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said that the only time he was ever satisfied with his creations was when he
looked at them and marveled at the fact that they were so perfect that they
could not have possibly been made by man. He was known to destroy model
after model of his creations because they were not at the level that evoked
this feeling in him. Today this culture of luxury is ever present irrespective
of the size of the luxury brand. French bespoke luxury furniture brand Gilles
Nouailhac subscribes to the philosophy that taking one's time to meet the
requirements and standards of high quality is not a luxury of the past, and
the brand is known staunchly to defend its meticulous production approach
and time-scale that may be perceived by some to be long.
How can you rationalize the Cognac heritage? Or the feeling described
by Christian Dior? Or Gilles Nouaihac unwavering philosophy? They are
totally illogical from both human and business perspectives but this is what
the business of luxury is all about and this remains ever true today, irrespec-
tive of contrary claims (Figure 1.1).
Moreover, the non-corporate structure in which luxury has been operating
over the previous centuries until the eighties and nineties, acted as a cata-
lyst for the contracted view of the activities linked to luxury e-business. On
the surface, the above-mentioned characteristics of luxury do not seem to be
compatible with the main features of the Internet, which include mass access
and mass appeal, hence the initial resistance to the Internet.
In addition to these factors that initially led luxury away from the Internet,
when we throw in all of the misconceptions that originally surrounded the
Figure 1.1
Luxury brands like Rémy Martin, whose Louis XIII cognac is shown
here, and Christian Dior, who is seen here inspecting a piece on a model, have
an unwavering dedication to perfection that sometimes defies logic, which has
led to a precise business approach that is incompatible with the characteristics of
the Internet
