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List and describe the main forces in the macro environment facing the luxury brand industry? Several factors impinge on the performance of any business in the market today. These factors have greatly affected the profit margins realized from the business, thus companies are moving swiftly to ascertain the cost benefit of this factors to ensure a continued profit margins. In line with this luxury, brands face a number of macro environment factors, which have greatly influenced its performance. This macro factors include; Political, Technological, Natural, Demographic, Economic, and Cultural forces.
There has been interplay between the market forces and the political environment. This has been a symbiotic relationship where by the market has been guided and determined by the political moods while the political environment has created an ambient ground for operations. With the increase of tax and import and export duties in China and other market zones, Luxury brands have experienced an economic stalemate due to the high operational cost that translates to high retail prices hence low sales from the end user. The 21st century has a characterization of increased technological advancement; each day there is a creative invention in the process.
These developments have greatly affected the Luxury brands in the market that is a majority will always tend to attach themselves to the new technology in the block hence abandoning the old-fashioned goods and services. Herein luxury brands has been forces to invest heavily in technology with expert human resource to develop goods that match up with the latest technological prowess as well as upgrade their service delivery to the latter. This has been a costly engagement, as it is more dynamic than static. The natural environment has also been a major determinant of luxury brands in the market today. In this line, the natural environment is a major resource for the production and marketing of luxury brands that is it produces raw material and energy to fuel the process.
With the increased environmental degradation and global warming this has affected negatively in the natural equilibrium, forcing luxury brands to look for alternative source of raw material to supplement the naturally occurring materials. This trend has led to excessive use of genetically modified gene or material having had radioactive effect with the human skin. Hence, customers have opted to shop for alternative products thus reducing retail sales and revenue. According to Tarry 2002, demography refers to the study of distribution of population in size and territory. Here in the population has been a direct determinant of Luxury brands success in the market. That is human beings are dynamic and sensitive, thus it is the responsibilities if the company to make sure they suit the needs and the wants of the customer to retain them. In this line luxury, brands have always resorted to research to have a clear picture of the needs of the people to maintain their market share adequately.
Luxury brands have tried to compete adequately despite the looming economic crisis. The economy has been a major key determinant of the price attached to the brands. That is while the currency stabilizes and there are sustainable market policies, prices have relatively been low thus affordable by most of the people. Culture is relative to different social cultural environment as well as organizational structure. That is it influences the decisions and processes at the organizational level as well as the interaction between the organization and the people. Culture has influenced luxury marketing decisions, that is on a light note, it has often failed to venture in various regions in the world as it target up market consumers due to their high cost, thus missing to take advantage of India and other developing countries.
There has been a developmental trend in the market characterized with consistent entry of new consumers of luxury goods and products in the world today. Most of these new entrants are the young people who are at the peak of their economic power. One of the leading factors for this trend is money. Currently most of the young people are highly educated thus earning sustainable income annually hence the end up spending in luxury goods. Similarly, this trend has propagation by fashion. Currently fashion has taken over the 21st century, where consumers buy products in fashion. For the young people fashion is the order of the day, hence they tends to consume luxury products match and get along with the new fashion in the market.
Design has also been a major push drawing young people to consume luxury goods, on a light note luxury goods have the state of the art design matching with the needs of the 21st century as opposed to other products, which hardly bear sensitivity of design. Hence young people will prefer the luxury plasma Television sets which come with 3D effects friendly to gaming and other form of entertainment as opposed to the normal sets offering minimal services. Thus, design is also a major force to young consumerism in luxury brands . On the same note, social status and class has also motivated young people in consuming luxury brands. That is as they accumulate wealth from economic activities they have joined social classes, which have accrued them status. Thus, due to the high standards of consumerism associated with these classes, they tend to consumer luxury goods in order to fit and conform to the group.
Last but not the least, quality has also been a major drive, compared to other products, luxury goods have been designed to precession thus maintaining quality as opposed to other product of similar function. With the influx of luxury goods and brands in the market there has been a continued consumerism of counterfeit products on the centrally. This consumerism has affected negatively in the genuine products leading to reduced revenue. Scholars have attributed this trend to a number of facts. To begin with, high prices of the original prices have lured the young to opt the counterfeit, which look similar, but compromise on quality. Original products have traded at high prices which are rarely affordable for the common young people in the society. On the same note, original products of luxury brands are hardly accessible.
That most of these goods are ordered and delivered from the company's manufacturing warehouses as opposed to the market centers, hence due to the complexity of the transactions the young people have opted to go for counterfeit products, which are readily available at the market without much strain and the transactions, are under one stop shop. In addition, availability of the counterfeit goods in the market alone has promoted this habit of shopping for fake goods, buying fake goods is more of a conditioning than market determined. In this case, if these fake goods are done away from the market the young people would not be lured to buy them. Hence, there is need for the respective governments to make sure that there are strict and punitive measures of people dealing in counterfeit goods. Counterfeit consumerism has been a global phenomenon as people seek for cheaper and readily available goods and services.
Disparities between the way people have chosen to consume goods and service from a number of alternatives that exist in the market; this has given rise to the concept of irony in the purchase power. Gabriel and Lang 1995, cited in Sue, 2001 notes that is there are myriad of approaches that has attribution to consumerism of products. To begin with ironic consumerism if fueled by the human need for freedom and ability to enjoy product of their choice. Similarly consumers are influenced through culture and social status, this will always this bring a disparity in the way these people conduct them in the market place.
Sue 2001 strongly agrees with the facts pointing out that they will always lead to an indefinite and ironical purchase trends. From the above analysis, it is clear that there has been a correlation between the macro environment and luxury brands, as noted this factors have been the major determinants of the broad success in the market. On the same note the paper has interrogated factors that have contributed to the increase of the youths in luxury brands consumerism. From the findings of these analyses this paper has highlighted facts on the ironic purchasing of products, thus the researcher has adequately attained the scope of this paper.
