Luxury brand promotions: When nothing but the best will do

Consumers’ fascination with high-ticket items continues even in uncertain economic times. The luxury goods market is predicted to grow by up to 5% globally before 2022, according to a report from management consultant Bain & Co.

Meanwhile, when asked to rank their reasons for buying luxury items, 89% of consumers stated high quality mattered to them most, followed by 76% citing the exclusivity of products (Luxury, Loyalty and Experience, Rare: Consulting, 2018).

For these reasons alone, luxury brands need to ensure their supply chain is up to scratch – from source to store.

Why below-the-line shouldn’t mean below par

Suppliers come in all shapes and sizes. Brands seeking certainty and quality throughout the manufacturing, marketing and distribution process are looking for organisations that can uphold the values their customers often pay high-end prices for.

Luxury brands don’t just require aspirational advertising to create cachet. Their below-the-line operations will ultimately be responsible for giving their customers a brilliant experience. And that means they require fulfilment and logistics partners that keep quality front of mind.

The customer who is anticipating their order arriving on a specific date, in promised packaging and pristine condition, will expect nothing less than the best service. Much of what happens once they have bought an item is invisible, but that doesn’t mean the greatest care should be taken behind the scenes.

Quality fulfilment is worth its weight in gold

Finding a quality 3PL supplier – delivering contract packing, fulfilment and logistics services to the highest standard – can be a minefield. But there are some practical steps that you can take.

1. Look for a supplier that has all the relevant international standards in place. These include – but certainly aren’t limited to – ISO 9001 quality systems management, ISO 14001 environmental management for sustainability concerns and ISO 27001 information security management to ensure customer data is secure. Granby holds each of these certifications (and many more), some for over 10 years.
2. Examine past clients in the luxury space and ask for case studies – evidence of the supplier’s track record. They should be able to prove quality is built into their systems, whether that’s safe receipt and storage of goods; carefully packing orders for despatch to store or direct to the customer; or logistical nous behind secure and timely delivery.

But the best way to pick a supplier to fulfil your luxury brand, is to find one that maintains consistently high quality service no matter what they’re handling – whether it’s dispatching a box of promotional pens for a trade show, or sending £1,000 iPads to compeition winners. Everything should work just the same, regardless of the exact nature of the task at hand.

Logistics with love

Not only will leading logistics suppliers handle a brand with the same expertise and precision regardless of its level of prestige, they’ll also invite you into their premises with open arms.

At Granby, we welcome our prospective customers on-site during the procurement process and when they become clients, if they want to see for themselves how we will handle their products with care.

We harness the value of luxury clients and ensure they are fully protected in logistics, so that items being prepared and dispatched to customers are the best possible representation of your brand.

If below-the-line was once thought of as the poor relation of luxury marketing, it’s now the cornerstone of fulfilment with its certainty, measurability and effectiveness. And high quality really matters to luxury customers: 94% of people return to a brand because of it (source: Rare). In other words, there’s simply no room for supplier error.

Talk to the team today about Granby’s proven expertise of scalable and flexible 3PL solutions.