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Richemont & Polo Ralph Lauren Partnership Takes Aim at the Most Important Trend Shaping the Future of the Global Luxury Market -

The Ascent of Young Affluents

Stevens, PA March 9, 2007 - Earlier this week global luxury giant Richemont and American luxury leader Polo Ralph Lauren announced the formation of The Polo Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewelry Company. The company was formed to design and create luxury watches and fine jewelry that will be sold through Ralph Lauren boutiques and independent jewelers.

This deal is a bellwether of a new trend that will transform the way luxury marketers do business. Luxury companies and brands must reposition themselves to become more appealing to the desires of the important 40 year old and younger luxury consumers.

Partnership bridges the gap between 'old' and 'new' luxury

Pam Danziger, consumer insights expert on the luxury market, president of Unity Marketing and author of Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience, says, "This partnership is groundbreaking for a number of reasons. First, Richemont is a company built on 'old world' luxury brands that carry an 'old luxury' cache. But the American luxury market is very 'new luxury' with an anti-status sensibility that Polo Ralph Lauren brings to the table.

"Ralph Lauren will bridge the gap between 'old' and 'new' luxury. He is the quintessential American luxury fashion designer with a deep understanding of the unique psychology of the U.S. luxury consumer. In Unity Marketing's Luxury Tracking Study fielded each quarter, Polo Ralph Lauren consistently ranks as the number one luxury fashion apparel brand in America. This pairing will help Richemont translate their 'old luxury' watch and jewelry quality and expertise into fashion-forward 'new luxury' designs that will appeal to American fashion consumers."

"Second, most of Richemont's brands play to an older, more traditional type of luxury consumer. Many of their brands, with the exception of Chloe, don't necessarily connect with the young affluent consumers who are becoming increasingly important in the U.S. and the global luxury market.

"Richemont clearly understands what other luxury companies must learn in order to thrive in the coming years: the future of luxury brand success is in the hands of the Generation X and Millennial consumers. By teaming with Polo Ralph Lauren, they are taking aim squarely at the young affluents," Danziger explains.

For young affluents, the designer is more important than style when shopping for luxury watches

In a new Unity Marketing study that examines the 40 year old and under luxury consumers, called Generations of Luxury, a survey of over 1,000 luxury consumers found that for the younger affluents, the designer or brand carries more weight than style and design in the purchase decision. "Polo Ralph Lauren is a brand and Ralph Lauren a designer that really connect with the younger luxury consumers," Danziger says.

"The future success for luxury marketers worldwide will be measured by how well they reach out and capture the tastes of the young affluents," Danziger explains. "The luxury market will become more competitive in the years ahead as today's Baby Boom generation passes into retirement and their senior years. Luxury brands that don't make the transition to the young affluents will be left out in the cold. The Richemont and Polo Ralph Lauren partnership will be successful if they can bring a traditional luxury sensibility along with a modern vibe to the young affluents. This is the big opportunity and challenge for luxury marketers worldwide."

New study reveals what the under 40 year old luxury consumers want -- and what it means to luxury marketers...

Unity Marketing latest study of the luxury market examines the 40 and under and the over 40 year old luxury consumers. The report, Generations of Luxury, examines what the young luxury consumers want and how their tastes and perspectives differ from the over 40 year olds.

To prepare for the future, luxury marketers must understand the unique desires of the young affluents, how they express luxury in their lifestyles today and how they will do so in the future. Understanding the young luxury consumers is critical for marketers to target their marketing communications, advertising and product development efforts to maintain a competitive edge.

Use this link http://www.unitymarketingonline.com/cms_luxury/luxury/insights_study.php to learn more about the Generations of Luxury report. Visitors can download the first chapter of the report, as well as reserve a pre-publication copy.

[Note: Pam Danziger's book, Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Classes -- as well as the Masses (Kaplan Business, 2005) includes a profile of the Polo Ralph Lauren brand.]

Unity Marketing Can Help Luxury Marketers Be More Successful Marketing Luxury to the Affluent Consumers

Unity provides a range of consumer insight services that will give you a deep understanding of the luxury consumer. Your company can put these new insights to work like Coach in strategy, marketing and new product development. Unity Marketing offers:

Luxury Consumer Tracking Study - Unity's flagship service for luxury marketers, it keeps you on the cutting edge of new trends in the luxury market. You get updates every three months about what more than 1,000 luxury consumers are buying, how much they spend, where they are shopping and what brands they prefer. The cost is only $3 for each of the 4,000 luxury consumers surveyed each year. Marketers can also tap Unity's affluent consumer panel for one-time omnibus surveys. To learn more visit http://www.unitymarketingonline.com/cms_luxury/luxury/luxury3.php
Luxury Market Report 2007 - This annual report compiles results from the previous year's quarterly tracking studies for companies that want a historical perspective. To find out more, visit http://www.unitymarketingonline.com/cms_luxury/luxury/luxury1.php
Customize Research and Consultation - Pam Danziger can design a cutting-edge consumer insight program for your company. She can make sense of much of the �gobbledygook' that comes out of market research and tell you what it really means for your company. For more information, go to http://www.unitymarketingonline.com/cms_pages/about_us.php
Executive Presentations, Meeting Facilitator, Keynote Speeches - Danziger is a popular speaker at corporate presentations, meetings and conventions. She also facilitates ideation and marketing strategy sessions. Her most popular presentation is "The Ten Things Every Luxury Marketer Needs to Know about the New Luxury Market." For more info, click through to http://www.whypeoplebuy.com/cms/Home_Page/Speeches_Presentations.php or call Pam at 717-336-1600 or email pam@unitymarketingonline.com

For media: Charts, tables and graphs are available on request.

About Pam Danziger and Unity Marketing
Pamela N. Danziger is a nationally recognized expert specializing in consumer insights, especially for marketers and retailers that sell luxury goods and experiences to the masses or the 'classes.' She is president of Unity Marketing, a marketing consulting firm she founded in 1992.

Advising such clients as Cartier, PPR, Remy Amerique, Stearns & Foster, Waterford/Wedgwood, Prudential Fine Homes, Ritz Carlton, Orient-Express Hotels, The World Gold Council, The Conference Board and American Express, Danziger taps consumer psychology to help clients navigate and master the changing luxury consumer marketplace.

Her latest book is Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience, published by Kaplan Publishing in October 2006. Her other books include Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses-as well as the Classes, (Dearborn Trade Publishing, $27, hardcover) and Why People Buy Things They Don't Need: Understanding and Predicting Consumer Behavior (Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2004).

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