Burberry Fanpage on Facebook http://www.luxuo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/burberry-facebook-fan-page.jpg

I read a interesting post titled “Fashion’s Next Frontier for Social Media” onJade Su’s blog. It was a post about how fashion industries are using social networks such as Facebook to market their products as well as strengthen its brand identity. Jade also talked about her experience on how American Apparel’s Facebook event led her to know that there is a sale going on.

I also felt the same way with Jade that social networks is the best approach for fashion industries to reach out to its customers and advertise their new collections and promote their sales. I personally believe that these Facebook pages are alive as an unique individual with its brand identity. Any statuses, posts, or photos from that page represents the brand itself. I also feel that advertising using the social network is really efficient since the thousands of fans of that fashion industry’s Facebook page will able to see updates of the latest collections, events, and sales without going into the store in person first. Now days, people just look at the websites of fashion brands and see what they have and then decide to go to the store or not.

IKEA http://www.dimensionsguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/IKEA.jpg

I read a post titled “Entrepreneurial Business: IKEA” about the success and entrepreneurship of Ingvar Kamprad on Eric Tsai’s blog.  I felt that it was very innovative for Ingvar Kamprad to develop affordable, yet stylish, furniture for people around the world. According to my understanding of North European furniture, they are very expensive due to their unique design and style. However, Kamprad’s IKEA is capable of designing affordable furnitures that still carries the uniqueness and style of European furniture designers. I really admire him because I always believe that style and design should be enjoyed by all people. Although IKEA’s factories are very efficient in manufacturing furniture, there has been many issues regarding to the quality of the furniture, and the rights of the labour.

Mulberry's teddy bear for charity. http://www.fusedmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Mulberry_Pudsey-470x513.jpg

I read a very interesting post written by Dr. Isaac Mostovicz about corporate responsibility in the luxury industry on a blog about luxury marketing called “Janus Thinking“. The blog post was titled “Luxury Brands and Charity Partnership“.

The post on charity partnership indicated how Mulberry and other British luxury brands designed limited edition teddy bears that will go auction for BBC Children in Need. I felt that this post was very interesting because the author discussed how companies traditionally viewed the idea of corporate social responsibility as something unnecessary. Moreover, I also find interesting how the British luxury industries viewed that cooperating with charities for children works the best in creating brand identity and corporate responsibility. The author also stated that corporate responsibility works the best as long as the company is not thinking about profits and that the charity and responsibility they are doing is actually to make a change in society. After reading this post, I learned the importance of how luxury industries can cooperate with charities to strengthen their brand identity.

http://www.janusthinking.com/2011/11/luxury-brands-and-charity-partnerships/

Tiffany & Co. Advertisement http://juliagulia024.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/girlmd1.jpg

According to a recent article from Business Wire, Tiffany & Co (a famous luxury company that sells jewelry) launched  a website named “Tiffany & Co. Corporate Responsibility” that describes and reports the company’s achievements and goals they have on corporate, environmental, and social responsibility. For example, the website clarifies the origin of the diamonds and precious metals. It also provided the company’s goals on improving the mining standards in various areas, as well as hoping to help the economies of diamond-producing nations. Moreover, TIffany & Co. have donated 2 percent of its earning to charities and have also signed the United Nations Global Compact. The company had also made effort in environmental responsibility by using certified sustainable materials for its packaging. The chairman of Tiffany & Co., Michael J. Kowalski, explained, “Our position as a leader in the luxury jewelry market gives us the opportunity and the responsibility to set an example for the industry and to conduct our business in a manner that is consistent with our core beliefs–protection of the environment, respect for human rights and support for the communities in which we do business.”

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tiffany-co-launches-website-dedicated-to-corporate-sustainability-initiatives-2011-11-14

Ralph Lauren Wimbledon Collection

In 1967, Ralph Lauren took a loan from Norman Hilton and established Polo Fashions. However, Ralph Lauren wanted more control with his business and decided to establish the Polo and Ralph Lauren brand. Two years later, Ralph Lauren was the first male fashion designer to open a store at Bloomingdale. His store and menswear was very successful and decided to take the risk to launch a women’s collection in 1971. Ralph Lauren started to become famous for its polo player logo on his shirts. After years of success, difficulties, and guidance, Ralph Lauren continued expansion all around the globe. He also established other brands such as the Ralph Lauren Black Label and Purple Label. to attract more variety of consumers. The main reason behind Ralph Lauren’s success is that he designs clothes that is stylish and consistent. “I believe in clothes that last, that are not dated in a season. The people who wear my clothes don’t think of them as fashion.”

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/I0BnY5LN3bM/TprSuZg1_pI/AAAAAAAABqM/MD0Idz3WvKQ/s640/ralph_lauren+%25281%2529.jpg

http://www.businesswings.co.uk/articles/Ralph-Lauren-empire-builder?pageNum=1 

http://retailindustry.about.com/od/topusretailcompanies/a/retailerquotes.htm