Luxury Retail Management: How the World's Top Brands Provide Quality Product and Service Support

Noted luxury brand management experts Michel Chevalier and Michel Gutsatz offer invaluable insights into the glamorous world of luxury retail

A recent study by Altagamma (Fashion & Luxury Insight 2009), the Italian association of luxury brands, shows that companies with a substantial part of their sales generated by retail have higher profitability, higher cash flow generation capacity and higher sales growth than those that have chosen the wholesale route.

Luxury brands have transformed themselves from exclusive “maisons” (in France) for a limited clientele to global corporations tending to satisfy the ever-increasing needs of millions of customers – or consumers. But to host these new customers, luxury brands had to make their products available: this led to the next cause, the phenomenal growth of luxury stores.

An exciting addition to Wiley’s list of luxury titles, Luxury Retail Management: How the World’s Top Brands Provide Quality Product & Service Support (Wiley, January 2012, ISBN 978-0-470-83026-0, Hardcover, 306 pages, US$50.00) is more than a how-to book on luxury retail. It is a guide on everything managers working in the luxury sector need to increase brand awareness and thrive in the harsh new economy. While some of the luxury retail rules and models in this book are exclusive to the luxury market, many have lessons for the whole retail sector.

Authors and luxury brand management experts Michel Chevalier and Michel Gustaz identify and address the key issues facing luxury products today. Answering to the questions anyone working with luxury brands is asking from “Where do I set up my store?” to “How can I build customer loyalty?” authors present a holistic strategy designed to help luxury retailers win over customers before they ever set foot in the store. Packed with information on internet sales, setting retail pricing, advertising, and much more, the book also includes a "tool box" of techniques for managing a prestigious store.

Luxury Retail Management defines all the tools that are necessary to manage luxury stores, from the analysis of location and design concept, to the selection, training, and motivation of the staff. It covers everything executives, managers, and retail staff need to know in order to enter, expand, understand, and succeed in the world of luxury retail.