Brand Extensions in the Luxury Industry

Abstract

Brand extensions are an interesting brand strategy alternative, as they may attract new segments of customers who, for various reasons, may have not considered the luxury brand before. The luxury brand extensions have gained such momentum that today a fan of a luxury fashion house is able not only to dress herself from head to toe in a beloved designer’s clothes, but also serve dinner in the same designer’s porcelain dinnerware or simply dine in the restaurant under the same designer’s name (Ralph Lauren, for example). The American luxury jewelry brand Tiffany & Co., long known for fulfilling every woman’s dreams by offering high-end jewelry and high-quality silver accessories in the iconic blue box, decided to try gaining more business by extending the brand into watches, hand-bags and briefcases. Some luxury fashion brands, like Gucci and Stella McCartney, have joined many others, like Burberry and Ralph Lauren, in targeting children (or their fashion-conscious mothers) by offering children’s wear lines – a popular luxury fashion brand extension.