How to buy luxury when money is not the issue
Reflecting on the past decades in luxury, there has been a tremendous growth each year.
Sales have risen into the billions with 2-digits growth rates and we have seen the opening of an armada of retail stores.
Even in the most remote regions you would find a well-known luxury brand store or, even worse, an outlet store.
The cornerstones of luxury have never been the price tag, though, but how a luxury item makes us feel. With increasing amount of capital, income and net worth, we tend to buy less crap and more quality. Well, at least that’s what you should do if you can afford to buy quality. And you can, believe me.
Luxury is supposed to makes you feel unique and special. You want to appreciate the quality and craftsmanship, sure. But more importantly, you want to belong to that group of people who can afford to buy high quality.
With the luxury market having increased every year, a lot of the production has moved to low labor cost countries. The quantities of items have increased. The exposure of the brand has risen. What’s left of the origins of luxury? Well, not much.
As consumers of luxury you should ask yourself: Was luxury designed to please the masses? Considering the meticulous craftsmanship, relentless passion and innovation that it takes to create a luxury item, it is fair to say that we cannot find these trades in a mass market brand. Luxury, simply, isn’t made to fulfil such high demands. It never was.
Big luxury brands are everywhere. In every magazine, on every social media channel, in every street. It is doubtful that this still represents the origins of luxury. The more important question though is: How can you identify a true luxury brand?
Forgive me for speaking blatantly: You will not find it among the well-known brand names. Sure, there are a few (FEW!) exceptions. But frankly speaking: One would buy a well-known luxury brand to show off. Nothing wrong with that. Once you start making money you want to show it. Do it.
The interesting phase begins when you have risen above the brand symbolism and gone deeper into the cornerstones of luxury:
Craftsmanship. Quality. Exclusivity.
It is almost a contradiction to common belief that such trademarks are harder to find the bigger the brand becomes. Just think about it. Creating a luxury item can take up to 3 months or more depending on the product, let’s just say „a handbag“. With rising demand, a brand just cannot increase its output by hiring more craftsmen. Most likely, these people need to be trained for at least 2 years. Making it impossible to contribute to the output in a way to ensure utmost quality.
Hence, limited output or a long waiting list is a good indicator of a company that lays emphasis on great quality and craftsmanship.
To Be Continued…
