Page 231 - The New Gold Standard

Aspire, Achieve, Teach
itself adds value to their investment because of the Ritz-Carlton
legacy service experience.” Great brand extensions not only bor-
row the equity from the original offerings (in this case the ser-
vice excellence of Ritz-Carlton hotels) but also actually enhance
the overall strength of the brand and the value the brand offers
to a company’s customers.
While brand consultants such as Alycia de Mesa talk about
the “elasticity” of a brand (how far a company can stretch its di-
versity of offerings before customers reject the products), lead-
ership at Ritz-Carlton is more focused on how brand extensions
can strengthen one another. In essence, they view each offering
as an opportunity to strengthen connections between their prod-
ucts. For example, hotel experiences can lead customers into va-
cation experiences at the Ritz-Carlton Club, which in turn can
fuel purchases of Ritz-Carlton Residences.
Despite their successes with Clubs and Residences, Ritz-
Carlton leaders continue to look for other new, yet prudent,
directions to take their company. In the spirit of innovative and
market-responsive brand extensions, Ritz-Carlton has worked
with developers to create an even more exclusive resort con-
cept called “The Reserve.” Molasses Reef on the island of West
Caicos in the Turks and Caicos Islands was the first property for
this endeavor. The Reserve brand extension is designed as a sin-
gular boutique resort that elevates sophistication while adding
seclusion. The Reserve represents the evolution of Ritz-Carlton
offerings consistent with the “define and refine” principle dis-
cussed in Chapter 3.
In essence, the Reserve reflects the well-defined Gold Stan-
dards of service provided at all Ritz-Carlton properties, while
refining the design and experiential aspects to appeal to the
changing wishes of their customers. All of the Reserve proper-
ties will be located in prime settings, each with a sense of place
and its own distinctive personality.
Karim Alibhai, the developer in the Molasses Reef project,
says, “Our partnership with Ritz-Carlton on Molasses Reef

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