Masstige game: How to win both Praja and Raja

The essential point of differentiation of a luxury brand is the exclusivity that it offers. While this exclusivity subtly opens its doors to moolah, unfortunately, it does not necessarily keep counters ringing for all. 

Thus, as a survival strategy, all luxury brands owe their existence to a very special category – the masstige. A portmanteau of the words mass and prestige, masstige has been described as "prestige for the masses." The term was popularised by Michael Silverstein and Neil Fiske in their book 'Trading Up' and a Harvard Business Review article 'Luxury for the Masses'. 

Masstige products are defined as "premium but attainable," and have two aspects: (1) They are considered luxury or premium products and (2) They have price points that fill the gap between mid-market and super premium.

Luxury has indeed become a volume game with the Great Indian Middle Class, or GIMC, leading the luxe game from the front. 

Let's take the example of Louis Vuitton's Speedy 30 handbag, which has been nicknamed the three-second bag in Korea because it feels like you see one every three seconds. As one of the many entry-level products, this has been developed to deliver value for money on a smaller, yet perhaps equally indulgent, taste of the brand narrative. So, entry-level products -- accessories, belts, scarves, wallets, small purses, and the likes -- of the luxury brands have a clear demand among this segment. They cater to the need of just flaunting the labels.

While exclusivity remains key, all luxury brands extend downwards with these low-hanging, seemingly-affordable fruits to whet the appetite of the value-for-label masses. Today, masstige products have democratised luxury and made it accessible to both the Raja (the king) and the Praja (the subjects) alike. 

Another advantage of masstige is that it keeps counterfeits and first copies at bay. The members of The Great Indian Middle Class are logo-conscious and yet feel a little pang when they have to shell out a bomb to flaunt a luxury brand. At the same time, they also feel guilty when they choose to use luxury counterfeits for satiating their need to flaunt luxury. However, thanks to the masstige products, this multi-billion dollar counterfeit market takes a hit. With scarfs, belts, coin purses, perfumes of the luxury brands being available at prices, which to the price-sensitive Indian buyers are worth the logo, they end up moving away from buying counterfeits and first copies. 

Finally, let me conclude by addressing the dilemma of all luxury brands, which still hang on a fine balance. What if this greed for the bottomline from masstige steals the luxury brand's exclusivity quotient? To what extent can the brand be diluted without taking a hit? In my book 'Decoding Luxe' I have formulated a three-part solution on how luxury brands can get the right mix of their products without diluting the brand and keeping the moolah flowing:

1. A brand needs to identify its signature products and add a premium to the prices. These are meant to tease the aspirations of the GIMC, who can't afford them. Mostly display the pictures of these signature items and make sure they are always out of stock and fresh stock is on the anvil from Germany or France. The GIMC is sure to keep coming back.

2. A brand needs to identify special edition, handcrafted pieces that it wants the Richie Rich to buy. These should be on display so that the Richie Rich can get a feel of the product, and then take it home, just a like a piece of history. These have a premium attached due to their exclusivity. 

3. And finally comes the masstige products to satiate the appetite of the GIMC for them to flaunt that logo of the brand they always aspired to buy.

Let your quest for luxe continue. 

The writer is a luxury commentator and author of Dark Luxe and Decoding Luxe.