Fashion Going Digital

I found a very compelling article the past day concerning the delay in the fashion industry to adopt the internet (advertisements and sales), and how high-end brands are now scrambling to catch up.

Digital Killing Luxury Brands (AdWeek)

It explained that historically, the allure of high-end brand was its inaccessibility.  The fact that certain brands could only be owned by the wealthy that could afford them gave the customer a certain sense of satisfaction.  The internet is all about accessibility, and therefore it made sense that the high-end brands would shy away from embracing this new (back when it was still new) technology.

Well, the numbers just don't lie, and the numbers became too compelling to ignore.

Quote from the article*

Eighty percent of people with an income of over $250,000 are social media users according to Unity Marketing research, and 50 percent have used social media to learn more about a brand or see new products. Data from management consulting firm L.E.K. Consulting shows that those earning more than $150,000 are the only people spending more than they did before the recession. 

With numbers like that what are you going to do, right?

I'm a believer in the very simple concept that fashion is about making you feel better.  May it be from self image (I think I look good), exclusivity (I'm special/unique because I have this rare item), or whatever, the biggest benefit of fashion is not its utility, but its psychological affects.

Gucci, Prada, Patek etc. becoming "common" would be a sad thing, but I also think that more people knowing of these brands won't detract from their appeal and exclusivity at all.  So, is digitization ruining brands, or is it the pricing strategy of the brands that is eroding their appeal.

Brand management has to include pricing discipline (and its not the digital industry's fault).