Luxury Institute Survey Reveals Risk of Brand Dilution

(IDEX Online News) – A recent survey by the Luxury Institute discovered that while many affluent shoppers – those with a household income of $150,000 or more – welcome brand partnerships, half of these affluent consumers believe that partnering with another brand – luxury or mainstream – could damage the brand’s image or reputation.

According to the survey, the industries where partnerships are seen as most fruitful are hotels and resorts, travel, fashion and airlines.

The survey revealed that women are far more likely than men to applaud fashion partnerships, as well as those involving jewelry and beauty.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, men are most enthusiastic about partnerships involving automobile companies while affluent shoppers older than 50 are especially interested in airline and cruise collaborations.

Luxury brand collaborations wealthy shoppers would like to see include Michael Kors and Apple, Chanel and Air France, and Lexus and The Ritz-Carlton.

However, brands need to be careful about the sort of partnerships they create. "Brands should partner with companies with similar values and service standards to avoid potential risks of collaboration," says Luxury Institute CEO Milton Pedraza. "This maintains credibility and helps to ensure a consistently positive customer experience."