What is luxury?
It’s anything coming at a premium price compared to mass market products or services.
Luxury markets have been growing exponentially in the past decades together with the wealth/GDP of all Western and Far Eastern countries. We have seen a worldwide proliferation of “self assessed” luxury brands like never before. It happened in any kind of Industry, from pet food to sportswear, from shoes to fine linens.
Overcrowded and supercompetitive markets moved businesses focus from the product itself to marketing. The one able to scream its message louder stood out of the crowd and won the consumer. Marketing counted up to 80% of the price tag. A lot of sizzle and no steak!
That’s the way it used to be!
Tha global downturn that slashed US economy into the worst recession since 1929 was not only evil. Strange as it seems there is also a good side of it. The Great recession brought people back to reality, easy and quick money was over and the idea of an eternal growth at the same pace as the past decades has been replaced by the concept of sustainable growth.
This changed consumer attitude forever. Focus is back again on the value of actual product.
A brand name alone is not enough anymore to justify a premium price tag and luxury doesn’t mean just to show off wealth and social status accomplishment.
New Luxury stands in a product’s superior key features that translate into actual benefits to the user. It’s that simple!
The winner in today’s economy is the one able to deliver that luxury product to consumers in the most efficient/cost effective way leveraging the power of the internet and the new media. The internet make it possible to reach a target audience in a much more effective way than traditional advertising thus shortening the value chain and giving value back to consumers.
Many traditional luxury brands still don’t get it. All that they do is making product more affordable by lowering quality thus not changing the way they deliver value. This is actually a runway to hell since poor quality will kill the perceived value of the brand itself in the long run.
Only those businesses able to justify a premium price tag with real, tangible value will prosper and be the winners in the New luxury markets. All the others are condemned to decline and will strive to survive.
New Luxury is good and is here to stay.
No more sizzle please, just the steak !
I loved your very informative article. I recently purchased a 700 TC set of sheets at Bed Bath and Beyond which have been a huge disappointment. I am desperate to find sheets for my new king sized bed which live up to the softness and smoothness of the sheets I love and have had for a few years which are on my queen sized bed.
Is it possible for you to please recommend to me your top 3 suggested sheets for “old school” softness and smoothness? I don’t know if they are pima percale or what but I think they might be (the good ones which are what I’m looking for now)
Thank you~!
Hello Heather,
manufacturers often inflate bed sheets thread count for mere marketing reasons and the end results may be disappointing.
Check the following for real high quality luxury linens:
- Belvivere Fine Linens (online only)
- Sferra Linens (online and at retail stores across the US)
- Schweitzer Linen (online, catalog and 3 store location in NY city)
- Frette (online and in a few high end boutiques)
- Defining Elegance (online only)
Hopefully you will be able to find the “old school” quality you are looking for!