“Service” in Luxury Retailing in the Twenty‐First Century: An Exploratory Look at the Pleasure Boating Sector

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis study explores the most effective retailing strategies with which luxury retailers can achieve a competitive advantage. The central role of services in enhancing the consumption experience in the luxury segment has been analyzed considering the pleasure boating sector, with a focus on the role that the dealer may have, both in the integration of different services and in the development of a durable competitive advantage. A qualitative study has been carried out through semistructured, in‐depth, one‐to‐one interviews with representatives of companies that deal with the pleasure boating sector. The results show that in the luxury pleasure boating sector, the introduction of a better‐defined retail strategy focused on services and its integration within the entire distribution channel may be crucial but also difficult to achieve in contexts that lack a marketing orientation. The contribution to extant literature on service in the pleasure boating sector and in luxury retailing in general is outlined. The managerial implications for practitioners in the pleasure boating sector are also discussed.