It is with immense gratication that we present to you the rst of its kind analytical report on the impact of communication tactics employed by Luxury brands on Indian millennial segment. Only second under the wing The Ghost of Luxury: Luxury Industry Analytics, “The Indian Millennial Codication of Luxury Communication 2017” as a heartbreakingly unadulterated report exposes the long prevalent myths about wealthy Indian luxury clientele.

1. The Indian Millennial Codification
of Luxury Communication
ICX2017
How Indian Millennials interpret Luxury Brands' Communication
The Ghost of Luxury: Luxury Industry Analytics | Feb, 2017
www.theghostouxury.com

2. The Ghost of Luxury 2017

3. Content
Foreword 40
Executive Summary 50
Figures and Findings 60
Feature-based Communication 70
Identity-based Communication 80
Product-based Communication 15
Online-Ofine Communication 16
About Us 18
Disclaimer 19
Contact Us 20
3

4. Dear Luxury Enthusiast
It is with immense gratication that we present to you the rst of its kind analytical report on
the impact of communication tactics employed by Luxury brands on Indian millennial segment.
Only second under the wing The Ghost of Luxury: Luxury Industry Analytics, “The Indian
Millennial Codication of Luxury Communication 2017” as a heartbreakingly unadulterated
report exposes the long prevalent myths about wealthy Indian luxury clientele.
This myth-busting report is a ready read for any individual in charge of a luxury brand
irrespective of the concerned product or service category. Both internal and external
communication professionals working with luxury brands, including the upper level students,
scholars and the ones imparting education on luxury will nd this report extremely useful. The
Indian millennial survey represents the voice of more than 950 closed responses collected from
7 prominent cities of India. Our ndings suggest Luxury brands to make considerable changes
in their communication strategies if they have to scale the peculiar heights created by Indian
Millennials. This also means that the next wave of luxury managers have to come pre-installed
with new age communication weaponry to tackle the situation.
While every luxury brand has a different promotion strategy, the basics like heritage and
exclusivity remain common across the industry. The mature luxury acionados understand this
since long. Does Indian millennial client nd them important too? As questioned by many, do
they even understand the true essence of luxury? Are luxury brands educating them enough to
hasten maturity?
Let us together go through what the wealthy Indian Millennials have to reveal about
themselves in this report.
Love Ranga | Chief Strategy Ofcer
The Ghost of Luxury: Luxury Industry Analytics
Foreword
4

5. The Luxury of Fallacy
What started with a huge fanfare is
worth wondering why India has not risen
to luxury as expected. The cause in fact is
quite simple for understanding. What
does not breathe, cannot consume pure
air. Projections after projections
appeared, only to reappear as new muted
market size predictions in the following
years. Luxury market grew but not at all
at the pace advertised, and certainly not
in the categories emphasised. The client
proling became complicated every year,
while the sales went thinner on reasoning.
The credit goes to the so called 'Luxury
Consultants', 'Sophisticated Socialites'
and 'Glorious PR retirees', who could
dress up well but knew nothing much
about management of luxury. Today, the
number of misconceptions about Indian
Luxury Market outdoes the number of
luxury brands present in India. The latest
addition to the list is that Indians buy
luxury online. When a validated fact
states that they indulge in luxury while
vacationing abroad, the idea of buying it
online at home has to be a manufactured
one. If not, how big is this market? Only
mass brands sell online in India because
they are deeply discounted, not out of
brand loyalty.
The Toddler Syndrome
The Indian Millennials demonstrate varying
behavioural patterns in harmony with
Global Millennials. A signicant
abnormality lies in the fundamental
understanding of luxury, which
unfortunately in case of Indians is yet to
mature. In a nation where drinking water
and Chanel handbag are both luxury at the
same time, it is not shocking at all. To
intensify things, there is an unparallel
fascination to value for money and
discounting. A certain client segment also
has critical issues with 'cashless'
economy for obvious reasons. The
challenge therefore for any luxury brand is
to feel the pulse the right way, not
through a hired consultant.
Connect to Reconnect
India's relationship with luxury is innate
unlike China's, where it started abruptly.
The example of Indian maharajas is a
famous one in this context. The great
Mughal emperor, Akbar used to renew his
wardrobe every year. He gifted his
expensive dresses away to courtsmen and
commoners. His amirs in no way shied
away from maintaining an expensive
lifestyle. What luxury brands need to do
now is to reconnect Indian Millennials to
their ancient roots. Their fascination for
Executive Summary
5

6. western styling and aesthetics is not to
be ignored at the same time. Not every
product localisation worked well in India.
Could Hermès saree achieve that what it
set out to?
The Path of Masses
Many as an answer repeatedly propose
educating Indians in order to harness
their loyalty. It is no doubt the right way,
but what happens when another brand
offers better discount. The problem
worsens, when no party in the franchising
agreement wants to bear the cost of
education. There is a reason why BMW,
Audi and Mercedes are considered luxury
in India. The thought of owning either of
them is planted in Indian brains quite early
in life. Do the true luxury brands like
Cartier and Fendi enjoy the same level of
desirability in India? A solution lies in
promoting luxury the mass way. As 'out of
the ordinary' as it sounds, but initially it
has to be done in the way of masses. Did
we not detect a rise in the number of
luxury-mass brand collaborations globally?
Remember Hermès-Hyundai joint effort?
Hybrid Luxury Brand Management
Communication is essentially a part of
grand scheme of things referred to as
Luxury Brand Management. India, with all
its wonders and variations insist novelty
in approach and implementation. At micro
strategy level, one has to juggle between
conventional luxury strategy and
modernity depending on the situation.
Controlling the diversity of this nation,
was never going to be easy anyway.
6

7. Figures & Findings
Communication is in all probability the most demanding
part of a luxury business. If it was not, the Millennials
leave no stone unturned to conrm this. Much has been
said about various ways of promoting a luxury brand in
contemporary world. We decided to corroborate it all by
directly probing Millennials on the very basics and on
more complicated luxury communication strategies.
Conducted in three parts, the survey covers results
from all of them, but not in entirety. The inclusive
ndings can be found in the book, The Ghost of Luxury:
Strategic Luxury Brand Management, where they have
been utilised to decode the new era of luxury brand
management. Planned on the lines of Global Millennial
report, we have divided luxury communication approach
under four categories. The headers are:
| Feature-based Communication
| Product-based Communication
| Identity-based Communication
| Online Communication
Let us now go through what Indian Millennials revealed
on how they interpret communication strategies used
by Luxury brands.
7

8. Feature-based Communication
Indian luxury clientele is often wrongly quoted on
their understanding of luxury. The reality in fact is
very different in their obliviousness. The wealthy
Indian millennials did not surprise, as the results
though normal for us, may be quite shocking for
global luxury enthusiasts. For majority of our
respondents i.e. 45%, luxury is a mere show off.
29% of them nd 'owning what is unattainable' as a
tting denition to luxury.
Q: What does Luxury mean to you?
Note: All gures are in %
29 Owning the unattainable
17 Deliberately muted sophistication
45
09
Bling
Tradition and Culture
8

9. There were times when Indians would grade Nike as
a luxury brand. The situation has changed, but not
drastically. 34% chose Steve Madden as a luxury
brand out of the shown list.
Only 5% found Riva good enough for the category.
So, is the problem more related to awareness?
Probably not, when 'the Indian Luxury Client shops
abroad' and is 'well travelled' are two highlighted
facts.
Q: Choose luxury out of the following:
Note: All gures are in %
18
15
Jaquet Droz
Loro Piana
Riva
Montegrappa
Steve Madden
05
28
34
9

10. Wealthy Indians' fondness towards western culture
and styling is evident. At the same time, Indian
luxury brands do nd favour, but mostly during the
festivities. On asking what do they prefer more,
41% showed inclination to western luxury. Only
27% of the respondents said they preferred Indian
luxury goods. What is important to note here is
that 34% prefer both. Is this the reason why
Canali Bandhgalas gained popularity? How did
Hermès saree perform? Food for thought, may be?
Q: What do you prefer more?
Note: All gures are in %
29Indian Luxury
38Western Luxury
33Both
For sake of surety, we added another question with
the same agenda as in the last one. The Indian
millennials once again helped a non-luxury brand,
Tanishq take over the likes of Cartier and Van Cleef
& Arpels. Only, 7% went in Nirav Modi's favor. The
results are evidently not in accordance with the
global understanding of luxury. In mature markets,
we do not nd such confusion between what is
luxury and what's not.
Q: Choose your favourite luxury brand out of the
following:
Note: All gures are in %
14
19
Van Cleed & Arpels
Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri
Tanishq
Cartier
Nirav Modi
32
27
08
10

11. Exclusivity is said to be one of the basic
requirements of Luxury. It has long been in the list
of luxury features a brand must possess. While
their parents did not doubt it, the Millennials are
not as afrmative about it. Just as how we found
out in our Global Millennial Report, the majority of
Indian respondents think that luxury goods aren’t
exclusive in reality. In other words, according to
them, the perception of exclusivity is being created
either through communication or is induced
articially. Going forward, we feel it will become
even more difcult for luxury brands to convince
the clients of their true exclusivity.
Luxury Goods are exclusive:
Note: All gures are in %
27 By Nature
37 In Communication
36
By Force
Limited editions are one of the nest ways of
highlighting exclusivity. Most of the product
categories within luxury exercise this
conscientiously. Every now and then, we see luxury
brands promoting their quantity-bound items. Do
they really work their magic now? Or is luxury
blindly doing what it has been doing since decades?
Probably, yes, because Indian millennials in our
survey do not seem to get excited by limited
editions. A good 71% conveyed that they don’t
intrigue them enough. A stronger effort is
therefore required to instil their trust back in
limited editions. Otherwise, a replacement is
difcult to think of.
Do limited-editions intrigue you enough to indulge
in them?
Note: All gures are in %
29Yes
71No
11

12. The right mix of tangibles and intangibles
translates into a triumphant luxury brand. While
paying for a luxury product one has to pay for
intangibles too, is a universal understanding that.
How else can we describe the price tags beyond
the real value of used material? We observed in our
Global Millennial Report how majority of millennials
are less likely to loosen their pocket for intangibles.
It is not much different in India with 68%
respondents not wanting to invest in the
intangibles. How is It for a tricky question: what is
luxury without the intangibles?
Q: What are you less likely to spend on?
Note: All gures are in %.
32
68
Tangibles
Intangibles
12

13. Both clients and brands fancy inimitable products
in their ownership. Uniqueness is something luxury
derives right from brand's Identity. However, there
are other disconnected ways of attaining
supercial uniqueness. Not every brand creates
products in accordance to their identity. In fact,
most of them don’t have an identity in rst place.
As authenticated by our Global Millennial Report,
the millennials are much more informed than their
predecessors are. Though not by a margin, but the
fact that genuine uniqueness emerges from the
brand core is in their knowledge. Indian millennials
on the other hand think uniqueness is best earned
through designs. Only 9% respondents supported
brand DNA or Identity in this case.
Q: Best way to achieve enticing uniqueness for a
luxury brand is:
Note: All gures are in %
48 Through their Designs
28 Through their Experience
15
Through their Personalized
Products
09 Through their DNA
13

14. Identity-based Communication
Managers, Consultants and Academicians around
the globe have constantly stressed upon the
signicance of brand identity in the eld of luxury.
Owning this understanding is quite ordinary for
learned practitioners, but not for luxury buyers.
Millennials however tend to research and know
what exactly they are buying. The fact that most
luxury brands exposed themselves to exploit the
medium has left younger generation more
knowledgeable than ever. A good 44% feel that
luxury brands need a distinguishing identity more
than the mass and premium brands. It is
overwhelming to note that 38% feel the same for
mass brands.
Q: What kind of brands need a clearly distinct
Identity more?
Note: All gures are in %
38 Mass Brands
18 Premium Brands
44 Luxury Brands
14

15. The report Cx2017 helped us analyse that the
luxury brand with most difcult to comprehend
communication style is not only the most
intriguing, but is also rated highest on luxury
quotient and buying preference. The Indian
millennials have turned things on their head. The
luxury brand with easiest to comprehend
communication style is rated highest on luxury
quotient. We assume it is equally surprising for you
as it is for us. Louis Vuitton wins the battle clearly
in India.
Q1: Whose communication style is most
intriguing?
Q2: Whose communication style is easier to
understand?
Q3: Rate them on their luxury quotient:
Q4: Given a choice, which brand would you buy
irrespective of product prices?
Note: All gures are in %
38 2817 17
45 3209 14
49 2611 14
41 3409 16
Q1
Q3
Q4
Q2
CoachGucciHermèsLouis Vuitton
15

16. Extending a luxury brand translates into a brilliant
business move, but it also present its own
challenges. In recent times, we have seen truly
charming brand extensions in luxury. The idea of
diversifying into a lifestyle brand has found favour
in many global business plans. The Indian millennials
however do not seem to favour them. A majority
76% require strong reason to buy cross products
of a luxury brand with dominant parent product
category. The brands therefore have two options.
One, to venture into 'natural' or 'relatable'
Extensions and those for obvious reasons can only
accommodate a maximum of two or three product
categories away from the core one. And two, to
communicate every extension in a way that it
appears to be unquestionably 'natural'.
Q1: Do you need a strong reason to buy an
expensive watch from, what by denition is a
leather brand?
Note: All gures are in %
76 Yes
24 No
16

17. An uncomplicated enquiry as it appears reveals
much more than it seems. 52% of our
respondents feel that Luxury brands bring in
celebrities only to lure them into buying their
goods. 22% feel they try to highlight a certain
lifestyle by using celebrities. Only a low 3% feel
that they are used to promote Brand Identity.
Q: Why do Luxury brands choose celebrities in
their promotional campaigns?
Note: All gures are in %
22
To suggest you appear how
the celebrities appear
23
You listen more to celebrities
than the Brands
52
To lure you in to buying
their products
12
Celebrities help them in
promoting their Brand
Identity
17

18. Product-based Communication
It is on old acceptance that product functions and
features do not matter much when it comes to
luxury. Things for now and for new have changed if
not severely. 65% Indian millennials feel that a
feature based communication approach helps them
in deciding their luxury purchase. Does this further
adulterate the demarcation between the
communication style of luxury and premium?
Q: Does product feature based Communication
help you in deciding your luxury purchase?
Note: All gures are in %
65 Yes
21 No
14 Depends on the product
18

19. Less than 1% of the respondents conveyed that
their liking a brand's social media page or post
means they would go on to buy their product. Their
interest is mostly restricted to the excellence of
content. 59% said it means nothing at all. Social
Media can inate reach, not revenues for luxury is
the unambiguous conclusion. Is the number of
views a better metric then? Have luxury brands
gured out something better?
Q: What do you mean, when you like a luxury
brand's Social Media Page or Post?
Note: All gures are in %
Online-Ofine Communication
59 Means nothing
40 Means I like the content
01 Means I will buy their product
19

20. The Indian Millennials are more likely to be
introduced to a luxury product online, but would
prefer to buy it ofine. Against the popular myth, it
becomes quite clear that at present they do not
want to indulge in online luxury.
Q1: Where are you more likely to buy a luxury
product?
Q2: Where are you more likely to get introduced
to a luxury product?
Note: All gures are in %
Online
Ofine
Q1
Q2
11
89
62
38
Online
Ofine
20

21. About Us
The Ghost of Luxury is an organization set-up to foster luxury industry. With experts from
around the globe, the company envisions to help luxury brands meet their business objectives.
Against the popular business ideology, the company undertakes only those projects that offer
strong intellectual stimulation. The rm is primarily active in Strategic Luxury Brand
Management, Communication Creation & Management, Ofine-Online Alignment and Archive
Creation & Promotion.
Luxury Industry Analytics (LIA)
LIA is a not for prot wing created under The Ghost of Luxury with an aim to facilitate luxury
brands in better aligning their strategies in accordance with the modern world. It intends to
be a common forum for global professionals to come together for the greater good of luxury
business.
Luxury Business Advisory Program
Luxury Business Advisory is a free consulting service for the emerging and mature luxury
brands. To become eligible please visit our website and answer a simple question.
The Ghost of Luxury: Luxury Education Advisory
We are witnessing the rise of education institutes offering luxury-oriented courses. Even now,
many business entities desire to venture in the realm of luxury education. We intend to help
them meet their objectives by exploiting our vast experience in the concerned eld of planning,
formulating and maintaining luxury courses globally. With amplication in the number of luxury
courses has risen a shortage of talented faculties and trainers. Luxury professionals can
share knowledge but lack in pedagogical features and teaching strategies. The management
faculties are equipped with them, but lack in advanced luxury strategies and management tact.
As a solution, we offer a completely free of charge short training workshop on Luxury Teaching
Management.
The Ghost of Luxury: Strategic Luxury Brand Management
The Book is a radical explication built atop the strong founding principles of legendary heritage
luxury houses. It not only highlights the stratagems that have now become obsolete, but also
recommends their ultra modern replacement. The Book is an innovative take on management of
luxury, making it a common read for enthusiasts with varying levels of luxury exposure. While
the greatest ones were formalized keeping mature luxury professionals in mind, this book in
addition takes care of academicians, luxury education aspirants and general luxury enthusiasts
as well. It is the reason why every chapter precedes a thought provoking prologue.
21

22. Disclaimer
The matter herein is for informational and educational purpose only. It is not intended for
distribution or use by any person or organisation in any country, where it would subject The
Ghost of Luxury to any kind of licensing or registration requirements.
This report is written in general terms. It should be construed neither as professional advice,
nor as a commendation of any specic approach or strategy. The results herein do not present
any company, brand or situation-specic solution, and they should not be taken as
comprehensive or partial representation of the environment under argument.
The report does not mean to classify or pass judgement on the market value, positioning or
strategies of any brand or company. We also do not intend to favour any brand or phenomenon
through this report.The views summarised herein are those of the respondents and we do not
guarantee their accuracy or completeness in anyway. The Ghost of Luxury has not recorded
respondents’ personal information that exposes their nancial status, physical or digital
location. We also do not intend to disclose respondent data cited in this report for any
commercial gains.
This document was originally written in French. Translation in Italian and English has been
performed with a view to appeal to a larger readership. The Ghost of Luxury holds no
accountability of translational inaccuracies and errors. The information provided herein is on
"as-is" basis, The Ghost of Luxury disclaims any warranties if at all are provided in this report.
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24. LOVE RANGA
THE GHOST
OF LUXURYSTRATEGIC LUXURY BRAND MANAGEMENT
FIRST EDITION
The Ghost of Luxury
The Indian Millennial Codication of Luxury Communication 2017
New Delhi | Paris | Milan
www.theghostouxury.com