Luxury Brands

Learning the secrets of Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hermès

Although Hermès Birkin handbags can cost more than a family sedan, consumers have long gone to great lengths to get one. Others save up for years for a Burberry trench coat or a Chanel quilted purse. Why are goods like these—beyond the reach of most people—so coveted?

The reasons are analyzed in Roberta Clarke’s new marketing class, Luxury Brands. “There’s a growth in the luxury market—it’s been growing faster than any other part of retail,” says Clarke, an associate professor of marketing.

Her classes have focused on the counterfeit market, sustainable development, China’s insatiable interest in luxury goods, and the decision luxury brands wrestled with a few years ago about their online presence. To appear more exclusive, some brands opted to have bare-bones websites, with no prices available (like Chanel, until recently).

One reason that brands resisted an online presence for so long, Clarke says, is they felt strongly about what shoppers experience when they walk into a brick-and-mortar store—it’s the only way customers can smell a $2,500 leather handbag or feel a $400 silk Hermès scarf. Another benefit of shopping in a store, these retailers say, is the chance to build strong customer relationships.

In her class, Clarke asks students whether there’s a way that brands can re-create this feeling online. These days, they learn, luxury brands are attempting to allow customers to try out their products using augmented reality.