SUBJECT: LUXURY BRAND MANAGEMENT

TOPIC: BRAND CHARTER OF A HYPOTHETICAL HOME GROWN

LUXURY BRAND

Submitted By:
AMAN KUMAR (MFM/18/288)

ANKIT AKASH (MFM/18/956)

LIZA NAGPAL (MFM/18/427)

LAKSHESHA SHARMA( MFM/18/423)

SHIKHA KUSHWAHA (MFM/18/697)

SHRUTI DAKWALE (MFM/18/304)

Submitted To:
DR. RISHIKESH KUMAR

Department of Fashion Management Studies (FMS)

National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)

Mithapur, Near Jakkanpur Thana

Patna, PIN - 800001
Ph. 91 612 2340032, Fax: 2360078
Web: www.nift.ac.in
December, 2019

1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We consider ourselves very fortunate to get an opportunity to do a project which would help us
gain so much of knowledge. We got an opportunity to understand different aspects of Luxury
brand and brand charter.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our professor Dr.Rishikesh Kumar for
providing his continuous guidance and suggestion throughout the project without which the
completion of this project would not be possible. Then we would like to thank all the team
members for continuous enthusiasm throughout the project which helped in execution of the plan
on ground level and to understand the present market scenario better.

Lastly, we would also like to thank our friends and family for their continuous encouragement
through the completion of this project.

2
3
Brand Overview: AMALGAMATION
Carpets are an integral part of Indian home Decor and lifestyle through ages. Used for both
functional and aesthetics purposes, Carpets in the country were introduced under the Mughal era
and continued to maintain its royal legacy throughout the generations. Heritage, culture and
tradition is what makes carpet royal and involves huge dedication of artisans, intricacies of
designs and patterns, time and effort taken to produce them and uniqueness of handcrafted touch
made carpets a luxury always and thus were used by the royals as a symbol of luxury.

Carpets once introduced in the country continued to be the part of Indian lifestyle till date and
marks the presence of handcrafted luxury, with several design evolutions and changes in the
weave styles carpet industry has transformed according to the taste and preferences of the
customers and in this line with a zeal of creating a unique product experience for the customer,
luxury brand AMALGAMATION has
been created taking Indian heritage
carpet as its product.

The word amalgamation refers to the

process or action of combining two or
more products and making it to one. It
shows the blend, combination and
fusion of two different styles, designs
or material to create one master piece
and this is only the core value of the
brand Amalgamation.

Amalgamation, an Indian home grown

luxury brand will serve the upper and
elite class customers who appreciate the beauty and significance of Indian handloom and
handicraft products by giving them an opportunity to experience a fusion of two different
cultural handicraft styles into one product. Each and every Indian handicraft is unique and has a
rich traditional and cultural history. For example combining the art of Ikkat with Bandhani or
Chikankari with Tie & dye; This implies that the brand will produce unique carpets which are
handcrafted by the artisans with great dedication and effort; consist of two or more Indian craft
styles blended together to create master piece and adding more values of exclusivity,
sophistication and elegance to the same.

The brand logo reflects the value of the brand where the two different horizontal bars in different
shades of brown are coming and combining together to create one product i.e. carpet.

The brand will have two exclusive luxury stores in the country, Initially in Delhi followed by
Mumbai which will reflect Indian cultural values in a contemporary way.

4
USER PERSONA
Luxury brands are driven by art, design, and exceptional customer experiences, something that is
evident in their physical stores. User persona gives a detailed insight into customer’s mind. User
personas allows to delve into important issues like, preferred forms of content, pain points, time
constraints, and goals. That helps the brand to create a strategic layout, and a custom user
experience.

The brand Amalgamation will have following attributes in user persona. It will look into target
customers need and desire, their preferences, hobbies or interests, their income level, relationship
status, etc.

The brand will target the Upper class people, Luxury hotels,Royal Families, celebrities, Business
Men and Women.

MARKEING MIX

Product:

The product strategy and mix in amalgamation marketing strategy can be explained as follows:
Amalgamation is a premium luxury brand that sells finest products. It makes 100% pure hand
crafted products and pays utmost care to not let be the designs and make of the product easily
imitable. Amalgamation has consciously chosen to only make handmade products and not make
machine made. The company hires finest craftsmen and ensures that the product is completely
unique. The company registers all its designs and product to avoid imitation. Amalgamation
makes finest carpets with merging different crafts on it. All these cover the products in the
marketing mix of Amalgamation

Price:
Below is the pricing strategy in Amalgamation marketing strategy:
Amalgamation uses value based pricing in its marketing mix for its products. Since customers
perceive the company’s products as high value products, the customers are willing to pay the
amount. Amalgamation pays special attention to the quality of the material, the designs and make
of the products. Thus, the cost price of the products eventually goes very high. Since the target
customers of the brand are elite customers, Amalgamation uses premium pricing policy to price
its products. The brand and its product are a style statement and hence customers easily pay the
exorbitant prices.

5
Carpets with sizes Prices

5'' x 3'' 5,00,000

6'' x 4'' 6,00,000

8'' x 5'' 8,00,000

9'' x 6'' 11,00,000

11'' x 8'' 13,00,000

12'' x 9'' 15,00,000

Place:
Following is the distribution strategy of Amalgamation
Amalgamation ensures exclusive distribution channel. Their products are not sold at any
departmental stores. The company believes in having their own stores. Amalgamation has their
highly specialized sales persons trained to treat their customers with utmost care. They treat their
customers with high warmth and provide personalized attention. They have limited stores and
hence the customer walks up to the store. The limited Amalgamation stores reduce costs for the
company because the distribution channel is shorter.

Promotion:
The promotional and advertising strategy in the Amalgamation marketing strategy is as follows:
Amalgamation employs famous musicians, actors and models in their marketing campaigns.
Some of the well-known personalities who have been associated with the brand are Deepika
padukon, Vidya Balan, MP Kiran Kher etc. Amalgamation is a luxury brand and hence the
celebrities make a better emotional connect with the brand. It has also employed famous
personalities like celebrities Vidya Balan and Kiran Kher in its marketing campaigns. Its primary
source of promotion is print media. In cosmopolitan cities, magazines and billboards work the
best for the company. The exclusiveness of the Brand is portrayed through fashion magazines
that the elite class reads. Amalgamation does not use television as a medium of promotion
primarily because it chooses to remain as a luxury brand and there by wants to be seen by a
certain class of people. Thus it reaches out at its target audience directly rather than using
multiple channels.

6
SEGMENTATION TARGETING POSITIONING
Amalgamation started out with providing luxury products exclusively for the very wealthy
people of the society. Although times have changed and the market for luxury products has
increased enormously, Amalgamation still targets the wealthy. The creativity, exclusivity,
craftsmanship, precision, high quality, innovation and premium pricing are product attributes that
not only give the consumer the satisfaction of owning expensive items, but the extra-added
psychological benefits like prestige and a sense of upper crust that reminds them and others that
they belong to an exclusive group of a selected few.

Demographic Segmentation

Amalgamation targets genders, men and women, from 35 to 65 years of age obviously
wealthy. Business men and women with high income and disposable income.

Psychographic Segmentation

Amalgamation uses psychographic segmentation such as lifestyle and motives to further identify
its target market. In countries like India people need to show their social status, and wealth.
Amalgamation appeals to these customers with status related motives.

The traditional craft segmentation is Amalgamation is an ultimate strategy. The slogan "The Art
of Traveling" set new standards for a luxury lifestyle. Since traveling is an art, then owing an
Amalgamation product makes you part of that art.

Geographic segmentation

Amalgamation is very conscious of the places it locate its brands considering the fact that they
are exclusive and of great quality.

Amalgamation operates in very few states in India where consumer are willing to satisfy their
wants by paying higher prices for the product and also satisfying their wants in terms of quality.
For example, South Delhi where people are willing to pay more for quality.

Amalgamation mainly operates in south Delhi, south Mumbai (Tardeo)

TARGETING

Amalgamation targets consumers that value fine craftsmanship, tradition, style, and above all
else, exclusivity. More specifically, Amalgamation targets the following two segments: wealthy
middle aged men and women from 35 to 65 years old who have disposable income and are brand
aspirants. The average Amalgamation consumer is a part of the upper economic and social class
and is traditionally aware. These consumers have the need to feel prestigious and emphasize the
importance of self-esteem and power when they are using the product which has the rich history
related to it.

7
POSITIONING

The long history, craftsmanship, exceptional quality, creativity, unstoppable innovation,

association with art etc., position Amalgamation as the Master of Luxury in consumers' mind.

FACETS OF LUXURY

In the present day, Luxury has gone global, and attracts customers from all over the world. It has
also attracted entrepreneurs from all over the world. When we think of luxury, we focus on the
brand and the manner in which a maker distinguishes his particular products from those of other
makers.

There are certain attributes which comes under the Facets of Luxury, these are:

 Quality of work

Another perspective on luxury is that a good must have quality of workmanship in two
regards: the object must be difficult to create, and the purchaser must appreciate and value
the workmanship As suggested in regard to pleasure, luxury is not merely having money to
spend, but in knowing what to acquire by spending it.Mass-produced and machine made
products are not valued in the same way as limited-production and hand-made ones. Given to
items of identical quality, in terms that can be objectively measured (weight, thickness, alloy,
etc.), the one that required greater human effort is considered the more precious.

 Luxury and Cultural mediation

A strong brand resonates with its consumers, who are aficionados who have the
sophistication and acculturation to appreciate its qualities. One such quality is the
embodiment of vulture: the rituals, stories, and legends that the brand embodies. As such,
culture is perhaps the most significant explanatory facture in the differentiating luxury goods
from expensive goods: their prestige is intrinsic.

In terms of social distance, culture is a more difficult signifier than wealth. It is difficult to
purchase an expensive product because of its price. It is impossible to be willing to pay that
price if one does not appreciate the item.

 Luxury and History

There can be no luxury brand without roots" to create the story and mythology that make the
brand more than a mere object of consumption. The great European brands draw a great deal
from the history and culture of their locations.

8
 However, the history in itself is not important without a myth created around it. A brand that
is over a century old is not automatically a luxury by virtue of its age. A young luxury brand
can borrow on or invent a history.

 Luxury and Time

Luxury is slow and leisurely, which is where it defies the tyranny of time in the mass-
market, where speed is of the essence. Standard products must be designed, manufactured,
and delivered to the waiting customer as quickly as possible - there is an urgency to satisfy a
pressing need. The luxury of time may be embodied in ingredients: wine and spirits must
age for a long period of time to gain their character - to rush them to market too soon would
spoil their character. Time is taken in design, where meeting a production deadline is less
important than getting the design right.

Time may be a factor in workmanship: a work that requires years of effort to produce is of
greater quality than one that is knocked out in a slapdash manner. Time is required to find a
luxury. It does not come knocking at your door, begging to be let in, but you must seek it out
and invest some effort in obtaining it.

 Luxury and Craftsmanship

Artisanship alone is not luxury until it approaches the edge of artistry. India has some of the
best luxury artisans who make objects of wondrous quality using primitive tools.

 Luxury and Rarity

Rarity is central to the concept of luxury: if it is to signify a rare and exceptional person, it
must be a rare and exceptional product, on par with their own distinction. All luxury speaks
of rarity: rarity of ingredients, artisans, know-how, and the ultimate rarity, the brand and the
values it respects.

 Luxury and Pricing

Just because a product is expensive, does not mean it is a luxury product. But conversely,
all luxury products are expensive. Expensiveness intensifies rarity and gives reason to
believe that the product delivers on excellence. (Jim.Shamlin, 2019)

Facets of Luxury in regards to the brand Amalgamation

 Luxury and History

There can be no luxury brand without roots, without a history to provide the brand a
fabulous treasure. The history of Amalgamation lies with the history of carpet industry.

9
 Carpet industry in India is one of the oldest and the most popular industries. India has
always had an ancient heritage of carpet weaving, a craft that has various skill and expertise
from lands as various as Persia, China and Afghanistan. The carpet industry came into
existence when Babar came to India, he was disappointed by the lack of luxuries here. He
missed the luxuries of Persia, which included the Persian carpet and thus Akbar laid the
foundation of carpet weaving tradition in India, in 1580 AD at his palace in Agra. Akbar
established carpet weavings centers at Agra, Delhi and Lahore to facilitate production of
Persian styled carpets.

 Luxury and Time

Luxury takes time, it has time. This is what distinguishes Amalgamation from the
productivity logic of Industry, where efficiency is the criteria of good management and good
products.
All the carpets which are produced under the brand are created with the fusion of indian
crafts. These crafts takes their own time to get produced.

 Luxury and Craftsmanship

Amalgamation itself is a sign of artisanship, and devotion to a process whose goal is quality
rather than efficiency. All the artisans involved in the manufacturing process creates artistic
products which all are handcrafted.

 Luxury and Rarity

Under the brand Amalgamation, a limited number of carpets are produced for its target
clients. All the products are rare because of the hand crafting process. The artisans tries to
inculcate the distinction in each and every product.

 Luxury and Pricing

The prices of the products are generally high because artisans are involved in the production.
Apart from this, 2 or more crafts are blended together to create a single product which takes
time to get produced.

BRAND IDENTITY PRISM

In 1996, Jean-Noël Kapferer aimed to conceptualize what he considers the six elements of a
brand’s identity. The Brand Identity Prism works as a diagram to help us understand these
elements and how they relate to one another. Together, Kapferer argues, the elements help
businesses build strong brands, which in turn helps them communicate clearly and transparently
and be easily remembered and recognized.

The key elements of Kapferer’s model are as follows:

 Physique
 Personality
 Culture
10
 Relationship
 Self-image
 Reflection

The Kapferer Brand Identity Prism places these six elements in relation to each other by taking
into consideration their position between the business (Sender) and client (Recipient), and vice
versa. The areas defined between these points range from internal (Personality, Culture, Self-
image) to external (Physique, Relationship, Reflection), and many paths can be drawn to join
each area. (How brands are built, 2018)

PHYSIQUE
This element of the brand identity prism is very significant in giving the customers an insight of
what the brand is, it involves the physical, tangible and both intangible, visual imaginary which
defines the brand elements and builds an image in the mind of the customers which they can
easily recall and connect with. These elements include signs, logo, taglines, colors, gestures,
postures, store visuals, props and physical evidence which build the resemblance traits.

PHYSIQUE OF AMALGAMATION
The brand Amalgamation has a logo with two different horizontal bars in shades of brown
coming together which resembles with the shape of carpet and gives customer an idea about the
fusion of crafts in the product. The store’s exterior façade will include a window display of two
carpets in the air, supported by rope hangings from all around and will yellow focus lighting on
the same to highlight the product with amalgamation as brand name written with glass. Thus
these elements will build a luxurious contemporary image in the mind of the customers and they
will relate and recall the brand as soon as they hear about the same.

RELATIONSHIP
This element from the identity prism tells how the relationship between the customers and the
brand will be established, what the customers feel after getting connected with the brand and
how the brand deals with its customers by including strategies and plans to keep customer loyal
and satisfied.

RELATIONSHIP OF AMALGAMATION
The brand will build an emotional relationship with the customers, as the brand is working
closely with the artisans of the country who with great effort and dedication create the master
piece, so the product speaks about the journey andthe hard work involved in creating a the
product which represents rich cultural heritage of India and hence a sense of emotional feeling
arise in the customer’s mind. Also by purchasing the luxurious carpets,which are handcrafted
and thus are of unique quality and designs and getting personalized services from the brand,
Customers might become loyal with the brand and will wish and dream of purchasing in future.

11
REFLECTION
Reflection as an element becomes the external mirror of the brand , which means it reflects the
thoughts and views of the customers about the customers, these opinions about the brand are
what customer perceives about it and develop an idea and opinion of what and how the brand is.

REFLECTION OF THE BRAND AMALGAMATION

The brand will have reflection traits such as Indian Handcrafted luxury, classic products,
culturally rich styles and designs, premium and high end prices, creative and contemporary.
These traits could be perceived by the customers after getting a fair idea of what the brand is and
what product offerings it has.

PERSONALITY
Through the various marketing efforts that a brand undertakes foritself, it is going to develop a
specific personality or voice. It is common in the advertising world for brands to develop a
personality and then maintain that personality over long periods of time. This personality comes
to represent the brand itself, and consumers associate the two directly. Whatever personality it is
that a brand wishes to give its business, it is important to stick with it once it has resonated with
the audience. (Kapferer’s Brand Identity Prism, 2017)

PERSONALITY OF AMALGAMATION
Amalgamation will have a royal and elegant personality as it is associated with Indian heritage
and culture. The brand will reflect elegant, minimal and sophisticated personality as it will give
an essence of modernity. The consumer will relate to the brand with a modern personality
because of its above mentioned traits.

CULTURE
Some of the key elements of the brand may be deeply rooted in local culture. On a large scale,
this cultural effect could be seen on a national level, such as brands that are proud to be British,
American, French, etc. Or, for smaller products in local markets, it could be that the culture
comes from a specific region. It can be a powerful emotional tie to associate with the brand with
a specific geographical area and culture, as people who connect with that culture will feel
compelled to patronize with the brand.

CULTURE OF AMALGAMATION
Amalgamation will have Indian origin and its roots will be deeply rooted in India. The brand will
reflect Indian culture and values. It will also have handcrafted values as artisans will be
associated with the brand.

12
SELF IMAGE
The buyer of a particular brand wants to receive a certain feeling about him or herself as a result
of purchasing an item from the brand. The image that the brand has in the world and what that
brand says to others, goes a long way toward improving the self-image of the buyers themselves.
Self-image is like a mirror the target group holds up to itself—by associating themselves with
certain brands, they see themselves differently. (Kapferer’s Brand Identity Prism, 2017)

SELF IMAGE OF AMALGAMATION

Amalgamation will speak to others as I aspire to represent Indian handcrafted luxury. It will
speak out for its handcrafted values and Indian origin.

13
 PICTURE OF THE SENDER

PHYSIQUE PERSONALITY
 Royal
 Brand name Amalgamation in shades of
 Elegant
brown
 Sophisticated
 Logo with horizontal bars in shades of
 Modern
brown
 Store’s VM with hanging carpets
 Culture inspired ambience
With contemporary touch in store
 Yellow lighting

I
E
N
X RELATIONSHIP CULTURE T
T
E
E
 Emotional  Indian origin R
R
 Customer loyalty N
N  Innovations A
A  Sense of  Hand crafted L
L Personalization I
I
 Unique product S
S
Experience with feel of A
A
T
T Indian handcrafted
I
I luxury O
O  Connect through art N
N
and exhibition events

REFLECTION SELF-IMAGE

 Indian heritage products I aspire to represent

 Contemporary designs Indian handcrafted
 Elegant and classy luxury
 Luxury of handicraft
 High quality

PICTURE OF THE RECEIVER

14
BRAND CHARTER: SHORT TERM STRATEGY STATEMENT
A brand charter is an overall strategy that sets the course for a brand. This outline
ident ifies the long-term goals of the brand and how it will interact with and
overcome the challenges of its marketplace.

Luxury is not just a product, a service, an object, a concept, or lifestyle. “It is an identity, a
philosophy, and a culture”. The communication of luxury brand appears to be not only on the
intrinsic, but also rely strongly on the extrinsic attributes. Luxury brand communication
strategies usually associates brand name to consumers’ aspirational needs and social and
psychological motivation. Kapferer and Bastien claim that, for luxury, the role of advertising is
not for selling, but aiming at recreating the dream. For example, one executive of BMW stated,
“My job is to make sure that the 18-year-olds in this country decide that, as soon as they have the
money, they will be buying a BMW. I have to see to it that when they go to bed at night they are
dreaming of BMW”.

The first step in establishing a brand equity management system is to formalize the company
view of brand equity into a document, the brand charter, or brand bible as it is sometimes
called, that provides relevant guidelines to marketing managers within the company as well as to
key marketing partners outside the company such as marketing research suppliers or ad agency
staff. This document should crisply and concisely do the following:

 Define the firm’s view of branding and brand equity and explain why it is important.
 Describe the scope of key brands in terms of associated products and the manner by which
they have been branded and marketed (as revealed by historical company records as well as
the most recent brand audit).
 Specify what the actual and desired equity is for brands at all relevant levels of the brand
hierarchy, for example, at both the corporate and the individual product level. The charter
should define and clarify points-of-parity, points-of-difference, and the brand mantra.
 Explain how brand equity is measured in terms of the tracking study and the resulting brand
equity report.
 Suggest how marketers should manage brands with some general strategic guidelines,
stressing clarity, consistency, and innovation in marketing thinking over time.
 Outline how to devise marketing programs along specific tactical guidelines, satisfying
differentiation, relevance, integration, value, and excellence criteria. Guidelines for specific
brand management tasks such as ad campaign evaluation and brand name selection may also
be offered.
 Specify the proper treatment of the brand in terms of trademark usage,

Design considerations, packaging, and communications. As these types of instructions can be

long and de- tailed, it is often better to create a separate Brand or Corporate Identity Style
Manual or guide to address these more mechanical considerations.

Although parts of the brand charter may not change from year to year, the firm should
nevertheless update it on an annual basis to provide decision makers with a current brand profile
and to identify new opportunities and potential risks for the brand. As marketers introduce new
products, change brand programs, and conduct other marketing initiatives, they should reflect

15
 these adequately in the brand charter. Many of the in-depth insights that emerge from brand
audits also belong in the charter. (Zimmer, 2017)

LUXURY MARKETING STRATEGIES

A luxury brand marketing strategy aims to create the highest brand value and pricing power by
leveraging multiple brand elements, such as heritage, country of origin, craftsmanship, scarcity,
and prestigious clients. Advertising that emphasizes the emotional satisfaction of owning a
“work of art” can be effective, but word-of-mouth also is important. Indeed, according to
McKinsey, 50% of the luxury goods buying decision are influenced by what consumers hear or
see online. Top luxury brands such as Burberry, Rolls-Royce, and Johnnie Walker are starting to
pursue aggressive online promotional initiatives in addition to traditional formats.

It’s helpful to create a mystique around the luxury brand. This can be accomplished by building
a “ritual” around obtaining it. For example, Le Labo perfume transformed the buying
experience: Each bottle is hand-blended and individually prepared in front of the customer. The
glass decanter is then dated and the customer’s name is printed on the label. After taking the
perfume home, the customer must store it in the refrigerator for a week before she uses it.

It is one thing to understand oneself, the customer and the elements of good storytelling. In order
to benefit from this knowledge, the brand must undertake activities to put the principles into
action.

SHORT TERM MAKETING STRATEGY

 Make it special for your customers

With the high price should come high quality and special treatment. If you are advertising your
brand as luxury, you need to remember to provide that experience. Therefore, the brand
Amalgamation will focus on to deliver products in a carefully crafted manner and personalized
packaging and include something more to it than just customer’s name and address. Showing
them, that their purchase was precious and it will increase the chances of them coming back for
more and become loyal customers for your luxury brand.

 Event and Networking

Many event strategies conducted by the brands included the opportunity to bring along a guest.
All brands these days use events as part of their customer acquisition strategy. A clear trend was
the importance that brands placed on direct customer experience. The brand Amalgamation is
associated with exquisite carpets which are timeless having handcrafted work. So the brand will
try to send invites and conduct an Expensive Art event in the store in order to keep the interest of
the customers enriched.

Networking and intelligence are relatively intangible and therefore often receive less attention
than they might otherwise deserve. While the brands representatives will be present at relevant
events in an effort to maintain visibility of the brand where they can interact and socialize with
16
 the potential clients.

 Invest in inspirational content marketing

Luxury brands have millions of followers who may be unable to purchase brand products, but
who covet the look and feel of the brand. Aspirational target marketing is a great way to target
these consumers, retain their interest, and position them to become a consumer when they can
afford it. Fans of your brand will naturally share this content because they believe that doing so
demonstrates their knowledge and good taste.

 Create a sense of exclusivity through perks

Luxury brands have the opportunity not just to communicate with customers via email, but to use
this channel to create exclusivity among brand evangelists and reward customers with perks.The
brand Amalgamation will consider having digital perks that are triggered when customers order a
certain amount of product or spend at a certain level or have a super-exclusive VIP club that gets
members advance access to new products, invites to special events in their city, or other perks.
(Depino, Media Boom, 2016)

BRAND CHARTER: LONG TERM STRATEGY STATEMENT

“To be the only sustainable manufacturer of carpets which ingrains our crafts’ grassroots
onto the carpets”

Sustainability and ingraining Indian ancient craft into carpets are the two factors in this
statement for which we have to make the strategies. I will describe the strategies on these two
factors one by one.

Sustainability Strategies: setting a benchmark

First, we need to set a benchmark to achieve at that level. It could be from the same industry or
other. I have set benchmark of a company who is using 100% recycled yarns (from ocean
waste) in their products. They are recycling those yarns also which we need in producing the
carpets. Generally, the carpets are made from wool, nylon, polysterand these firbre are being
recycled by ECOALF so either we can follow the process or source from it.

The plastic bottles are collected and passed to a series of cleaning and crushing steps to obtain
plastic flakes that, through a mechanical process, are converted into polyester polymer that is
later manipulated to obtain the recycled yarn that will be used to develop fabrics, belts, labels,
laces, etc.

The recycled wool is made from wool fiber that comes from a variety of leftover wool
fabrics. The new tissue comes from a sequence of different stages in a mechanical process. To
begin with, the discarded tissues are collected and divided according to the composition, color
17
and thickness of the wool. Once this first selection is made, the garments are subjected to a
crushing process that takes them back to the state of raw material. Fiber gives life to a new cycle
of natural processing that includes spinning, weaving and finishing, the necessary steps
necessary to create a new fabric.

SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIES

 100 per cent transparency in all information about the production process, materials used.
It is believed that by disclosing all this information we are not only celebrating fashion, but
also the story behind it, giving consumers an informed choice about their purchases.
Transparency guarantees this coherence and gives us credibility as a brand to third parties,
but most importantly to our clients. Transparency implies being able to tell everything we do
and how we do it, but to say it, we have to first analyze our brand internally to know our
processes and the impact we generate.
 Rugs can be upcycled from carpets which is no longer in use. Rugs are generally smaller in
size and use to cover the specific area. Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the
process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into
new materials or products of better quality and environmental value
 Creation of sustainable yarns – as we have already set a benchmark of ECOALF, we can
follow their strategies in creation of the yarns or at least we can source it.
 Stepping towards fair trade products – the products which are sustainably grown and
manufactured with ethical standards.
 The concept of circular economy utilizes the waste, which is being transformed into new
products and useful resources over the existing linear take-make-waste system. This
implicates a production process in which no longer wanted textiles are collected, recycled,
and used as a new product.

18
Facets of sustainability

 Energy consumption – handlooms are being used for weaving which needs only
mechanical energy and reduction in energy consumption during the manufacturing of
yarns as we have seen the manufacturing process of yarns (ECOALF)
 Co2 emission – reduction in emission during manufacturing of yarns as compared to the
conventional method
 Use of water- it is also reduced in case of wool yarns
 Use of chemical products- make amalgamation products abide by the REACH
(Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) standard. REACH
is an analytic company that verifies that chemical products used in production are not
harmful.
Strategies for ingraining traditional craft

 Collaboration with the designers to revitalise the Indian craft in modern way. It will show
the contemporary and traditional look at the same time.
 Connecting the craftsman with the brand for manufacturing of the products. Company will
tell about the manufacturing detail and provide a sample to the artisans, accordingly they
will produce the products.
 Pull strategy is needed to know the demand of a craft on the basis of market study. Which
craft is in demand so that it can be in ingrained in the carpets

Challenges
 Wealthy Indian consumers who can afford luxury brands tend to make their purchases
during business and leisure travel to London, Singapore, Dubai or Hong Kong in order to
avoid high import duties. As a result, luxury brands face complex business decisions over
whether to shore up their presence in India – opening shops could prove unprofitable if
potential consumers continue to fly out for destination shopping.
 According to the latest government policy, providing a tax identification number is now
mandatory for transactions above Rs250,000 (approximately $3,800). In addition, the
government move to reduce cash transactions for high-value purchases has led to a decline
in luxury-brand sales, as consumers find having to divulge transaction details to the
government overly intrusive.

19
 The goods and service tax are rapidly becoming a major obstacle for luxury goods
manufacturers. The government has imposed a 28% tax on luxury goods – the highest rate
available. This has led to the perception that luxury goods are especially expensive in India.
Further, it has made even affordable luxury brands inaccessible to aspiring consumers.
 The high import duty – averaging 30% to 40% – is another major challenge for luxury
brands in India and is in sharp contrast to the rates in other Asian countries. Many brands
argue that India is losing business as a result. Certainly, high import duty and high-end
prices are dampening the enthusiasm of luxury brands eyeing India as a business destination.
 Another conspicuous reason why luxury brands are steering clear of India is the lack of
quality retail space – beyond a few airport shopping centres or five-star hotels – and the
absence of upscale malls and market streets. India’s few malls are limited to city locations
and not all of these can provide the ambience which luxury brands consider essential to
maintaining brand quality. When planning to open stores in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, luxury
brands prefer small and medium-sized retail outlets over malls, favouring the quality of the
space over the volume. However, these small and medium-sized retail outlets can be easily
overshadowed by the hustle and bustle of cities. When compared to first or second-world
countries, these outlets differ dramatically in look, feel and surroundings.
 Indian law allows for 51% foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail and 100% in
mono-brand retail. This means that luxury brands can be directly owned, controlled and
operated in India. However, to protect local industry, a further clause has been added which
makes it mandatory that where FDI is above 51%, at least 30% of the value of products sold
must be sourced from Indian small industries, as well as village and cottage industries,
artisans and craftsmen. This is onerous for luxury brands, as it may require them not merely
to change their business model, but to alter their brand DNA. Following a recent
amendment, the government has eased the local sourcing rule for foreign single-brand
retailers for the first five years, provided that they are already procuring goods for their
global operations from India.
 According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, the market for
fake luxury goods in India is likely to reach Rs60 billion in 2018 and is one of the major
challenges for luxury brands. Brand owners worry that a high number of fakes of a specific
brand can lead to brand dilution and whittle away selling power. They often struggle to

20
decide whether to act against cheap copies, which are clearly not purchased by target
customers but which dent the brand’s image. Simultaneously, increasing internet access and
Smartphone penetration has resulted in new sales channels for counterfeit products. Such
online counterfeits are more visible than the physical sale of cheap copies. Further, online
counterfeiters can use pictures of genuine products to entice consumers into making a
purchase.

21
Bibliography
Depino, F. (2016, 10). Media Boom. Retrieved from Media Boom:
https://mediaboom.com/news/5-luxury-brand-marketing-strategies/
Depino, F. (2017, 10). Media Boom. Retrieved from Media Boom:
https://mediaboom.com/news/5-luxury-brand-marketing-strategies/
Depino, F. (n.d.). Mediaboom. Retrieved from Media Boom: https://mediaboom.com/news/5-
luxury-brand-marketing-strategies/
How brands are built. (2018, December 21). Retrieved December 2019, from The Brand Identity
Prism and how it works: https://howbrandsarebuilt.com/blog/2018/12/21/the-brand-identity-
prism-and-how-it-works/
Jim.Shamlin. (2019, December 10). Retrieved December 15, 2019, from Jim.Shamlin.com:
http://jim.shamlin.com/study/books/4912/04.html
Kapferer’s Brand Identity Prism. (2017, August). Retrieved December 2019, from free
management ebooks: http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/news/kapferers-brand-
identity-prism/
Zimmer, G. (2017, 08). Coho creative. Retrieved from Coho creative:
https://www.cohocreative.com/2016/08/30/brand-charter-values-part-1/

22