Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
and then moved on to information dissemination and now we're back to
conversing through the participation platforms brought about by the social
web. This full circle will eventually take us to a 360º virtual world existence
where the conversation will continue through “living” experiences in virtual
worlds such as Second Life and Cyworld.
The crucial questions for luxury brands to ask at this critical moment are:
•
How has the Internet evolved to this point where the consumer has taken
the lead in online brand perceptions and relationships?
•
What are the real challenges and opportunities that this evolution has
brought to the luxury sphere?
•
How is this remarkable online and economic revolution going to re-define
luxury management practices?
•
What impact could it have on the perception that future consumers will
have of luxury?
•
And what can be done about all of these?
As the dot com era recedes fast into our memories it is noteworthy to
revisit the past in order to understand how to tackle the future. Anyone who
remembers the early days of the Internet will agree that those were the days
when the Internet was viewed as a channel for dishing out press releases and
corporate information, addresses and phone numbers in addition to image-
enhancing photos. In this first phase of the Internet evolution between 1989
and 1993, also known as the era of the
World Wide Web
(see Figure 2.3 on
p. 40), websites were developed mostly by companies and not by individuals.
During this time, most companies were still trying to get to grips with what
the Internet represented for them and what objectives their investment in the
Internet could serve. While industries like telecommunications and technol-
ogy quickly adopted the Internet, it was unthinkable for luxury brands to even
venture near this new platform. This was because during this era most major
luxury companies were still family-owned and family-run in a traditional
way. The modern luxury industry as we know it today, with a corporate set-
up and structured business consensus, didn't exist at this time. The creation
of the pioneer luxury conglomerates LVMH and Richemont at the end of the
eighties and early nineties would later act as a backdrop for the inclusion of
innovative business practices in luxury management including the Internet. In
the meantime, the entire consumer population were moving at the same pace
as companies in discovering the Internet and its uses. This period of discov-
ery, which lasted for about five years, was the period that defined the Internet
as a channel of information because this was principally what the Internet
was used for. Companies created websites mainly to provide corporate infor-
mation, in most cases comprising a list of their products and services, their
location and press information, while consumers used the Internet mostly to
access this information, send emails and exchange general information.
