Emerging Competitive Strategies in the Global Luxury Industry in the Perspective of Sustainable Development: the Case of Kering Group

In the last years, many drivers should motivate luxury companies to engage in more sustainable practices. On the one hand, consumers seek new forms of luxury that shows respect for natural resources and human beings, yet standing by traditional factors such as quality, creativity, originality, craftsmanship and savoir-faire. The recent economic crisis has thrust the consumers towards the search for responsible luxury. In the new economic and competitive scenario, luxury brands would base their identity and image on a set of values through which they should be known and publicly judged by both clients and the market; sustainable development and corporate social responsibility strategies offer a particularly suitable platform to enrich the value-set of luxury brands. In this framework, the luxury industry is undergoing a process of self-analysis and redefinition of competitive strategies in the light of social responsibility and sustainable dimension. In order to create both financial and non-financial value, sustainable development needs to be incorporated in the core strategy of the firm and its core business. In this perspective, the paper provides an analysis of the main drivers that, in the luxury industry, are leading to a growing integration of social responsibility and sustainable development principles in the competitive strategies of luxury firms. In particular, the paper focuses on innovations emerging in the luxury industry, both at strategic and organizational levels, and provides an overview of new emerging innovative business models coherent with the principles of corporate social responsibility and sustainability. The theoretical analysis is supported by presentation of the case of the French Group Kering, which represents a pioneering example in sustainable development applied to competitive strategies and leading brand management practices.