Odds of success are stacked toward brands with hybrid business models. These hybrid models mix luxury strategy (investing in desirability, scarcity, status-signaling) and fast retail (trend, availability, price) in a way that capitalizes on the strengths of both.

Heritage, ritual, and tradition. The common perception is that a brand with a link to heritage and craft almost immediately achieves a veneer of rarity. This mechanism is often used in retrofit manner, with brands (and entire regions) clamoring to emphasize their provenance and heritage. Brand founders are often elevated to the level of artists. A

... See more