Brand launches in a new market: The benefits and challenges
A recent London Design Week talk at Design Centre Chelsea Harbour looked at the benefits and challenges of brand launches in a new market, specifically, the US. It sparked a conversation in our team, drawing on our years of experience, as to how shifting global dynamics have seen a rise in brands looking for opportunities elsewhere, diversifying their portfolio and reaching new audiences.
Carisha Swanson, Sir Peter Osborne (Osborne & Little), Bernie de Le Cuona (de Le Cuona), and interior designer Jeffrey Alan Marks
The panel, chaired by House Beautiful US's Carisha Swanson with a stellar panel—Sir Peter Osborne (Osborne & Little), Bernie de Le Cuona (de Le Cuona), and interior designer Jeffrey Alan Marks, covered a wide range of topics from bureaucracy and tariffs to market penetration options. Let’s look at the details and how PR and digital communications are a vital part of any strategy.
Understanding the Luxury Market Landscape: Opportunities and Pitfalls
Expanding into a new market presents both significant opportunities and inherent risks for a luxury company. The global luxury sector is experiencing rapid transformation, driven by shifting consumer expectations, digital acceleration, and regional economic trends.
Opportunities
Let’s start with the subject of wealth and how certain markets are seeing an exponential increase in consumers with higher disposable income. The Middle East continues to attract rising numbers of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) with a strong appetite for luxury, while the US remains a dominant player with an evolving luxury consumer base.
There is also a desire for brand heritage and exclusivity. Consumers in new markets often seek established heritage brands that offer prestige and authenticity. This is good for UK brands who have the British-Made association as this is often seen as a mark of quality and craftsmanship around the world.
In the DCCH talk, interior designer Jeffrey Alan Marks argued that people are prepared to pay for luxury, citing Plain English as a good example of a brand he sees has a strong brand story Stateside and represents both UK quality and craftsmanship. The House Beautiful Editor, Joanna Saltz, added that consumers don’t just want luxury; they want ‘special.’
In some markets, luxury purchases serve as a symbol of social status, making brand recognition and storytelling vital. Both Bernie de La Cuona and Sir Peter Osborne highlighted the importance of brand identity when entering a new market. Both brands are visually at very different ends of the spectrum but people know what they are getting from each. That underlying quality is an inherent part of the brand choice but depending on the look you are going for, each will appeal to a different audience. They have their brand story nailed in and it's fundamental to all that they do.
Challenges and Risks
It would be naive to think that entering a new market is without risk. That’s pretty obvious. However, forewarned is forearmed and having a deep understanding of the market you are developing a brand or product launch strategy for is essential. It’s not enough to copy-paste an approach. Sir Peter emphasised the need to get on the ground in the potential market and really understand what you are taking on.
In the US, for example, each state is a market in its own right, with NYC, Connecticut, Atlanta, Denver, and Boston as well as key cities in Texas cited as excellent opportunities. They each have their own ways of working, many have their own design hubs and of course, regulations and politics vary in each too.
Currency fluctuations, taxation policies (at the state level in the US), and geopolitical tensions can impact market stability and purchasing power. This means your business plan needs to account for these potential changes. Rather than investing in a bricks and mortar store, are there other ways to reduce risk whilst testing these waters such as pop-ups, digital-first approaches or joining multi-line showrooms that sell complimentary or similar products?
There is also market saturation to consider. The US luxury market is mature and competitive, requiring differentiation, whereas the Middle East, while growing, comes with cultural and operational complexities.
And finally, don’t forget that regulatory and distribution hurdles are to be considered too. Entering a new market requires compliance with advertising laws, import regulations, and potentially restrictive local business policies. The panel did say that red tape and bureaucracy in the US are far less cumbersome than in the UK, however. In the US, if the showroom you choose isn’t working, you can more easily walk away compared to in Europe, for example.
To succeed, luxury brands must conduct thorough market research, assess competitor positioning, and align their entry strategy with local consumer behaviours.
Cultural Nuances and Consumer Expectations: Crafting the Right Message
When it comes to cultural nuance and consumer expectations, these vary dramatically from location to location. Luxury perceptions vary across markets (e.g., exclusivity vs. accessibility) which requires a good understanding of these when you enter into the market.
Image credit: Dubai Design Week
In the Middle East, luxury is often associated with status, exclusivity, and high-touch personalised service. There is a strong emphasis on VIP experiences, private clientele, and limited-edition releases. Whereas the US luxury market is increasingly driven by values such as sustainability, craftsmanship, and brand storytelling. Younger affluent consumers favour brands that align with their personal identity and social consciousness.
Heritage, storytelling, and brand positioning in new regions are also essential to get right. What can you offer that existing players in the market cannot? How can your product stand out from them and get cut through, particularly in very saturated markets?
Both PR and digital marketing are important to get right in this circumstance. Make sure your brand narrative is strong and this should underpin any market entry strategy you put together. Working with partners such as Sandford who have experience in these markets will help get you ahead in this area and ensure you can hit the ground running.
Digital and Traditional Media Strategies: Finding the Right Balance
The importance of localised content and social media platforms
A one-size-fits-all approach is not going to work in the context of media strategies. Tailored content, influencer collaborations, and cultural sensitivity in marketing campaigns are essential.
The Digital-First Approach: Localised Content & Platform-Specific Strategies
Different regions favour different platforms. While Instagram and TikTok dominate luxury marketing in the US, platforms like Snapchat and WhatsApp play a bigger role in the Middle East for direct consumer engagement.
Image credit: Dubai Design District
Content should be adapted to cultural norms and language preferences. Luxury brands must ensure that messaging, visual aesthetics, and even influencer collaborations reflect local tastes and expectations.
On a basic level, spelling differences - color vs colour, cozy vs cosy and jumper vs sweater in the US for example! But broader than that, images and video, style and interiors in the shots you choose to promote your brand make a huge difference to perception. Your brand equity matters.
Do you embrace the scale in the US, with case studies that show bigger homes, or do you lean into the British-made narrative and produce content that shows an intimacy not offered by many US brands?
Messaging too must align with cultural values, traditions, and purchasing behaviours—for example, Ramadan campaigns in the Middle East or exclusivity-driven loyalty programs in the US.
And what about e-commerce and social media sales opportunities? While luxury retail has traditionally thrived on in-store experiences, the rise of digital commerce is undeniable. In the US, direct-to-consumer (DTC) models are increasingly popular, while in the Middle East, partnerships with established retailers and high-end department stores can enhance credibility.
Pinterest in the US continues to flourish with more tools added all the time to reach people at different stages of the purchase funnel. It can easily integrate with platforms such as Shopify, seamlessly allowing you to promote products through the platform, direct to your website.
Working with influencers, celebrities, and media to build credibility
In the panel talk, Jeffery Alan Marks talked about the idea of collaboration with a brand being a fun way to connect with audiences.
In the US Market, influencer culture is strong, with micro- and macro-influencers shaping consumer behaviour. Authenticity is key—partnerships must feel organic rather than transactional.
In the Middle East, influencer marketing is highly effective, but exclusivity matters. High-profile collaborations with royals, ultra-high-net-worth individuals, and trusted local tastemakers are crucial for luxury credibility.
We would suggest allocating the relevant budget to activate campaigns in these markets if you feel this would benefit you but research is essential. We use specific tools to assess suitability, review past campaigns and find those with a suitable brand affinity to find the best fit.
Regulatory and Operational Challenges: Navigating the Current Landscape
You can’t move at the moment for news of tariffs, trade restrictions and tumultuous global politics. It can certainly be exhausting to try and keep up.
The DCCH panel talk dedicated an entire segment to the subject. Understandably, for brands such as theirs, tariffs do pose a real threat to their business supply chains. In the luxury design sector, maintaining quality is essential. Customers expect the best and to an extent, will be willing to pay a premium for it. But brands such as those at the talk, recognise that passing all that expense directly on to the client is unsustainable.
They were asked if they’d consider looking at alternative, US-based suppliers, and this was broadly met with considerable caution. They have built reputations on excellence and have travelled the world looking for it. It’s unlikely that they would want to change that any time soon.
However, they all agreed that the US in particular, offers an unquestionable opportunity with much reduced red tape featuring high on their positives list.
Other brands, such as Hill House Interiors, have shifted part of their business to the Middle East, favouring this market to others as a growth opportunity. Their neutral colour schemes, high-quality interior design choices and an active client base made this the perfect location for their brand to thrive.
Compliance with advertising and retail regulations in the US and the Middle East
Managing brand reputation in locations with strict cultural and business norms can be a big hurdle to overcome when entering new markets. Careful research and due diligence will be essential before making plans to do so.
Advertising and retail regulations need to be considered too, with each market approaching things differently.
If you are uncertain about where to start, it may be worth considering looking for opportunities in a multi-line showroom first. They may be able to provide you with guidance and offer a safety net to smaller brands looking for a way to access new audiences. If you think it’s better for you to go “all-in”, then be thorough about your knowledge gathering and use experts who live and breathe your market to guide the way.
The Role of PR and Communications in a Successful Market Entry
To back up any bricks and mortar showroom opening, or digital footprint within a new market, a thoughtful PR and communications strategy will be key. It can be incredibly daunting, targeting a whole new field of journalists and freelance contacts who are unfamiliar with your name, which is why we’d recommend partnering with an agency like ours, with an understanding of multiple markets, and a global database of contacts.
Depending on the new market, there are different considerations. For example, US publications have become much more pay-to-play in their process, relying more than ever on advertising fees both to sustain their work, and when selecting which brands and designers to include. When allocating budget to new openings in the States, thought must go into all aspects of marketing and PR to ensure your strategy is cohesively working together. You really can’t do one without the other in the US.
Take Pooky as an example of a brand which has achieved brilliant success across the pond - bear in mind that they have yet to open a physical showroom. The strategy was thoughtful, steady, and encompassed a broad spectrum of marketing and PR activity - from print advertising, PR (both traditional and digital), hosting a series of opening events for journalists and designers, well-thought-through influencer campaigns, upping their Pinterest game with us (and some viral Pins too!), and branching out to create a dedicated US Instagram page. The result is a growing network of US clients and boosted sales figures year on year.
In another part of the world - specifically, Dubai, Hill House Interiors has boosted its brand awareness in this new market through in-person communication channels and is another great success story as we mentioned earlier.
Founders Helen Bygraves and Jenny Weiss are often on the ground in this territory, either at events such as the Dubai Boat Show or simply meeting with contacts and deepening those relationships. An interesting approach which has proven hugely successful has been their considered entry into awards schemes - such as the International Design & Architecture Awards, BIID Awards, International Property Awards and SBID Awards. Several shortlisted projects and gold trophies ensure that the business is known for the highest-quality interior design and architecture. In this region in particular, award-winning practices are sought out more frequently, and for higher-calibre projects. Helen shared her expertise with us:
“Having initially been approached to work with a number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals in the region, this naturally led us to open our office there. What started as a project-led presence has since grown organically. From a London design practice perspective, it’s been fascinating to bring our signature approach to a completely different market. We’ve been fortunate to work with some exceptional clients and partners along the way.
Since bringing Karla Muchmore on board to head up business development in the region, our visibility has really gained momentum. Through a combination of strategic networking platforms, our presence has gone from strength to strength.
A quick word of advice for anyone considering making the move; setting up a business in the region isn't without its complexities. Costs can quickly add up with permits, visas and other hidden expenses, so it’s absolutely essential to budget properly from the outset.”
Conclusion
In conclusion, expanding into a new international market is a hugely exciting step for a business, and one to celebrate. But it requires considerable thought, preferably partnering with an agency that has previous experience, and a decent chunk of budget to help boost PR and marketing efforts. Partnerships with local influencers, advertising costs, and participation in and/or attendance of relevant events will all help boost brand awareness in this new territory but require a dedicated budget to ensure that each of the opportunities is maximised to its full potential.
Dipping a toe into a new market is tricky - our final thought would be to step back and consider if now really is the best time, considering the economic and political climate, the growth in your business as currently stands in the UK, and how much time you really have to dedicate to the work that is needed to take that leap. Better to be over prepared!
