En doft av framgång

Sammanfattning: The main drivers of luxury consumption is to obtain prestige and status, therefore the possibility of visible consumption of products is a key dimension of the product. Typical examples of luxury goods include cars, handbags and watches. These are consumed in the public arena where the possibility to show off the product and the brand is the greatest. When examining luxury products and what drives men and women to pay premium prices for a brand and for a logo, a fascinating finding is that there are products that fundamentally lacks these attributes, but which are considered to be classic luxury products. An example of this is perfume. A product that has grown strong in the international arena, a product that is directly associated with luxury. Perfume is a beauty product that is consumed at home and most commonly kept in the bathroom. Therefore, it is a product that lacks many of the classic luxury attributes; nobody knows what scent and which brand you wear, you can not show off the brand or the bottle in public and if it's a luxurious perfume it smells differently depending on who is wearing it. With reference to the fact that perfume according to the theory and definitions of luxury products do not meet the most basic requirements for a typical luxury, then why is it that the Swedish market is dominated by premium and luxury brands within this category? Why it that the market looks like it does and that perfume is so different from other beauty products in the sense that the premium and luxury brands dominate the category? To understand this, a qualitative study was conducted consisting of in-depth interviews with leaders in several companies within the Swedish perfume industry. We have interviewed manufacturers, brand owners, suppliers, distributors and retailers. Since perfumes often carry names of prestigious fashion houses, we have also investigated the global fashion chains' attitude to the category examined. The reason for this is because for us it is conceivable that they would be able to change the category and introduce alternatives for consumers on the market that do not come from the premium and luxury segment. The results from the study show that the industry consists of a small number of very large, powerful players in all the stages of the supply chain, which have chosen to market the perfume in a way to stay a luxury product. The suppliers do not manufacture low-or medium-price perfumes, and the retailers do not want them in the assortment. All interviewed participants recognize that there is a demand for low-cost perfumes and therefore the market conditions today are result of the market structure and of economic reasons. It's more profitable to keep the perfume as a luxury product and this is the primary reason that category looks like it does today.