"Brands are giving the masses the illusion that they are consuming luxury, when in reality they are doing nothing of the sort, argues Eugene Rabkin." This appr

"Brands are giving the masses the illusion that they are consuming luxury, when in reality they are doing nothing of the sort, argues Eugene Rabkin." This approach to serving the midmarket has been around for a long time, especially in the consumer goods sector. Very lucrative indeed because the margins are so much higher when you charge premium for a mediocre product that cost correspondingly little to make. A good example is the Victoria's Secret underwear brand. It produces mediocre products but pumps huge money into marketing itself as a luxury brand. Worked well in N. America where until recently, there was little variety of underwear brands available. I've also noticed over time that European fashion products tend to have a higher quality threshold even at the lower ends. I attribute part of it to the region having longer history with haute couture (high-end luxury), which in turn established higher quality expectations for the aspirational and lower end brands, as well as more choices of brands including within the underwear sector.