A true definition of Luxury

Badis Khalfallah
Sep 3, 2018 · 5 min read
“gray coupe on parking area” by Reinhart Julian on Unsplash

You probably want to position your company upmarket.

You look at what luxury companies have done and think:

“what’s the secret for selling a 2000€/l Chanel 5?”

“What kind of sorcery have these companies harnessed to make something like that happen?”

In this article, I will try to give you a definition that will set you on the right path.

Incomplete definition #1: luxury = a high price tag

This is by far the most simplistic definition of all. It doesn’t explain what luxury is. I won’t spend much time on it. Here is why.

A high price tag for a product doesn’t make it luxury, it just makes it expensive.

A chemotherapy is expensive.

An industrial paper making machine is expensive.

Are they luxury? I don’t think so.

Incomplete definition #2: luxury = status

The 2nd most common definition of luxury revolves around the idea of status.

An object becomes luxury when owning it provides the owner with additional status.

A painting is merely a painting. Anybody could own one.

If you own a Jackson Pollock, though...

It becomes luxury. Your status increases.

However, status is a very simple explanation for what luxury is.

Here is why. Some luxury items do not even show their brand, or they are so rare, almost no one knows what they are.

It’s very hard to discern a pair of Westons from another pair of shoes.

A Patek Phillippe Calatrava watch requires some serious horology training to recognise. The design is so simple, it looks like a thousand watches on the market. And if you are not into horology, Patek Philippe, is an obscure name. It could as well be a chocolate brand.

How can you count on the status effect if nobody knows what it is?

Yet these are luxury products.

Incomplete definition #3: luxury = quality

A product of superior quality is what makes a luxury product.

A leather bag made in an industrial workshop in Indonesia is no Hermes bag.

The quality of the leather is not the same, the quality of the stitching is not the same etc..

So with this definition, if you take any product and add superior quality at every step of the production, you end up with luxury.

Yet, this definition does not hold either.

Many products are extremely well-made without ever being thought of as luxury.

Some Volvo cars are of exceptional quality. Some of them were built in the 90’s and are still running perfectly today.

Every bolt and part of the car was extremely well made. But it’s no luxury.

Incomplete definition #4: luxury = authenticity

We are getting closer to a definition here.

We know it’s about status, but not really…

We know it’s about quality, but not really…

What about authenticity?

Authenticity is the idea that the product is true to it’s story.

The item was designed in a very specific context, and nothing can reproduce it.

That makes it unique.

If I buy an authentic Berberian Moroccan carpet, I expect it to be made traditionally, by hand, by locals, in Morocco.

And for that, I am willing to pay a big fat premium.

I also expect it to have some imperfections. That famous Wabi Sabi aspect.

If it looks like it was made out of a Portuguese factory like thousands and thousands of others, then,…

There is no imperfection, no uniqueness, no Wabi Sabi, no authenticity.

Being true to it’s story is a key part of what luxury is.

Yet, this is not enough to define luxury.

So many products are authentic and nobody cares.

That local family-owned Chinese restaurant, who uses all the recipes passed from generation to generation. The dad cooks, the mom takes care of the customers. It’s delicious, people are lining up, it’s authentic as hell, but it’s not luxury.

Conclusion — Complete definition: Luxury is timelessness

Luxury is about timelessness.

Luxury products hold their value for a long… long time.

I am talking here about value, not just usability (remember the Volvo example?).

Luxury is about providing what could be called long tail value.

You are paying luxury prices because of the experience the product gives you now and will give you tomorrow, next week, next year and ten years from now.

The prestige, the craft, the quality, the story, the authenticity will keep on existing even long after that product is not retailed anymore.

Have you seen the prices of a vintage Ferrari?

$7m! That’s how much a vintage Ferrari California can cost you.

The price is explained by the scarcity of course, but also because Ferrari will always be Ferrari. And because, driving that same car 10 years from now, will give that same amount of value.

If would want to sell it, well …you’d probably get most of your money back.

There is no or little “used-market” discount. It’s timeless.

It’s all about that long tail value.

Another example, think about the cost of a Harvard MBA (one could categorise it as luxury with this definition).

Is that price about the in-class education? No.

It’s about the long tail value, of prestige, network, and access that degree will give you over your lifetime.

Another service example, luxury travel.

Staying at that hotel costs $10k/week because staying there will give you a timeless experience. It’s about creating timeless memories.

Of course, timelessness is often a story we tell ourselves. It wasn’t in our brains before marketers did their job.

But, be careful, we are not victims of these marketers. We need these stories.

And we need the marketers to keep on telling it.

Otherwise, that long tail value might just vanish.

If Ferrari stops on being Ferrari, then, that “poor” guy who paid $7m for one might have some trouble sleeping for some time.

Can your product or service offer long tail value and sustain the test of time?

How do you plan on crafting that timeless story?

Tell us in the comments. Or give us some claps. It’s up to you. :)

The Red Fish

Where Smart Marketers Share Ideas.

Badis Khalfallah

Written by

Marketer | Writer — Let’s connect on LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/2fndmF0

The Red Fish

Where Smart Marketers Share Ideas.

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