NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - March 29, 2011) - Firsthand perspectives of wealthy U.S. consumers provide detailed rankings of luxury brands' reputation and prestige in results of the 2011 Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) surveys, released today by the independent and objective New York City-based Luxury Institute. 

A balance of men and women from households earning at least $150,000 per year evaluated dozens of luxury fashion and shoe designers on quality, exclusivity, status enhancement and ability to create "special" shopping and owning experiences.

Wealthy respondents also ranked each brand on worthiness of a significant price premium, their willingness to recommend it to friends and family, and the likelihood of consideration next time they make a purchase in that category.

Based on overall LBSI scores (1-10), the top luxury brands rank as follows:

• Women's Fashion
  • Hermes 7.72
  • Prada 7.70

  • Louis Vuitton 7.58

• Men's Fashion
  • Brioni 7.66
  • Ferragamo 7.48

  • Ermenegildo Zegna 7.47

• Women's Shoes
  • Versace 8.06
  • Christian Louboutin 8.04
  • Valentino 7.98

"We find that some categories are very predictable with certain brands rating in similar positions over the years. The luxury women's shoe category is one where fickle consumers rank and rate brands differently over the years," said Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute."

The proprietary Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) survey is the only unbiased measure of the reputation of leading brands provided by direct insights from wealthy U.S. consumers. Sample households had average annual income of $271,000 and $2.4 million average net worth.

About Luxury Institute (www.LuxuryInstitute.com)
The Luxury Institute is the objective and independent global voice of the high net-worth consumer. The Institute conducts extensive and actionable research with wealthy consumers about their behaviors and attitudes on customer experience best practices. In addition, we work closely with top-tier luxury brands to successfully transform their organizational cultures into more profitable customer-centric enterprises. Our Luxury CRM Culture consulting process leverages our fact-based research and enables luxury brands to dramatically Outbehave as well as Outperform their competition. The Luxury Institute also operates LuxuryBoard.com, a membership-based online research portal, and the Luxury CRM Association, a membership organization dedicated to building customer-centric luxury enterprises.

Contact Information:

For Further Information, Please Contact:
The Luxury Institute, LLC
Martin Swanson
Vice President
(914) 909-6350
mswanson@luxuryinstitute.com