Luxury Differentiation via (Social) Values, Sustainability and Limited-Run Collaborations

Executive Summary

Luxury brands are employing social values, sustainability and limited-run collaborations to enhance their brand positioning and attract new luxury consumers. These three strategic focuses could provide cultural relevancy for today’s luxury shoppers: 

• Inclusivity, diversity and transparency have emerged as social values that matter to today’s luxury shoppers, especially the younger generation who will become the luxury shoppers of tomorrow. 
• Sustainability in production, design and product life cycle is more than a marketing tactic. New business models, such as resale, recycling and subscriptions for luxury products, are capturing the interest of millennials. In the US, second-hand luxury e-commerce has grown quickly in recent years. 
• Limited runs and collaborations provide traditional luxury brands access to new consumer segments as they unite seemingly disparate brands. Louis Vuitton and Hermès are among the brands using limited runs to raise awareness among new luxury customers.