“Lux” is a very ambiguous word that is used very loosely.
Merriam-Webster defines luxury as : state of abundance or simplicity and comfort: luxurious environment of luxury> 3 a: something adding to pleasure or comfort, but not necessarily necessary luxury> b: indulgence in something that provides pleasure, satisfaction or lightness.
No one will argue with the above definition, but the perception of luxury depends on the person and the product. For some people, there is never a time not to think about luxury, because for them the line between luxury and necessity is completely blurred. For others, this may seem like a bad taste at a time when there is so much struggle.
None of this is news or points to a new trend. But what quickly appears on the horizon of change is the level of affordability for luxury goods. A recent study found that luxury brands homogenize luxury to the point that 63% of wealthy consumers believe that luxury is for sale. According to a report related to the Luxury Institute, "you can go down the highest streets, such as Fifth Avenue, Montaigne Avenue and Bond Street - you see the same look in store designs and products."
This accelerating luxury phenomenon is becoming available thanks to several overlapping trends, which include an emerging global market, massively scalable manufacturing and the emergence of the Internet.
Billions of new global consumers
The global market leads to an increase in the availability of goods for a pool of consumers, at an increasing rate that has never been observed in history. Despite the recent crisis of confidence in stock markets, global foundations make it more likely that millions of people will continue to be taken out of poverty, and that in the next few decades, millions of people will become millionaires around the world. From a global or even regional perspective, a relatively new segment of the market, called the rich masses, has gained great importance and attention from marketers of luxury brands - for obvious reasons.
Bulk scalability for production
Since firms are discovering the potential of creating and providing greater accessibility for their luxury goods to the rich masses, many luxury brands intend to join a new class of massive & 39; brands began to look for ways to increase production by establishing global partnerships that can utilize manufacturing facilities in Asia, as well as advanced global logistics solutions.
As elite brands join the race to make this transition, they often prefer to reclassify luxury in a more democratic context, rearranging themselves as affordable luxury goods (a contradiction in terms) to satisfy this huge market segment. In addition, it is likely that you will receive technical support for your computer from Manila in the Philippines, you have your own built-in custom cabinets designed and manufactured in Beijing, China, or your next X-ray read from Bhavya in Bangalore. In his best-selling book, The World Is Flat, Thomas L. Freidman argues that, although the global economic playing field is delegated, people from distant places will become major players in the market. The urgency of his point increases when we go beyond the product and the excellent service.
The world comes together - online!
Perhaps the most important factor for any firm seeking to capitalize on these overlapping trends, which the Institute of Luxury called the “access to luxury revolution”, is the Internet. Since the dotcom boom just over ten years ago, literally a trillion dollars was invested in fiber optic cable; and, along with the emergence of common software platforms and open source, effective global collaboration has been achieved. Friedman says that these flattenings converge around 2000 and "created a flat world: a global platform that supports web accessibility for different forms of sharing knowledge and work, regardless of time, distance, geography and, increasingly, language."
After some resistance to change, the debate about whether they should be sold online or not is over for most luxury brands. According to Michael Baugus, CEO of Crossroads Enterprise, Inc., which specializes in thin kitchen cabinets, “leaders who fully understand how technology, globalization and commodification will transform our world will emerge in this new space. creating unsurpassed products and categories related to this segment, as a result, they revolutionize their industry. "
Mission Complete?
Opportunities for luxury suppliers abound in those who can intelligently use these market forces. At the April conference at Harvard Business School, Nancy F. Koehn, a professor of business administration at Harvard, explained the viability of the market. She said that "luxury items are a dressing room, a space with an extraordinary zip code and excitement, things are vigorously kicking." However, to get into this space and succeed in it is far from given.
Today's consumers are short in time, short on patience, and with today's economy - short money. For most products, especially luxury items, the search began with availability. Even very rich people are very insightful, educated online shoppers. This means that for every price category in the luxury spectrum, all consumers share a common interest in the value of the goods and services they buy, and their means of choice for conducting their research and increasingly for making purchasing decisions online, and you should be able to communicate your value among all the noises.
Secondly, while mass production and distribution are becoming commonplace, many firms, unfortunately, in their own interests, have forgotten to include in their new business models an emphasis on today's consumer, who is not satisfied with the fact that you are simply pressing more products. but also the demand that you provide excellent service. When everyone races to use the ubiquitous store, anywhere at any time, the differentiators for consumers will be great service, enhanced transparency and trust; not only at the level of individual experience, but they will also rely and trust their peers to their customers, with whom they regularly engage in dialogue with the help of their preferred online communities.
Everyone wins when excellent service is discovered or re-opened by those competing in this space, as this will only contribute to the experience and the total value that each customer receives. In general, as higher-quality goods and services become widely available and accessible to the masses, and companies seek to deliver them to the means that generate loyalty and trust, the quality of life will gradually improve for everyone.
