Rolls-Royce’s extreme segmentation

Sometimes brands can go very far as far as segmentation is concerned.
In the luxury business the growth path goes through Asia and in particular therough China.
I recently came across a crazy example. Rolls Royce actually prepared a limited edition for the Chinese market only. Nicknamed “Year of the Dragon”, this limited series of the Phantom sold out in 2 months although it was priced at 1m€ each.
The red exterior (the color of luck) is complemented by gold hand-painted dragons on each fender, same as the one that is hand-stitched on the cushions in the rear and in the headrests.

My take:

Minor changes to a standard can add a great deal of value for some particular segments of your customer base. I witnessed a very similar customization a few years ago when I visited the Blancpain factory in Le Brassus. A limited series of watches was being produced. Based on a standard model a special rotor had been designed to celebrate the year of the Dragon. And guess what … it was quickly sold out.

The “Year of the Dragon” rotors at Blancpain’s factory

By Pierre-Nicolas Schwab Dr. Pierre-Nicolas Schwab is the founder of IntoTheMinds. He specializes in e-commerce, retail and logistics. He is also a research fellow in the marketing department of the Free University of Brussels and acts as a coach for several startups and public organizations. He holds a PhD in Marketing, a MBA in Finance, and a MSc in Chemistry. He can be contacted by email, Linkedin or by phone (+32 486 42 79 42)