An over-due commitment: luxury & the web

New to the PFSK team is Colorado fashion darling Brittany Ancell. In her debut appearance, she questions the reluctance of luxury brands to embrace the web…

Through the increasing popularity of the internet, websites have become a companies’ most valuable tool in creating and publicizing a brand image. Yet, only in the past year has Estee Lauder launched its site. Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Manolo Blahnik – to name a few – still refuse to use their virtual space for the purpose of selling. The question begs – why are luxury brands so hesitant to use the web?

DISTRIBUTION, DISTRIBUTION, DISTRIBUTION

Before the advent of the internet, a woman in search of a product such as Estee Lauder Youth Dew perfume had only one option in obtaining the fragrance: to visit a department store that carried the Estee Lauder line and purchase it through this retail middle-man. Brands like Estee Lauder have never viewed themselves as direct retailers; instead, they prefer to work through such relationships to both reduce overhead costs and allow the customer an experience in which the shopper can browse freely between brands. Alas, Estee Lauder still profits heavily; it’s the parent brand to several other cosmetics companies, like Stila and Clinique.

In an effort to please variety-minded consumers, Estee Lauder first entered the web-game through an investment in the cosmetics super-site Gloss.com. This way, online shoppers were able to buy their cosmetics on familiar terms, through a third-party retailer. Soon after, Estee Lauder agreed to allow the distribution of its goods through the websites of those merchandisers it already had relationships with (such as Neiman Marcus and brandchannel.com).

VIRTUAL DEMOCRATIZATION

Ultimately, the internet can be regarded as a democratizing force; it’s accessible, cheap and widespread. On the other hand, luxury brands rely upon their elitism to generate desirability. Then, the values of the internet and the values of luxury brands are in inherent opposition. How would the fashion landscape change if Dior’s entire collection were available to everybody, all the time? That woman buying Youth Dew could live in rural Iowa, far from the metropolitan centers that typically house the department stores that sell such goods. She could perhaps find a deal on the fragrance, buying a refilled tester bottle on eBay for half of the standard price. Suddenly, Youth Dew has lost its exclusivity, and in the eyes of the luxury brands, its significance, too.

Also, luxury brands fear the lack of control over their product that the internet facilitates. Price point, distribution, and authenticity all become quite uncontrollable, and when a brand is founded upon precisely upon control and exclusivity, entering such a world becomes quite threatening. However, the internet has become such an important part of our lives that simply ignoring the issue creates a big problem – luxury brands may find themselves completely irrelevant as younger generations become interested in the market. Although the task is not an easy one, luxury companies must find a way to enter the internet landscape in an authentic but hip way; otherwise, they might just perish under their assumed self-importance.

Words Brittany Ancell