The latest trends in luxury brands and the future of the sector in the digital age will be considered by international industry and academic leaders at an annual conference held in Singapore this week.
The Mystique of Luxury Brands Singapore Conference 2018, hosted by Curtin University’s Luxury Branding Research Cluster, Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and Louken Group, will be held at the Sheraton Towers in Singapore, from May 8 to 9. Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Manpower for the Republic of Singapore, Ms Low Yen Ling, is the guest-of-honour at the event.
The topics discussed at this year’s conference will focus on the digitisation of luxury brands, the corporate social responsibility of the sector and the emerging luxury lifestyles industry, from luxurious holidays to wellness spa experiences, in the Asia-Pacific region.
The keynote presentation will be delivered by Louken Group Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Luke Lim.
Conference co-chair Professor Ian Phau, the Head of the School of Marketing at Curtin University, said the conference will bring together industry professionals and academics from 14 countries and 44 universities.
“While global brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Hermes continue to dominate the luxury brands market, the rise of affordable and bespoke luxury brands has blurred the definition of luxury products and is changing the face of the industry as we know it,” Professor Phau said.
“This conference, which is now in its third year, aims to explore the evolution of luxury brands and shed light on the potential innovations that will ensure luxury brands remain relevant in the digital age by bridging the link between industry and the academic world.”
Professor Cheong Hee Kiat, President of Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), said: “Companies need to continually plug into the evolving digital world to seek innovative ways to connect with the new generation of digitally-savvy consumers. This is relevant even in the luxury brand market, one in which Singapore’s SMEs can gain an advantage through digital transformation. SUSS plays a forward-looking role, through our strong tech-enabled applied education, in supporting our workforce and businesses to acquire new digital knowledge and build their capabilities to stay competitive and succeed in a fast changing business landscape. As a pioneer in online education, SUSS itself utilises emerging solutions to better engage and develop our students, and foster a strong spirit of innovation within our learning environment.”
Mr Luke Lim, Founder and Group CEO of Louken Group, said: “SMEs today no longer are limited to the traditional rules in building a brand in the luxury market segment. The rules helped by the established luxury brands can now be circumvented using horizontal customer relationship and technology such as social media and artificial intelligence to create and develop new product categories that meets the unmet need of today’s luxury consumers. While the use of social media and e-commerce is becoming a norm, it brings new opportunity for start-up and niche brands to redefine luxury market. Using AI and creating a seamless online-to-offline customer experience can lead this new niche brands to develop bespoke product and services for new generations of luxury consumers.”
