More affordable luxury
I hear there is a market for used luxury goods. Why?
Rohan, this is a movement, for sure! A new movement altogether in India. Luxury is a mindset. Different segments of society view different brands to signify and represent luxury. For instance, to someone in the market for cycles and cars, a Tata Nano is a luxury brand. And needless to say, to others the Aston Martin or a Lamborghini could represent luxury.
Buying second-hand, or let’s call it ‘pre-owned’, luxury goods does make sense. If there are a 100,000 folks right at the peak of the pyramid of consumption who can afford a first-hand, in-mint-condition luxury brand, there are certainly millions at the next peg of the ladder who want it, but can’t afford it at mint prices. To this segment, it makes eminent sense when a player comes in and offers pre-owned luxury products whose brand sheen is intact. It’s not the product, it’s the brand. Just as long as the brand name is brandished, it’s fine, pre-owned or new. To that extent, luxury makes its way a bit lower into the pyramid of affordability and desire.
If there is one thing you as a brand guru would love to correct in branding, what would it be?
Mumbai
Roopa, as a person who specialises in brands and what brands do, I am evolving to be a very concerned person. I am concerned about what brands attempt to do, and what they get away with.
Brands are growing bigger and bigger. As the brand movement grows bigger, it is important not to neglect the commodity movement at the other end of the spectrum.If the true-blue mixed fabric of society needs to be retained, and if the variegated nature of life needs to be celebrated, it is important to support movements that are small and still beautiful.
Therefore, I would support the small hole-in-the-wall bookshop as it gets rampaged by the large brand book shop. Or for that matter as it gets marginalised by the e-commerce book vertical. I would support the small vegetable vendor and his cause as his offering gets vandalised by the biggie at the corner. Time to look out and keep a benign eye on all this, I guess.
How important is brand image for India. And why so?
New Delhi
Neha, very. Very important, really!
The world wants to see India on the right foot. An India that performs is good for the world at large. India has been a promise for a while. It’s time to fulfill and redeem it.
The brand image of a nation is vital to stoke and keep the investment tempo in the country alive and kicking. A vibrant, solid and active brand image of India is an imperative today. That is one of the reasons why I feel the ‘Incredible India’ brand campaign of the last decade has outlived its utility. ‘Incredible India’ is a tourism-centric brand initiative. India needs a brand campaign that shows India as an inclusive and performing giant.
India is exhibiting an animal instinct and brute force in the space of the startup ecosystem. Time to accompany this movement with an air cover of brand imagery that tells investors abroad what India is really about.
Global majors who have invested in India today are in many ways still testing the waters. A firm policy regime that shows consistency of economic thought, a bureaucracy that showcases itself as a facilitator and an enabler of good business practice, is the need of the day. As all this falls into place, we need a brand campaign that tells the entire story seamlessly.
(Harish Bijoor is a brand strategy expert and CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. Mail your queries to cat.a.lyst@thehindu.co.in )