Orla Kiely has teamed up with French car manufacturers Citroën to launch an exclusive line of DS3 models ‘The DS3 by ORLA Kiely collection’.
Citroën cited Kiely’s innovative streak as one of the key reasons behind the collaboration. The car will retail for £16,000, approximately €19,000. This is not an extortionate price for a car considering the standard edition costs roughly the same amount. This made me question the positioning of the product; usually limited edition products (there will only be 500 cars produced) enable the company to charge over the odds for the exclusivity of the product. Is Citroën positioning the product too low? The obvious direct competitor would be the Mini Cooper which also targets fashionistas. Interestingly, BMW commissioned top designers Calvin Klein, Diane Von Furstenberg and Kenneth Cole to design once-off models of the Mini Cooper in 2010 for charity.
The car will naturally appeal to a female audience. A car is not just a functional product; it is highly emotive. For some it may be a symbol of success, for others of personality. In this case it is a fashion accessory. Furthermore, the eco-friendliness of the car will appeal to the more feminine nature.
Aside from pricing issues, my other concern for the Kiely brand would be over saturation. It is a luxury brand, albeit miles from others such as Gucci, Prada etc. but it still positions itself quite high. The brand has already diversified from clothing into Apple laptop cases, Brita water bottles, Butler’s chocolate cases and even pencils! Everyone can have a piece of the Orla Kiely world. Perhaps this is a quality needed in recent times; the number of people who can afford to buy in to a luxury brand may have dwindled. Either way, I am eager to track the progress of Kiely’s latest effort at diversification.
Aislinn
