Heir Apparent

Proper succession planning by home-grown luxury fashion brands can prevent the pitfalls faced by their international counterparts

- Mughal Sahal

“I don’t design clothes. I design dreams.” The words of legendary fashion icon Ralph Lauren ring true not only for his brand but also every other luxury brand.

In this era, the essence of a luxury brand has evolved far beyond functionality and price. It is more about value derived from attributes such as novelty, history, traditions, consistency, bespoke offerings and beliefs. These lend the label a philosophy of its own, revolving around the iconic creator of the brand, who embodies these very attributes.

Across the world of fashion and luxury, revenue is not the primary motivation behind a company’s formation. The journey begins with one’s talent and passion, but does not end with him. Thus, when the time comes for the founder to bid goodbye, his legacy continues.

People who buy luxury brands associate the brand with the founder in his lifetime and then his legacy. However, for survival, the brand requires to evolve with time. This necessity to evolve along with the compelling requirement to preserve the past not only makes a succession plan vital to the continuity of any luxury fashion house, but also particularly challenging.

Apart from sheer talent and management skills, perhaps in equal measure, a successor also requires to embody the strong identity of the predecessor. Besides creative as well as strategic inputs, a leader in today’s times must also deal with global markets and modes of trade, multichannel communication and fast changing consumer perspectives.