The Value of Leather as a Component Brand

Abstract

This is the 54th John Arthur Wilson Memorial Lecture.In 1927 John Arthur Wilson stated: “The entire value of leather lies in its properties, and if these are not clearly defined, trade is hampered”. Today, improvement in the performance and aesthetic properties of synthetics makes it harder to differentiate between leather and substitute materials and there is a lack of information about leather at point of retail. Erosion of leather identity and challenges to the image of the industry potentially detract from the value of leather as a component material in the mind of consumers. Global brands, and specifically component branding is a rapidly growing segment of marketing today and the suggestion is made that the leather industry carefully consider the potential benefits of marketing leather as a component brand supported by a certification scheme. There are a number of international organizations addressing some of the immediate challenges facing the industry and some are also involved in various aspects of marketing support of leather. This is encouraging, but it is suggested that the leather industry could benefit from specific coordination of this effort through appropriate structures and should further consider working towards a global component branding strategy for leather with direct marketing to the end consumer. This is not a new call, it echoes previous John Arthur Wilson lectures, but perhaps now the time is right to do something about it.