Today the WSJ posted an interesting article about Christian Dior coming out with a line of uber-expensive cell phones that will primarily target the Chinese and Russian markets. The move is another example of fashion houses expanding into new, unfamiliar categories to diversify their portfolios and increase revenues. The company hopes to reach annual sales of €200M in the long term, a lofty goal considering the entire company had overall sales of €787 million last year.
Says the WSJ:
Dior's move comes as high-end fashion houses are crossing the boundaries of traditional fashion items to boost sales. After the licensing heyday of the 1980s, which cheapened the names of many fashion houses by putting them on items ranging from lighters to toilet-seat covers, labels reeled in their branding efforts during the 1990s.
Yet in recent years, many companies have branched out again, this time with a pledge to be more selective about how they use their name.
With mobile phones, fashion brands have insisted on taking part in both design and marketing. Last year, when Italian fashion house Prada launched a phone with South Korea's LG Electronics Inc., Prada tinkered with the touch screen and preloaded content in addition to working on the phone's basic design.
Cannage Zip Around Wallet ($460 at eluxury)
Lady Dior Patent Cannage Bag ($1,800 at eluxury)
Thoughts? Would you spend $5,000 on a Dior cell phone? Will Dior be able to achieve such lofty sales goals? How would you change the phones to make them more appealing?
I personally think the phones are pretty cool looking, but I wouldn't ever dream of spending 5 grand on something that would probably become obsolete after a few years. But that's just me.
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