The list of the most valuable luxury brands is out, so check your closet and dresser to see if you personally helped to keep these iconic brands on the list.

While the top 10 luxury brands haven’t changed, there may be some movement between them on the horizon.

But wait, before the reveal, how many can you name?  Think about it before you scroll down…

Number 10 — Coach

 

Number 9 — Fendi

 

Number 8 — Burberry

 

Number 7 — Cartier

 

Number 6 — Chanel

 

Number 5 — Rolex

 

Number 4 — Prada

 

Number 3 — Gucci

Do you know who’s missing?  If you need a hint, think how many handbags you (or the women in your life) own.

Number 2 — Hermes

And, Number 1 —  Louis Vuitton (owned by LVMH Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy)

The ranking is based on the monetary value of each company. The nice folks  at Millward Brown Optimor figured this out as part of their 2013 BrandZ Study. Further, they note that Louis Vuitton is losing value, while Gucci and Prada are surging, so these brands may change positions in the near future. Of course, big growth is coming from the BRIC markets, which we talked about in a recent post.

To put all this into perspective, these are luxury brands and aspirational brands. At Mascola Group, we focus on the wealth notches above this plateau. Once an individual’s wealth crosses over into High Net Worth and Ultra High Net Worth, our own proprietary research has shown that these consumers shun luxury brands, since they are both uninterested in flaunting their wealth and comfortable and confident enough that they don’t use brands to validate their self-worth.

The really, really rich are keenly aware that people flaunting luxury brands are aspirational, not fully accomplished. Only if a brand offers the right combination of quality, value, and experience will it even enter the realm of consideration.

If they need to get a look at the top luxury brands, they need only walk downtown in any major world city and see what’s being knocked off and sold on a folding table.

Ultimately, different marketers have different meanings for the word “luxury”. To some, this Top 10 list is the holy grail; to others, it’s meaningless. Where does your brand fall?