Brand Building: Luxury Leather Goods Brands Anatomized

Abstract

Abstract Brand building is central to achieving differentiation in most economic sectors. This is paramount for luxury goods where customers buy a symbol as much as a product. The brand and its image are key factors for competitive advantage and brand building is a central competence for luxury goods companies. This study aims to explore brand building of traditional luxury leather goods brands. A multiple case study of Delvaux, Bottega Veneta, Hermès and Loewe allows us to replicate and extend Fionda and Moore’s (2009 Fionda, A. and Moore, C. 2009. The anatomy of a luxury fashion brand. Journal of Brand Management, 16(5/6): 347–363. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) findings about luxury fashion brands. Results show that the nine dimensions identified by these authors also apply to these brands. Moreover, five additional sub-dimensions are uncovered-website, e-shop, link with art, customization and workshop-and these should be taken into account in the brand building process. These exploratory results provide insights to managers for their on-going efforts to keep their brands competitive.