Monthly Archives: December 2007

Deeper Sense of Luxury

In an earlier post I talked about what makes a good toy, contrasting two rival consumer mindsets against one another as partially to blame for the problem with toys imported from China: on one hand the desire (or expectation) for safety and quality at knock-down prices; on the other hand – the (almost)
accepted transitory nature of many products and the subsequent unwillingness to spend
money on products where safety and quality are taken extremely
seriously.

So where the true cost of quality has eluded people, and the effects of low quality not being completely clear (until now), it has been an easy option for many companies caught in this dilemma to go for Chinese-manufactured products as keeping manufacture in Europe or the US would simply have created prices that consumers would not be willing to pay.

However this is beginning to change. First indications of this was the emergent trading up, trading down trend where people deliberately sought to save money through highly thrifty shopping for everyday essentials, yet splashing out on upgrading select items in luxury outlets. Yet, contributing to the warped sense of value is of course the flip-side to all this, where reports and documentaries detailing how many luxury labels charge a premium for the ‘perception’ of quality they embody, but in actual fact many products are manufactured just the same as ordinary priced items. Luxury items simply command a higher margin, with labels pocketing the change.

What people are beginning to understand is what exactly the elusive term ‘quality’ means. It appears that Quality functions like a broad stroke term to encompass high expectations on:

  •     Material
  •     Finishing
  •     Design and Usability
  •     Functionality, features and compatibility
  •     Ethics and sustainability
  •     Health and Safety
  •     Environmental Impact
  •     Service and replace-ability

Many still refuse to pay the premium that this may translate to in the short term, but as we increasingly begin to be able to factor the costs of the long-term impact of such choices – it becomes very hard to sustain the argument. Leading this change is the growing attention paid to corporate social responsibility and initiatives like the Deeper Luxury report by WWF UK where the media response to this could be the tipping point for the Industry as suggested by CSRwire

Report_cover
Media Response to WWF-UK Report on Luxury Brands Could Be Tipping Point for the Industry.


Last week over fifty newspapers and magazines from Britain, Brazil,
Australia, New Zealand, Italy and Switzerland reported on the corporate
responsibility of the world’s largest holding companies of luxury
brands. For the first time they had been ranked on their ethical
performance in the report Deeper Luxury: Quality and Style When the
World Matters, which was published by environmental group WWF-UK. The
news went ‘viral’ through trade journals and blogs on fashion, jewelry,
and celebrities.

The
report "could herald a huge change in the way global luxury brands
operate," states Fashion UK.(1) ‘The luxury goods industry looks like
it’s having its own Nike moment," suggests UN corporate reporting
expert Dr Anthony Miller, referring to the mid-90′s criticism of labour
practices in Nike’s supply chain that made the company invest heavily
in its corporate responsibility programme. Within days, Just-Style.com
reported that "PPR Group commits to improving sustainability" as a
result of the publication.(2)

 

Continue reading →

What Makes a Good Toy?

All the recent attention focused on the toy industry courtesy of safety concerns seem to have not just caused any Chinese-manufactured toys to be viewed with suspicion and sent parents trawling through the Internet in search of advice on the matter, but also caused a wider shift in spending patterns link as parents increasingly worry about finding something for their little ones this Christmas, which won’t get recalled in a few months time when someone licks it and finds it poisonous.

This in my mind doesn’t just touch on ensuring even better quality control on toys, but brings in to sharp focus two potentially incompatible value-systems: on one hand – the desire for safety and quality; on the other hand – the (almost) accepted transitory nature of many products (temporary diversion rather than long-term joy) and the subsequent unwillingness of some to spend money on products where safety and quality are taken extremely seriously.

Certainly in the toy industry nobody likes to point fingers and it is a matter of ensuring that each manufacturer takes responsibility for this, however with a lot of the focus on price, China has in recent years been a very tempting solution for many trying to keep abreast with a larger consumer trend of continuously wanting everything faster and cheaper than before. Quality takes time, it costs too and that can be a problem if your company’s business model can’t support the investment in it.

Back to lamenting toys I was recently asked what in my opinion makes a good toy, so here’s my personal list of criteria:

1. Age appropriate - small children in particular like to put everything in their mouth and are very  tactile in their play and exploration of the world – that means that the materials used and size are essential in making the toy safe. Older children have better fine motor skills and have stopped ‘chewing’ on everything to figure them out so can better handle small pieces.

2. Hands on – minds on: children’s gross and fine motor skills along with coordination mature earlier than other parts of their brain so it is important that their toys stimulate movement and coordination, both on large and small scale. The ability of the toy to engage your mind and imagination is essential as children learn about both themselves and the outside world through their imagination.

3. Easy to learn but challenging to master - this gives the toy longevity and guarantees interest over time.

4. Many ideas and opportunities – it is important to be able to learn through the toys, but if they do not encourage experimentation and idea generation the learning will be short-lived

5. Fun alone and together – being alone and together is important for kids, both with their own peers but also with their parents, so toys that can handle both enable role-play and storytelling that kids both love to hear and to do for themselves, alone and together.

Now some toys tick all the boxes, others only some, but it’s important to remember than there are many kinds of toys, each with their own strengths and a good mix is important too, but above all they must all encourage play, the more the better!