NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - April 27, 2010) - The objective and independent New York City-based Luxury Institute reported today the top-rated luxury watch brands in the 2010 Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) survey. This survey identifies the brands that deliver true luxury based solely on the unbiased ratings of wealthy U.S. consumers.
High net-worth consumers rated Blancpain the "Best of the Best" among 33 luxury watch brands. Despite being a relatively unknown brand, Blancpain clearly stands out as the most luxurious brand of the 33 in this study, with the highest ratings for all four component measures of the LBSI and both outcome metrics.
The LBSI asks high net-worth consumers to rate luxury brands by category across four equally weighted components: Consistently Superior Quality, Uniqueness and Exclusivity, Making the Customer Feel Special Across the Entire Experience, and Being Consumed by People Who Are Admired and Respected.
The "Best of the Best" are (LBSI score out of 10):
- Luxury Watches
- Blancpain - 8.74
- Vacheron Constantin - 8.15
- Breguet - 8.09
"The luxury watches category is one of the oldest and most prestigious," said Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. "And yet the industry is stuck in time in terms of its distribution and customer relationship building innovations. We predict that more luxury watch brands will build their own direct distribution channels via retail and online as they realize that the future belongs to those watch brands that have direct and deep relationships with their end consumers."
The proprietary Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) survey is the only unbiased measure of the prestige of leading brands among wealthy Americans. A national sample of 505 ultra-wealthy American consumers, with weighted average household income of $845,000 and average investable assets of $16.6 million, was surveyed online.
About the Luxury Institute (www.LuxuryInstitute.com)
The Luxury Institute is the uniquely independent and impartial ratings, research and Luxury CRM consulting institution that is the trusted and respected voice of the high net-worth consumer. The Institute provides a portfolio of proprietary publications, research and consulting services that guide and educate high net-worth individuals and the companies that cater to them on leading edge trends, high net-worth consumer rankings and ratings of luxury brands, and best practices. The Luxury Institute also operates LuxuryBoard.com, the world's first global, membership-based online community for luxury goods and services executives, professionals and entrepreneurs.
Contact Information:
Contact:
The Luxury Institute, LLC
Martin Swanson
Vice President
(914) 909-6350
mswanson@luxuryinstitute.com