TOKYO: Hermès and Giorgio Armani are among the luxury brands which are held in the highest regard by wealthy shoppers in Japan.
The Luxury Institute, the consultancy, surveyed 600 people with a household income of at least ¥15m ($161k; €132k; £110k) in order to establish which premium manufacturers met their individual needs.
More specifically, they were asked to assess the goods produced by companies in terms of their quality, uniqueness and exclusivity, and whether they made customers fell special, admired and respected.
With regard to fashion, female participants awarded Hermès an index score of 7.28 points, falling to 7.27 points for Chanel and 7.08 points for Giorgio Armani.
The top two brands in this area retained these positions when it came to handbags, with Louis Vuitton replacing Armani in third.
Christian Louboutin was regarded as making the best shoes for women on 7.39 points, with Hermès on 7.20 points and Ferragamo on 7.18 points.
Among male respondents, Ermenegildo Zegna was the pre-eminent fashion label on 7.17 points, with Hermès posting 7.01 points and Armani delivering a rating of 6.89 points.
Turning to footwear for men, John Lobb received an average of 7.34 points from the panel, ahead of Testoni's 7.32 points and Ferragamo's 7.11 points.
"Japan may be a challenging market for luxury, but it is still a huge market compared to most other geographies," said Milton Pedraza, chief executive of the Luxury Institute.
"Extraordinary customer experiences will be the drivers of luxury success in Japan's large but stagnant market."
"We see major efforts on the part of our luxury brand clients to differentiate themselves by dramatically out-behaving their competition rather than merely outperforming on products."
The Luxury Institute, the consultancy, surveyed 600 people with a household income of at least ¥15m ($161k; €132k; £110k) in order to establish which premium manufacturers met their individual needs.
More specifically, they were asked to assess the goods produced by companies in terms of their quality, uniqueness and exclusivity, and whether they made customers fell special, admired and respected.
With regard to fashion, female participants awarded Hermès an index score of 7.28 points, falling to 7.27 points for Chanel and 7.08 points for Giorgio Armani.
The top two brands in this area retained these positions when it came to handbags, with Louis Vuitton replacing Armani in third.
Christian Louboutin was regarded as making the best shoes for women on 7.39 points, with Hermès on 7.20 points and Ferragamo on 7.18 points.
Among male respondents, Ermenegildo Zegna was the pre-eminent fashion label on 7.17 points, with Hermès posting 7.01 points and Armani delivering a rating of 6.89 points.
Turning to footwear for men, John Lobb received an average of 7.34 points from the panel, ahead of Testoni's 7.32 points and Ferragamo's 7.11 points.
"Japan may be a challenging market for luxury, but it is still a huge market compared to most other geographies," said Milton Pedraza, chief executive of the Luxury Institute.
"Extraordinary customer experiences will be the drivers of luxury success in Japan's large but stagnant market."
"We see major efforts on the part of our luxury brand clients to differentiate themselves by dramatically out-behaving their competition rather than merely outperforming on products."
Data sourced from The Luxury Institute; additional content by Warc staff
