Luxury Institute Survey: Japanese High Net-Worth Consumers Rank the "Best of the Best" Luxury Brands in Six Categories

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - June 4, 2009) - The Luxury Institute reported today the results of the "Best of the Best" luxury brands in Japan based on the 2009 Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) survey, which identifies the top brands that deliver true luxury based solely on the unbiased ratings of wealthy Japanese consumers. The following six luxury categories were rated: Women's Fashion (29 brands), Women's Shoes (18 brands), Handbags (30 brands), Men's Fashion (22 brands), Men's Shoes (18 brands) and Automobiles (20 brands).

The LBSI asks high net-worth consumers to rate luxury brands by category across four equally weighted components: Consistently Superior Quality, Uniqueness and Exclusivity, Making the Customer Feel Special Across the Entire Experience and Being Consumed by People Who Are Admired and Respected.

Which luxury providers deliver the best combination of quality, exclusivity, customer experience and peer prestige in Japan?

The "Best of the Best" are: (LBSI score out of 10)

-- Women's Fashion
   -- Hermes - 7.38
   -- Chanel - 7.20
   -- Louis Vuitton - 7.01

-- Women's Shoes
   -- Manolo Blahnik - 8.18
   -- Jimmy Choo - 7.58
   -- Hermes - 7.45

-- Handbags
   -- Hermes - 7.76
   -- Louis Vuitton - 7.24
   -- Chanel - 7.20

-- Men's Fashion
   -- Ermenegildo Zegna - 7.08
   -- Giorgio Armani - 6.97
   -- Louis Vuitton - 6.71

-- Men's Shoes
   -- Salvatore Ferragamo - 6.82
   -- Versace - 6.59
   -- Giorgio Armani - 6.38

-- Automobiles
   -- Mercedes-Benz - 7.47
   -- Porsche - 7.21
   -- Lexus - 6.99

"Japan continues to be a critical market for luxury due to its highly discerning and still affluent consumers," said Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. "The Luxury Institute conducts more surveys globally with wealthy consumers than all other entities in the world combined, and we also clearly see that luxury is no longer 'back to basics.' While some are busy predicting the death of luxury around the developed world, we predict that luxury will regain its luster, and with a vengeance, when truly wealthy consumers fatten their wallets again and can focus on acquiring the best. It is a historical fact that luxury is cyclical and dramatically outperforms in up cycles and dramatically underperforms in down cycles. We predict that savvy Japanese wealthy consumers will not be fooled again by faux luxury brands."

The proprietary Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) survey is the only unbiased measure of the prestige of leading brands among wealthy Americans. A national sample of 600 wealthy Japanese consumers, with an average household income of JPY50,000,000 Japanese Yen (or $525,000 US Dollars) was surveyed online.

About the Luxury Institute (www.LuxuryInstitute.com)

The Luxury Institute is the uniquely independent and impartial ratings and research institution that is the trusted and respected voice of the high net-worth consumer. The Institute provides a portfolio of proprietary publications and research and consulting services that guides and educates high net-worth individuals and the companies that cater to them on leading edge trends, high net-worth consumer rankings and ratings of luxury brands, and best practices. The Luxury Institute also operates the LuxuryBoard.com (www.LuxuryBoard.com), the world's first global, membership-based online community for luxury goods and services executives, professionals and entrepreneurs.

Contact Information: For Further Information, Please Contact: Evins Communications, Ltd. Dotty J. Giordano Director Enid Lewin Vice President Phone: (212) 688-8200 E-mail: dotty.giordano@evins.com E-mail: enid.lewin@evins.com The Luxury Institute, LLC Martin Swanson Business Development Phone: (914) 909-6350 E-mail: mswanson@luxuryinstitute.com