CHAPTER FOUR



The Passion of the Product

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”

—ARISTOTLE

THE THIRD ELEMENT in successful interactions between salespeople and their affluent prospects is a passion that is evident in the product or service being sold. Indeed, that’s the very essence of luxury.

There is a point in the range of every product category where the merely excellent is surpassed by the truly exquisite. Luxury products and services are those that offer consumers sublime quality, performance, and emotional connections. In this sense, passion and luxury have intertwined DNA. Both are fundamentally about going beyond. Both are about transcending the utilitarian, the merely necessary, the simple must-have.

Consider the utilitarian object made unique by passion-spurred artistic expression, whose flourishes may seem superfluous to the untrained eye but are rich in meaning, beauty, and symbolism to those in the know. Or observe the passion evident in engineering excellence that far exceeds the practical tolerances needed under the most demanding of conditions—the automobile capable of going faster than the driver will ever go and cornering with g-forces that exceed human tolerance. Or the watch whose precision is measured atomically in microseconds—slices of time far thinner than human beings can discern.

Sometimes exquisite excellence can be remarkably easy to appreciate. Not simple to make, or simple to do, but rather simple to recognize and comprehend. Great beauty can be very accessible, immediately engaging the human visual and aural instinct for excellence:

•   You don’t need to have seen a thousand royal tiaras to see one at Cartier and instantly understand why the French jeweler has been called “Jeweller to Kings, King of Jewellers.” The unique designs and exceptional quality of gemstones from Tiffany’s are obvious the first time you see them.

•   The brilliance and genius in the music of Mozart, Gershwin, and McCartney was recognized immediately, each in his own time. There was a simplicity and earnestness to the guitar playing of Eric Clapton that led his early followers to paint “Clapton is God” graffiti around London, anticipating what would become a legendary career. You probably knew there was something extraordinary about Led Zeppelin’s classic “Stairway to Heaven” the first time you heard it.

•   If you play golf at, say, Pebble Beach, you can appreciate the excellence of the course even if you haven’t seen a golf course before. You will know from the color of the greens, the sharpness of demarcation between fairway and rough, the beauty of the landscaping, the contrast between the cypress trees and the grass, the meeting of earth, sea, and sky. There’s a simplicity to this elegance, a tastefulness and clean beauty that strike an emotional chord even among the uninitiated.

The message of this chapter: Those with a passion for the product study the passion of the product.

DISCOVERING THE ESSENCE OF LUXURY

Despite the examples just given, and many others like them, quite often what constitutes a luxury product, and hence what is the manifestation of passion in that product, is less accessible. The essence of luxury is not always obvious to the uninitiated; its recognition and enjoyment require education and experience.

For example, most people can’t tell the difference between a $20 supermarket bottle of wine and a $10,000 bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Then again, most people, even many with otherwise sophisticated tastes, don’t care. Most are happy to have an experience good enough to satisfy their modest interests and typical tastes. Among those who do care are those who struggle to discern the subtleties of varietal, vintage, and vineyard. But those with a passion for the product also study, and come to appreciate, the passion that went into making the product and that is manifested in the product.

The wine enthusiast aspires to, and appreciates, the sublime experience that wine critic Clive Coates articulated so eloquently when he called the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Pinot Noir “the purest, most aristocratic and most intense example of Pinot Noir you could possibly imagine. Not only nectar: a yardstick with which to judge all other Burgundies.”¹ And these enthusiasts have personally experienced the disappointment sometimes felt by those early in the learning curve, as when travel writer Bruce Palling concluded: “But like many of life’s most trumped up experiences, DRC vintages are not always so thrilling on first encounter.”²

Those with a passion for the brand feel emotionally connected to all the expressions of passion in that brand—its heritage and values, its strengths and styles. For example, DRC enthusiasts learn:

•   The history of the tiny slice of France’s Burgundy region that is Domaine Romanée-Conti, from the ancient Romans who tilled the land two millennia ago, to the Benedictine monks who lived there one millennium ago, to its being named Romanée for reasons unknown in 1631

•   That the area was purchased in 1760 by the Prince de Conti, Louis François Ier de Bourbon, after he outbid his nemesis, Madame de Pompadour, mistress of France’s Louis XV

•   That the land was seized and sold during the French Revolution, only to fall into the hands of Napoleon’s henchmen

•   The modern history as well, including how horses have replaced tractors (to minimize soil compaction) and how biodynamic principles have become central to the DRC philosophy

•   That the tremendous scarcity of its wines is not a calculated marketing ploy but a result of a tiny vineyard’s producing wine that typically is aged two to three decades or more before reaching maturity

The affluent whose passion is DRC wines embrace its full history, and the deep thoughtfulness of those who continue that history today—what you could term the passion of the product.

THE FIVE DIMENSIONS OF TRANSCENDENCE

Passion and luxury are intertwined concepts and these concepts share the phenomenon of multifaceted transcendence. In great brands, this transcendence typically occurs in terms of their history, scarcity, craftsmanship, clientele, and materials. Choose a luxury brand that has stood the test of generations, such as the DRC wines, and the dimensions become readily apparent. As other examples, let’s consider the following three case studies.

Louis Vuitton

In 1835, a humble young Louis Vuitton (the man, before there was a brand) traveled by foot from his home in the Jura region of France, bordering Switzerland, taking odd jobs along the way to finance his 250-mile journey. It took him two years. His journey was at a time when people in Western Europe had a case of wanderlust. The industrial revolution had produced rapid growth in steamship travel, as well as expansion of railroads and paved streets. The newly wealthy from this manufacturing boom were developing a passion for travel and their need for well-made luggage was growing.

Passions intertwined. Vuitton worked an apprenticeship for the master Malletier Monsieur Marechal and was soon creating the finest luggage available for the wealthy and royalty. But his style and sensibility was honed by true excellence in craftsmanship. His details were not superficial flourishes but, rather, hallmarks of excellence in design that a true traveling aficionado would appreciate. For example, most of the luggage of the time used a traditional rounded top. Vuitton noted that this made them hard to stack, so he introduced innovations such as lids that are lightweight, airtight, and flat. These innovations became part of his signature style—an approach that began with, but eventually transcended, utilitarian need. Competitors copied his design, so he innovated again, introducing unique canvas patterns, logos, and even trademark statements that extended his signature look and further reinforced the brand.

Louis Vuitton died in 1892, but under his son George’s leadership the company embarked on what we would today call a series of brand extensions. Such changes can often have a diluting effect on a brand, but Louis Vuitton navigated this path with products that built on their core offerings and saw no diminution in quality or aesthetic standards. For example:

•   “Steamer bags” were expensive but popular accessories for keeping dirty clothes inside LV trunks.

•   “Keepall bags” were light travel bags that offered an easy alternative to heavy trunks for shorter getaways.

•   “Noe” was introduced in the 1930s, a champagne bottle carrier for the supposedly strong market of Parisians seeking to transport several bottles at once. Instead, the Noe’s elegance and limited occasions for use led women to use it as a handbag, and thus the LV handbag juggernaut was born.

In 1936, George Vuitton passed away and ownership of the company was transferred to his son, Gaston-Louis Vuitton. New products, including purses, wallets, and bags, and the now-classic cylindrical “Papillion” bag, were launched. Instead of making compromises and stagnating, the company produced aesthetic innovations with new canvas and utilitarian advances with new leather coatings that added strength and durability without compromising quiet elegance.

Today, Louis Vuitton headlines LVMH, one of the world’s largest luxury goods conglomerates (home to brands such as Dom Pérignon, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, TAG Heuer, Sephora, and Donna Karan). But Louis Vuitton has maintained everything that made the brand great: uncompromising quality materials, superlative craftsmanship, and strong ties to its history of passion. The innovation continues in its award-winning and buzz-inducing advertising campaigns, featuring celebrities as diverse and distinctive as singer Jennifer Lopez, actress Scarlett Johansson, Soviet ex-leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. The strength of the brand has served the company remarkably well, and it has been managed with remarkably apt stewardship.

When the breathtakingly bad holiday season of 2008 saw many luxury brands discounting by 50 percent or more, Louis Vuitton held the line on prices, communicating its brand strengths and value proposition; the company came through in much better shape than many of its competitors. Thus, the five dimensions of transcendence—history, scarcity, craftsmanship, clientele, and materials—are the connecting threads that run through the story of Louis Vuitton and still drive the financial performance of the brand today.

Chanel

Before Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel revolutionized fashion with her little black dress, bobbed hair, sling pumps, and cardigans, her early life was characterized by poverty and tragedy. Her father was a market stallholder, and her mother a laundrywoman; when she was twelve, her mother died of tuberculosis and her father abandoned the family. Coco spent six years in an orphanage, where she learned to sew. She left the orphanage at age eighteen, and after an unsuccessful stint as a cabaret singer, she discovered the world of elite Parisian fashion. Her passion was less for the clothing itself and more for finding sartorial and artistic expressions of her beliefs and values. She was giving women a wardrobe that was simultaneously elegant and professional, which both was distinctly feminine and nevertheless sent a clear message of “hands off, buddy.” Simply put, her passions were at the intersection of beauty and empowerment. Indeed, she delighted in having her styles copied and made accessible at low cost to millions of women around the world.

With the guidance of wealthy sponsors, she was able to set up her shop in 1910 with several hats and “one dress, but a tasteful dress.” Within a few years, Maison Chanel was a fashion house to be reckoned with. Tremendous innovations followed, driven by her vision and passions. She introduced the tricot sailor frock and the pullover sweater; she unearthed wool jersey from its longtime service as underwear fabric and put it to use in soft, clinging dresses. She created the first ever designer fragrance sold. She ushered in gypsy skirts, embroidered silk blouses, and accompanying shawls. Her quality standards were exceptional—the stitching invariably perfect, the designs without flaw. She would say, “The essence of luxury lies not in the ornateness, but in the lack of vulgarity.”

Chanel remains a remarkable company today. Coco Chanel never married and never had kids. But her spirit, her breakout personality, and the vocabulary of competence that she introduced to women’s fashion still infect the spirit of the place. Her life was uniquely her own. She smoked. She spoke her mind. She sang in cabarets. Her multimillion-dollar jewelry collection was built largely with the help of wealthy male suitors. When the Duke of Westminster proposed marriage, she turned him down, saying, “There are a lot of duchesses, but only one Coco Chanel.” She dressed Ingrid Bergman and Marlene Dietrich, Princess Grace and Queen Fabiola, the Rothschilds and the Rockefellers.

The French avant-garde artist Jean Cocteau would later say, “If Mademoiselle Chanel has reigned over fashion, it is not because she cut women’s hair, married silk and wool, put pearls on sweaters, avoided poetic labels on her perfumes, lowered the waistline or raised the waistline, and obliged women to follow her directives; it is because—outside of this gracious and robust dictatorship—there is nothing in her era that she has missed.”³ Hers was a life lived with passion, indeed. Those passions continue to run throughout the company and products that still bear her name.

Hermès

Consider the passion in the company that Thierry Hermès founded under his name in 1837. His uncompromising approach to excellence in materials and craftsmanship won him the business of making harnesses and bridles for royalty. He won the First Class Medal of the 1855 Exposition in Paris, and in 1867, the Exposition Universelle. In 1880, the second generation of the Hermès family built a shop at 24 rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré and added saddlery to their product line. They acquired the rights to using a zipper, opening the door to expand from leather goods to handbags and clothing. In 1935, the company introduced its famous “Kelly bag.” Named after the actress who married royalty, the beautiful Grace Kelly, this bag paved the way for the handbags that Hermès is perhaps best known for today.

We reviewed the exceptional materials and craftsmanship (not to mention the authentic scarcity) behind Hermès handbags in our earlier book, The New Elite, but those passions extend throughout its product line, including ready-to-wear fashion, perfume, watches, gloves, tableware, soaps, and ties. Consider the iconic Hermès scarf; the details of design and manufacturing are unique and exquisite. Hermès starts with the finest raw Chinese silk, which is woven into a yarn stronger and heavier (and therefore longer lasting) than that used in most other scarves. The hems are hand stitched to exacting standards. Designs are printed onto the scarves by hand, not by machine (videos of this process are available on YouTube). The printing is done one color at a time, with a waiting period of up to a month while one color is allowed to dry before another is added. It takes literally hundreds of hours to make an Hermès scarf, resulting in an authentic scarcity. The designs themselves are truly works of art. The Hermès Scarf: History & Mystique is a 300-page coffee table book that celebrates the 2,000+ scarf designs Hermès has created since the product’s first introduction in 1937. As with Hermès handbags, the clientele for these scarves is memorable, including Audrey Hepburn; Catherine Deneuve; Jacqueline Bouvier Onassis; Hillary Clinton; Sarah Jessica Parker; Queen Elizabeth II (who was depicted wearing one on a British postage stamp); and, of course, Grace Kelly (who once famously used an Hermès scarf as a sling after injuring her arm). In recent years, new designers have been brought in for fresh takes on this classic, but what they produce always is true to the spirit and the passions of the original brand.

Like Louis Vuitton, the company has a strict policy about not discounting its prices—a policy that has served the company well during the challenges of the Great Recession. And its policy of destroying (not discounting) unsold merchandise has helped protect the value of all its brands. In every respect, from manufacturing and marketing to service and sales, Hermès strives to remain uncompromising and transcendent.

Thus, Hermès is a brand that prides itself on exceptional materials and impeccable craftsmanship. People are willing to wait for several years to get their hands on one of its creations.

THE TOPOGRAPHY OF EXCELLENCE

Great salespeople understand the brands they represent. They can give detailed descriptions of the brand’s history and heritage. They can tell stories of how generations of management have stayed true to the values and ideals of the founder. They can relate tales of excellence in materials and craftsmanship. Yes, of course, they know their brands. But beyond knowing their own brands, they understand the rules and standards of sublime excellence in their category.

Consider how this understanding plays out in a curious phenomenon among luxury brands. Among the affluent, there is, in fact, surprisingly little loyalty to luxury brands. To continue our Hermès example, most women who own Hermès bags love them. But liking the Hermès brand is different from being loyal to the brand. The fact is that most women who own a Hermès bag also own a Louis Vuitton bag. And a Prada bag. And a Fendi bag. And maybe a couple of Coach bags that they bought when they began experimenting with luxury brands in that category, and that they still use on occasion. In fact, women who purchase high-end handbags own an average of more than two dozen such handbags, reflecting a variety of brands.

Handbag enthusiasts aren’t typically loyal to a particular brand, but they are loyal to excellent handbags. They pay close attention to the standards of true excellence that separate luxury, quality handbags from their mainstream counterparts. And they make purchase decisions based on those criteria more than on brands per se. Consider that each year approximately 15 percent of affluent women buy a handbag priced at $500 or more. Remarkably, this number has remained unchanged even through the Great Recession. That 15 percent of women are passionate about the category, and though we were in a recession, affluent people continued to buy in their categories of passion. They showed very little interest in trading down in quality, though they have certainly been willing to trade down in quantity. That is, they are buying one Birkin bag a year instead of the three they bought in 2005. But those who are passionate about the category are confident in the ability of Hermès (or Gucci, etc.) to continue to create handbags to those standards. They also realize that others can deliver to those standards, and therefore the ability of any brand to deliver can falter.

In addition to understanding their brands, successful salespeople understand their competitors. Suppose you are selling Steuben glass, and you often tell the detail-rich stories that communicate the transcendence of that brand. But it is just as important you know that your main competitors are probably Limoges and Baccarat, and that each can deliver on excellence in the category, though they have very different stories.

Baccarat, for instance, sells products with a sparseness of design, an abstract sensibility; often the form is highly stylized and the details are absent. Limoges offers an abstract design with a lot of detail (in the eyes and ears of an animal, for example), but there are color flourishes as well. Steuben makes something polished and finished, replete with contrasts to create prismatic radiance (allowing the walls to light up with rainbows when the sun hits it). A real collector typically owns all three and knows why. And glories in the differences and the similarities among them.

Again, brand loyalty takes on a different meaning in the luxury field, and salespeople must be prepared to help their prospects navigate the full breadth of offerings.

REPORTS OF LUXURY’S DEATH
ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED

It should come as no surprise that the second half of the 2000s was a challenging time for luxury providers. But in many respects, in many markets and in many categories, luxury is surviving and even thriving. In fact, it could be said that the passion market has been the one market that hasn’t collapsed. Yes, real estate prices fell precipitously around the country. But in any major metropolitan area, the neighborhoods characterized by true quality and authentic scarcity held their value. In San Francisco, it is Sea Cliff and Pacific Heights. In Dallas, it is Highland Park. In Chicago, it is Lake Forest. In Los Angeles, it is Beverly Hills and Brentwood. In Houston, it is River Oaks.⁴ And so on. For the most part, high-end vacation homes of exceptional quality have held their value better than midmarket time-shares. Diamond prices have fallen throughout the recession, with the exception of truly flawless large stones, for which prices have grown.⁵ In fine art, it is the works by the Old Masters and modern and contemporary artists with established reputations that have held their value; works by lesser known artists and new works have fallen in price (leading some to say that “the mediocre never sells except to the naïve”). In all of these examples, the products are bought to satisfy the buyer’s passion, and they are owned for their steady or increasing value. But the best assurance of value at purchase is the multifaceted transcendence that feeds the affluent person’s expression of passion.

Fortunately for luxury marketers, there is life in the luxury marketplace as a whole, and not just at the very highest end. Our research has shown that, as of mid-2010, three key indices of luxury spending are trending up (see Figure 4.1). They are still short of pre-recession levels, to be sure, but there are encouraging signs:

FIGURE 4.1
Luxury Interest Indicators, 2008–2010

•   A Willingness to Spend. There is not just the raw willingness to open one’s wallet but also attitudes such as, “I think a few luxuries are important in tough times.”

•   A Shopping Environment. There is a modestly growing desire for elegant and interesting in-store luxury retail experiences.

•   An Embracing of Brand Identification. A growing number of people believe that “the brands I wear say a lot about who I am,” and “I kind of like it when others recognize me as being wealthy.” The luxury guilt and logo shame that characterized 2008 and 2009 has diminished significantly.

THE NEXT STEP

Redouble your efforts to be a student of what you sell. Be a student of your category, your industry, and your competitors. Understand the expressions of excellence and passion in them.

Tell stories like those we told about Louis Vuitton, Hermès, and Chanel. Or whatever the equivalent might be for you. Real estate agents, for example, should know the details of craftsmanship and construction that speak to quality and express a passion for building. They should know when a home was built, by whom, and for whom. They should be historians of the cities and neighborhoods in which they sell, and knowledgeable about changing architectural styles. They should be guides to passion.