The new power of “Made in Germany”
If “Made in Germany” were a brand it would be worth more than 3.8 trillion euros. That’s 167% of the German GDP (source: Global Market Insite).
German brands have always had a fantastic international presence and image, independent of viewers’ nationality, age or social status. A worldwide online survey recently conducted by Dragon Rouge has shown once again: Adidas, BMW and Boss are some of the most beloved brands. What the diverse rankings available confirm as well: Besides those already mentioned, Audi, Mercedes, Nivea, SAP, Siemens and Volkswagen are among the most valuable brands on our planet. The reason is clear: German brands signify state-of-the-art products. They are all associated with precision, innovation, technology, trustworthiness, premiumness and longevity, especially for all high-interest categories focusing on high-tech. If you’re ‘somebody’, you’d rather drive a Porsche. If you’re a born do-it-yourselfer, you have a Bosch at home. If you crave organic anti-aging, you use Dr. Hauschka or Weleda twice a day…
When our thoughts turn to typical German virtues, the legendary “deutsche Tugenden”, we all have words in mind like perfectionism & fascination with detail, best quality, performance & perseverance, tradition & craftsmanship. A strong but somehow ‘heavy-duty’ heritage, certainly a narrowing one in many aspects… What about sexy spirit, about lifestyle lightness, about crazy creativity and dazzling designs? Well… they’re all there now!
“Made in Germany” is hyper again! ‘Reloaded’, and as such, so “übergreat”!
The additional values newly connected with the country, the people and with German brands have made a profound move over the past decade. These days attractive themes such as progressive (a female chancellor), global power (an economically and politically strong country with the best European export rates and among the top 3 worldwide), creative and lively (Berlin and the Berlinale), open, friendly and proud (a brand-new image strongly driven by the FIFA World Cup 2006) are naturally linked with the Federal Republic. A new German self-conception is born.
The innovative German lifestyle brands successfully conquering the world attest to this. To mention just one example: The shooting star on the fashion scene is Liebeskind, the hyperbrand for leather accessories. The company is a long-time friend of Dragon Rouge. Johannes Rellecke, the founder and owner, about what makes the brand so desirable internationally:
“Liebeskind is the emotional performer in the ‘accessories’ category. Our international success is made up of 3 core pillars:
No. 1: Performance and retail success. We started our brand thinking about the retailer’s key needs (good and rapid sales, attractive margins, compelling portfolio) and the consumer’s real expectations: a fair price:quality ratio. Our strong focus was always on the maximum quality possible for the upper medium-price segment. After 7 years we’ve achieved this: Today we are the unchallenged price:quality leader and this clearly opened the doors for us at Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Harvey Nichols and The Bay in North America, or at Isetam in Japan. We are not only the performance champion but also an innovation leader: We produce 7 collections a year (category average is about 4) and launch 20 new materials on the market each year.
No. 2: Being from Berlin. Our studio is in Berlin-Mitte. Our communication campaign focuses on Berlin. We play this ‘new creative hotspot’ card in a strong way, of being the alternative fashion metropolis, the new city for clubs and underground music. Berlin means individuality, new creativity, inspiration, differentness. Berlin is bold, loud, cheeky, progressive. So we are, too. Our new testimonial, the soul and R&B vocalist Joy Denalane, fits perfectly into this universe: She’s highly creative, direct, strong, open, authentic. A real Berlinerin. We’re currently developing a special-edition charity bag together with Joy: 50% of the sales will flow into her Wonalane foundation (South African pearl project). Two minds have met …
No. 3 is our name. The pure semantics of Liebeskind (‘lovechild’) create something special, it has an inexplicable magic. It’s understood worldwide and connects to something unique and emotional the world over.
All that makes Liebeskind such a success.”
I experienced the Liebeskind booth at the Berlin Fashion Week. You can spot it from far away. There’s a tangible, very different atmosphere there: it’s loud, it’s lively, people drink beer and laugh. It’s all about doing business, but doing it smoothly and positively.
In my eyes the Liebeskind success story captures the reloaded power of “Made in Germany” quite well: build on well-known and highly esteemed German rational values and virtues, add a touch of creativity, life and relaxed spirit while being well attuned to the social ‘groove’ and today’s human mood…
Anne Luneau, Managing Partner Germany.
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