The economic downtime has an impact on many people; however for the second year, high net-worth consumers rated Leiber the most prestigious luxury handbag brand in the 2009 Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) survey from the independent New York City-based Luxury Institute ( http://www.luxuryinstitute.com/).

Classifying the rich:
A national sample of 1,883 wealthy American consumers was surveyed online. Of these interviews, 1,048 surveys were completed with women. Only females responded to this handbag survey. The average income was $348K and the average net-worth was $3.5 million.

The LBSI asks respondents to rate the brands along four main “pillars” of brand stature:
— Consistently superior quality
— Unique and exclusive
— Social status as a product consumed by people who are admired and respected
— Self-enhancement, in that the brand makes the consumer “feel special”
across all aspects of the customer experience

Following are the 30 luxury handbag brands rated by wealthy consumers (alphabetical order):

Bottega Veneta
Burberry
Celine
Chanel
Chloe
Christian Louboutin
Coach
Cole Haan
Dior
Dolce & Gabbana
Fendi
Ferragamo
Gucci
Hermes
Jimmy Choo
Kate Spade
Leiber
Longchamp
Louis Vuitton
Lulu Guinness
Marc Jacobs
Michael Kors
Miu Miu
Mulberry
Prada
Ralph Lauren
Stella McCartney
Tod’s
Valentino
Yves Saint Laurent
In addition, the survey also measures three key “outcome” metrics, which are compared to the category LBSI:
— Worthiness of a significant price premium
— Willingness to recommend the brands to people they care about and why, or why not
— Brand preference as the brand most likely to be considered the next time a purchase is made

SOURCE: Luxury Institute

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