What's Luxury among Asian Affluents? Which brands express luxury the most among Asian Affluents? In the latest newsletter of Agility Research & Strategy (www.agility-research.com), we explore further what luxury means - and which brands best express luxury.

1. AGILITY RESEARCH & STRATEGY Issue 5
Luxe Poll
Agility Research
& Strategy
5 OCT 2012
WE ARE FLUENT ON THE AFFLUENT™ IN THIS ISSUE
Redefining Luxury: • For Affluent Asians, luxury is
all about personal rewards
that can be socially
Affluent Brands Ranking Asia •
identified.
Apple emerges as the top
September 2012 favorite brand across the
key Asian economies.
With the rising prominence of In this study, we asked 6 key
Asia as a region of economic questions that tested the responses
on 6 different attributes of luxury –
growth, Affluent Asians are self-definition, need for uniqueness,
the prime target for brand perceived quality, exclusivity, social
managers. While Affluent Identification and self-rewarding
Asians have been cautiously behavior. These attributes have
optimistic this year, they have been closely associated with luxury
and have been tested thoroughly in
been splurging on their academic literature.
favorite brands and redefining
what constitutes luxury. So Selected components from the
how do these consumers corresponding psychological scales
define luxury and what are the fed into the questions we asked.
Respondents then had to select the
brands that get their share of top three statements that define
wallet? luxury for them and pick their top
luxury brands from a list of two-
This September, Agility Research hundred and fifty luxury brands
& Strategy studied the luxury across apparel, watches, technology,
preferences of 2500 consumers gadgets, automobiles, holiday
across China, India, Indonesia and destinations, hotels, financial service
Singapore in our syndicated institutions and liquor/alcoholic
research piece – Agility Affluent beverages.
Ignite™ 2012.
© 2012, Agility Research & Strategy

2. AGILITY RESEARCH & STRATEGY Issue 5
Affluent Asian Consumers redefine luxury innate or derived (i.e., perceived) – and exclusivity by
scarcity are two components that underlie the third
theme of “premium-ness”.
The Asian Affluent consumer defines luxury
under four major themes. The fourth theme – social Identification (buying the
same brands as one’s referents) and self-gifting –
The first two themes – need for uniqueness and defining provides us with an in-depth understanding of what
oneself through luxury resonate with the pre- luxury means to Affluent Asians.
established consumer motivations behind what luxury is
and what motivates the Affluent to buy luxury brands. By combining the two constructs we arrive at simple
scenarios that are increasingly being depicted by
The third theme, “premium-ness” is about the perceived Affluent Asians –
quality of the brand.
 A 25 year old young achiever gifting herself with a
Hand-stitched seams on a calfskin leather bag and well-deserved Gucci handbag/watch to win the
uniqueness of its design – or even simply the brand and appreciation of her like-branded social set
its ability to command quality are all indicators of a
brand’s perceived premium-ness amongst Affluent  A 28 year old young careerist gifting himself with that
Asians. Audi or BMW he’s been eyeing for several months
now to signal how he has kept up with the rest of his
The same was true with exclusivity achieved either clique
through artificial or innate scarcity.
 A 23 year old career starter gifting herself with the
Luxury is defined not just by premium-ness but also the new iPhone5, in addition to her new MacBook Pro
exclusivity it exhibits: the scarcer a brand is either and her iPad, as a self-reward for successfully crossing
through supply or limited editions or the establishment over to the “real world” and as a symbol that “I am
of financial barriers (i.e., pricing), the more exclusive and doing fine outside the four walls of the classroom!”
the more premium it is seen as being. Quality –
Need for Uniqueness Need to Define Oneself
The 4 Themes of
Luxury
Premium-ness Social Identification
Therefore, the new mantra to win over the Affluent Asian consumer lies in two simple steps – One, maintain your
brand’s aspirational quotient so your products are viewed as personal rewards for “a job well done, a challenge
well managed, a life well lived and balanced” and two, leverage on the brands’ perceptions amongst the target
consumers’ cliques, through the most visible ways of sharing within digital social networks.
© 2012, Agility Research & Strategy

3. AGILITY RESEARCH & STRATEGY Issue 5
Top 10 Affluent Brands in Asia
Apple vs. Samsung battle continues. Apple is the top favorite luxury brand among Affluent Asians;
Samsung not far behind.
Affluent Asians love Apple, Paris (as a holiday destination), BMW, Sony, Samsung and Rolex along with Canon, Audi,
Mercedes Benz and Microsoft. Here are the latest topline findings of Agility Affluent Index™ –
Rank Brand
1 Apple
2 Paris
3 BMW
4 Sony
5 Samsung
6 Rolex
7 Canon
8 Audi
9 Mercedes Benz
10 Microsoft
Men battle it out with women to put their favorite automobile and technology brands in the top-ten
Interestingly, we observe a gender war here. While Apple is consistently voted as the most preferred brand across
males and females, names like Chanel, Canon, Hong Kong (as a holiday destination) and Ferrari figured in the top ten
luxury brands among Affluent women. Out of these Chanel made it to the top-ten. Men preferred technology and
automobile brands like Audi, Mercedes Benz, Microsoft, Intel and voted for them more strongly than women.
Therefore, three brands voted by men (as compared to one in women) - Audi, Mercedes Benz and Microsoft made it
to the top-ten luxury brands that are preferred by Affluent Asians.
Rank Brand (All) Brand (Males) Brand (Females)
1 Apple Apple Apple
2 Paris Paris BMW
3 BMW Sony Samsung
4 Sony BMW Paris
5 Samsung Chanel Sony
6 Rolex Canon Rolex
7 Canon Rolex Intel
8 Audi Samsung Audi
9 Mercedes Benz Hong Kong Microsoft
10 Microsoft Ferrari Mercedes Benz
© 2012, Agility Research & Strategy

4. AGILITY RESEARCH & STRATEGY Issue 5
China and India dominate the brand rankings while Singapore expresses different
preferences.
We understand that luxury isn’t a universal phenomenon and consumer preferences vary across different countries.
However, certain countries exert their domination more strongly than others. China and India successfully do it yet
again. Six out of top-ten most preferred luxury brands across China and India figure in the overall rankings while for
Indonesia it’s an even split. Singapore, being a relatively mature market has seven different brands that do not make
it to the Affluent Index. This pattern indicates the rise of China and India as the decision-makers of luxury’s future
consumption patterns.
Brand Brand Brand Brand Brand
Rank
(All) (China) (India) (Indonesia) (Singapore)
1 Apple Apple Apple Bali Apple
2 Paris Chanel Taj Apple Marina Bay Sands
3 BMW Paris Sony Paris Tokyo
4 Sony Rolex Intel Ferrari Shangri-La
5 Samsung BMW Paris Mercedes Benz Ritz-Carlton
6 Rolex Sony BMW Samsung Paris
7 Canon Hong Kong Microsoft Visa Samsung
8 Audi ICBC Samsung MasterCard Visa
9 Mercedes Benz Canon Google BMW RWS
10 Microsoft Shangri-la London Intel MasterCard
Asia is affluent. Asia is diverse. Asia also has shifting patterns. We, at Agility Research & Strategy, capture the pulse of
the Asian Affluent consumer. There is so much more to these consumers in terms of their preferences in specific
luxury categories, their product wish lists, and the most ‘unheard’ brands among them. We will share more on these
interesting insights soon. Till then, stay connected to the world of affluence and luxury through Agility.
About Agility Research & Strategy
The Affluent Insights Poll was conducted online among 2,500 respondents in 4 countries, including China, India,
Indonesia and Singapore. The respondents were representative of the online population in terms of age and gender,
aged 18-64 years old.
With 30 years of combined experience on the luxury market, we at Agility Research & Strategy have helped our clients
gain valuable insights on the affluent segment across verticals, whether they are trying to sell cars, hotel rooms,
clothing, handbags or financial services. Through the years we have developed expertise in how to best tap into this
target audience for our clients. Our researchers are frequently quoted and published in various media, establishing our
position as experts and thought leaders on the luxury market.
We are fluent on the Affluent™
Reach us at:
email – amrita@agility-research.com
website – http://www.agility-research.com
phone – (65) 6396 6832
address – 300 Beach Road #14-07, The Concourse, Singapore 199555
© 2012, Agility Research & Strategy