文化和奢侈品品牌运作的规律结合起来，“奢侈品的特征不仅仅是贵，它和一般品牌的不同之处还在于制作工艺的精良、购买的不便利性，更表现在一个精彩的深入人心的品牌故事，这个经典的品牌故事诠释了品牌内涵，从而使高端客户从内心认同这种价值理念。”张跃进认为，就世界众多品牌的成功案例来看，高档品牌更讲究心灵的沟通，奢侈品品牌的服务个性化很强，甚至是一对一的服务，因此需要选准合适的销售渠道，以锁定相应的消费群体。

“保持准确、清晰的经营定位和坚持特色化经营，是品牌的核心价值所在”，张跃进说，从打造“燕莎”这一品牌来看，商城在开业初期就确定了服务高消费的经营定位和高档化、品牌化、系列化的商品经营策略，如今这一核心价值已被消费者认知和接受。对此，有关专家也表示，基于燕莎与国际时尚接轨的优势，国内品牌进入燕莎不仅会受到国内外高档消费人群的青睐，在与其他国际名牌同台竞技的时候也赢得了自信，积累了更多的经验，为走向世界创造了良好的条件。

张跃进认为，国内奢侈品市场的发展势头越来越好，国外一些大企业对中国奢侈品市场的开发力度也越来越大，这对于国内高档品牌的打造也提出了新的挑战。“但竞争本身就是进步的一个动力，有竞争才有不断的发展，商业进步与否，要看整体服务人群的愉悦度是否越来越高。”