New Delhi: Luxury brands have always fascinated consumers due to their quality, status and sex appeal. Anyone who's ever picked up a Forbes or any glossy magazine has seen these brands in the pages.According to Interbrand, a global branding consultancy, luxury retail brands are worth as much as $23 billion.“When you buy something with really high-quality, you can genuinely feel the difference. It is in the touch, the feel of the material; it's in the smoothness, it's in its minute details...,” a buyer of a luxury brand said.At the base level, luxury brands are known to deliver superior experience at two levels – first, at a product level and second, at an experiential level. At a product level it satisfies the functional and utilitarian characteristic like craftsmanship, precision, materials, high quality, unique design, extraordinary product capabilities, technology and innovation. And at experiential level they appeal to the emotions of the consumers. For example: Rolex stands of symbol of heroic achievement and Tiffany is a symbol of love and beauty. Surprisingly, lost of luxury brands have a rich pedigree and extraordinary history. A consumer purchasing a Gucci or Prada product is no doubt influenced by brand's rich lineage, heritage and the years of mastery.The 2013 BrandZ Top 100, a ranking of the most valuable global brands compiled by research firm MillwardBrown, ranked Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Gucci were the top three global luxury brands of 2013.The survey said luxury brands had become more "accessible, collaborative and experimental''.10. CoachBrand Value: $3,276 mnHandbag firm Coach owed its position at number 10 on the list to its presence in China where it added 30 stores by the end of 2012, taking its total there to 69. The survey said it was among the firms making extensive use of social media and the Internet, "emailing over 1.2 billion messages to selected customers''.9. FendiBrand Value: $3,636 mnAs one of Italy's most respected names in fashion, Fendi is known for staying a step ahead of emerging trends. Fendi has tapped model Cara Delevingne for its Spring/Summer 2013 campaign.8. BurberryBrand Value: $4,194 mnBurberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house, distributing clothing and fashion accessories and licensing fragrances. Angela Ahrendts, CEO of Burberry, has been named as the first woman to make it to the top of Britain's executive pay league. Ahrendts has been credited with 'de-chavving' Burberry and turning it into one of the world's most powerful luxury fashion houses. Her aggressive approach towards social media and innovative promotional concepts is well recognized to escalate the once-traditional brand to the limelight.7. CartierBrand Value: $6,377 mnWorld renowned in jewelry and prestige watchmaking, Cartier has combined expertise and excellence since 1847. Throughout a history spanning well over a century, the French jeweler Cartier has retained an inimitable style, nurtured by its heritage and occasionally inflected by the tastes of some of the most extraordinary personalities of its time.6. ChanelBrand Value: $7,075 mnChanel is a privately held company owned by Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, grandsons of Pierre Wertheimer. The company makes clothes, fragrances, handbags and watches. The brand is most famous for its “little black dress”, the Chanel No. 5 perfume and the Chanel Suit. 5. RolexBrand Value: $7,941mnRolex is the renowned name in the world of luxury wristwatches. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, but relies on 4,000 watchmakers in more than 100 countries. It created the world's first waterproof watch in 1926. Some of the world's most famous athletes pitch Rolex watches including: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Roger Federer and Lindsey Vonn.4. PradaBrand Value: $9,454 mnThe Prada brand was created in 1913 by Mr. Mario Prada and has since become one of the most prestigious and widely-recognized brands in the fashion and luxury goods industries. In 2012, the luxury retailer's brand value skyrocketed 63%, bringing it to $9.5 billion, in the BrandZ calculation. That makes Prada the fourth most valuable luxury brand in the world, but the number one riser in any category.3. GucciBrand Value: $12,735 mnHaving risen from $8,602 mn in 2012, a 48 per cent jump makes Gucci the second fastest growing brand on this list.2. HermèsBrand Value: $19,129 mnHermes is one of the grandest houses in the lexicon of luxury goods. Established in 1837 by Thierry Hermes as a fine harness-making business and today world-renowned for its handcrafted, exceptionally desirable (and expensive) leather goods, most notably its Kelly and Birkin handbags. The company has also become a major player in ready-to-wear fashion.1. Louis VuittonBrand Value: $22,719 mnLouis Vuitton's continued success can be attributed to consistently upholding its core values and remaining loyal to its travel-centric heritage. Louis Vuitton has significantly improved its digital presence — from charting its history on Facebook to launching an app that enables customers to share travel experiences. The brand remains committed to engaging new markets, making it the top gift brand for the Chinese luxury consumer this year. The brand also made its first foray into fragrance in decades with the announced launch of a signature scent by legendary perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud.
