Industry Evolution, Current Trends, and Future Perspectives

Abstract

This paper explores the rise of the global luxury brand industry and re-evaluates previous understandings of luxury brands, aiming to demonstrate unique aspects of luxury consumption and highlight significant developments in existing literature while advocating for a consumer-centric approach to luxury branding. It examines the industry's development, discusses macro-environmental trends affecting luxury brand consumption, critically reviews existing literature, and provides future research directions. The study reveals that luxury brands represent a unique form of branding, conveying distinct sociocultural and individual meanings to consumers, influenced by significant cultural, social, and external trends, thus prompting researchers and practitioners to adopt a consumer-centric approach. Emphasizing the need to shift focus from the inherent characteristics of luxury brands to the phenomenological experiences and sociocultural influences defining brand luxury in post-modern consumer culture, study identifies two specific areas for future research to address these evolving dynamics.