DIGITALIZZAZIONE DEI BRAND DI LUSSO: SFIDE INTERNE ED ESTERNE. DEVONO DIGITALIZZARSI PER SOPRAVVIVERE?

The objective of this paper is to study the luxury fashion market and the internet impact on this industry. Internet and social media are today the most important communication tools for companies and people. They have huge power and possibilities, and they are used by companies all over the world. Luxury means exclusivity, uniqueness, high quality, rarity, and because of its nature, in the past, some people believed that it was incompatible with the Internet. However, this was not totally true, as it is clearer today, the Internet offered, and it still offers a huge opportunity. Some companies decided to go digital and to innovate themselves, while others are more conservative and traditionalist. The question remains, whether the luxury firms have to go digital to survive, or whether the true luxury should not go digital. Can the Internet influence their perceived image, whether positively or negatively? To answer these questions, we will analyze the luxury fashion industry, its marketing strategy and the internal and external challenges. We will look at Gucci case, a great example of digitalization and e-commerce. Interviews, surveys and data analysis will be then studied to understand to what extent it is helpful or harmful to the fashion luxury brands to be active and present on the internet.