On luxury strategizing

Abstract

Stand alone or merge? Be accessible or exclusive? Internationalize, but where? How fast? Strategy is all about choice!1 The first choice: what is your offering? The second choice: who are your clients (and competitors)? The third choice: how do you sustain a viable business? In a landscape that is fiercer than ever,2 these choices are critical and demand consistent implementation capabilities.We explore some emerging paths on strategizing, that is, the way top-managers frame, practice and act to build a sustainable advantagefor their companies. Along the lines of Richard Normann,3 we approach strategizing through the lens of framing: framing the map and the landscape”, configuring the company and reconfiguring the mental space. Consequently, we do not offer best practices or ready-to-use formulas, but we will provide some food for thought, hoping that it might give you some insight into the minds of luxury decision-makers, be they top-managers or entrepreneurs. Maybe right away, maybe later, but, at one moment, to connect with some previous knowledge in your mind and … you reframe! Which emerging paths are we interested in? The first path is that of business model innovation (BMI) in the luxury industry; we then explore effectual luxury strategies before finally moving to behavioral strategizing.