I may be wrong, but I have a feeling that despite lofty advertising laced with celebrity endorsments, luxury brands and brands loyalty is on a rapid decline around the world - and the reasons are simple and make a lot of logical sense. They are too accessible and have lost their niche. Most are 'meh' and fail to inspire us to objects of desire we can aspire to.
Gone are the days when flagship brand stores were limited to exclusive addresses in a select few cities around the world. People had to plan exclusive trips to those cities, book an appointment at the store and be treated like royalty to shop for a coveted handbag or wrap. Nowadays go to any decent sized city anywhere around the world and lo and behold, there staring you in the face is a famous fashion retail brand with foot traffic rivaling the theme parks. Corporate greed and globality has diminished the exclusivity of brands to the extent that there is nothing covetable about them anymore. Hence more and more people are jumping off the brand bandwagon to join a new breed of exclusivity; the 'one-offs'.
Mind you, some brands are trying to hold on to exclusivity by controlling production and distribution. You will enter a store to be told the item is 'sold out' or has a 'waiting list'. But those are just well-known retail tactics to make you 'feel' you are on to something exclusive and coveted. Shameful I say, when famous brands have to resort to these white lies to sell stuff. I would feel insulted if a famous brand with thousands if not millions of dollars invested in production can turn around and tell me such shambles.
So where are discerning people shopping instead?
If you are as old as me, you would remember the good old days when expert workman were to be found around pokey corners on tiny streets; and famous ones had a waiting list of clientele; and you had to wait a couple of weeks, even months before their bespoke item was delivered wrapped in tissues to your door. Well, that is the kind of exclusivity that people want nowadays - bespoke, not easily replicable and exactly catering to their taste and need - and that's where people who want exclusivity are heading.
I welcome the new 'no brand' exclusivity - and have no kalms jumping off the brands bandwagon for just these kind of 'one-offs'!
