Name Recognition

RAPAPORT... According to the Luxury Institute, these are the top ten, most-familiar, ultra-luxury jewelry brands.

During the fourth quarter of 2006, the Luxury Institute, a New York City research institution that focuses solely on the top 10 percent of America’s wealthy, conducted a study to measure the value and equity of 20 leading luxury brands to wealthy Americans. The firm surveyed a national sample of 508 high-income consumers, who were recruited and screened to include only respondents 30 years or older with a minimum gross annual household income of $200,000 and a minimum household net worth of $5 million.

Two issues explored by the survey were brand familiarity and the idea of uniqueness and exclusivity. The two, emphasizes Milton Pedraza, chief executive officer (CEO), Luxury Institute, are not mutually exclusive. “You can be a brand that wealthy consumers are familiar with, yet still retain that exclusive feel. For instance, Rolls-Royce is a brand that a lot of people are familiar with as the gold standard of their category, yet most people don’t own one.”

According to Pedraza, while advertising can often have an impact on brand familiarity, the shopping experience can be even more critical, affecting familiarity as well as uniqueness and exclusivity.

Here are the ten luxury jewelry companies that earned the highest marks for brand familiarity, as well as their corresponding ranks in the uniqueness and exclusivity category, along with Pedraza’s explanation of the results.

#1. Tiffany
Percentage of Respondents Familiar with the Brand: 80.2 percent
Uniqueness and Exclusivity Rank: #8
Despite their field-leading familiarity, Tiffany only finished in the middle of the pack in terms of exclusivity. While Pedraza firmly believes that familiarity and uniqueness are not mutually exclusive, he believes that Tiffany may be the exception to the rule. “They do have such a large number of stores and they have been catering to such a broad range of consumers, including the merely wealthy and also the only affluent, and I believe that that has made them less unique and exclusive in the eyes of their best consumers, the ultrawealthy,” he hypothesizes. “There is a trade-off that they have made by being so ubiquitous.”

#2. Cartier
Percentage of Respondents Familiar with the Brand: 77.0 percent
Uniqueness and Exclusivity Rank: #4
In contrast to Tiffany, Cartier has remained much more exclusive, even though it has almost similar recognition. “They are more exclusive, because of lower distribution and a much more consistent high-end product than Tiffany,” offers Pedraza. “They don’t sell $250 anything. They tend to go more upscale.”

#3. De Beers
Percentage of Respondents Familiar with the Brand: 60.5 percent
Uniqueness and Exclusivity Rank: #19
Although diamond giant De Beers is very active in terms of advertising, and is relatively well-known as a result, they finished next-to-last in terms of uniqueness and exclusivity. Pedraza attributes this to the company’s origins: “They are not known for a great experience, because they are a diamond mining company. While they are known for great quality, that is just the cost of entry for luxury jewelry. And, the company’s history and reputation might be a challenge to overcome in terms of apartheid in South Africa and the cartel reputation.”

#4. Gucci
Percentage of Respondents Familiar with the Brand: 59.1 percent
Uniqueness and Exclusivity Rank: #15
Gucci’s scores are similar to those of De Beers, but for different reasons. Gucci’s problems stem from the fact that it is primarily known for its couture. “Jewelry is such a highly specialized category,” observes Pedraza. “Gucci is not seen as being a serious player. They are up against some pretty formidable competition in this category. And it is hard to compete when you are not specialized.”

#5. Bulgari
Percentage of Respondents Familiar with the Brand: 51.7 percent
Uniqueness and Exclusivity Rank: #3
Bulgari’s brand recognition represents a significant drop-off compared to Gucci. However, its uniqueness and exclusivity rank is impressively the third-best in the survey. “Bulgari has always maintained its focus,” says Pedraza. “By and large, they have always stuck to jewelry and are seen as one of the true leaders.”

#6. Van Cleef & Arpels
Percentage of Respondents Familiar with the Brand: 50.1 percent
Uniqueness and Exclusivity Rank: #10 (tied with Asprey)
With middle-of-the-pack ranks for both familiarity and exclusivity, Van Cleef & Arpels clearly has room for growth. “You could argue that for these second-tier brands, building familiarity is a big opportunity,” observes Pedraza. “It is not just a question of becoming more luxurious and creating a bigger status; it is also a question of ‘Do they know you?’ In the case of Van Cleef & Arpels, who have been around for a long time, they have no excuses for not having the high awareness level. They could use more advertising in highly selective kinds of venues, such as The Harvard Business Review and The Wall Street Journal.”

#7. Harry Winston
Percentage of Respondents Familiar with the Brand: 48.3 percent
Uniqueness and Exclusivity Rank: #1
According to the respondents in this study, the Harry Winston jewelry brand is the most unique and exclusive of all the brands surveyed. However, less than half were familiar with the brand. “What this says is that Harry Winston still has an opportunity to create awareness, even though it already operates on a stratospheric level,” says Pedraza.

#8. Chanel
Percentage of Respondents Familiar with the Brand: 47.3 percent
Uniqueness and Exclusivity Rank: #14
The second of the three fashion houses in the survey, Chanel faces similar problems to Gucci in terms of trying to establish themselves in the jewelry world. “Chanel is working on it, but it will take a long time,” says Pedraza. “Essentially, they are trying to take a big stone up a hill. The perception is that they are great at couture and fashion, but now they are competing with specialist jewelry brands.”

#9. Dior
Percentage of Respondents Familiar with the Brand: 47.1 percent
Uniqueness and Exclusivity Rank: #16
Dior is the last of the aforementioned fashion trio, and score-wise is running just about neck-and-neck with Chanel in both the familiarity and exclusivity ranks. “It’s trying to stretch itself in jewelry, but it’s tough,” observes Pedraza. “Consumers are very smart and they will tell you what they think in no uncertain terms. Specialization is still required and consumers still attribute great skill and experience to the brand. No one is saying ‘I am wearing Dior diamonds,’ or Chanel or Gucci diamonds, for that matter.”

#10. Mikimoto
Percentage of Respondents Familiar with the Brand: 44.0 percent
Uniqueness and Exclusivity Rank: #12
“We would have thought that Mikimoto would have scored higher,” said Pedraza. “Mikimoto is the pinnacle of pearls, and I think consumers understand that. Perhaps pearls aren’t held in as high esteem as diamonds are. Consumers discern that the company is a specialist, just in a smaller category — pearls.”

Article from the Rapaport Magazine - April 2007. To subscribe click here.