So-called luxury-goods companies are getting clobbered.
You can see it in the earnings of Christian Dior or Richemont, or the empty aisles of Saks and Nieman Marcus. As if the economy weren't bad enough, wealthy consumers are allegedly suffering from 'luxury shame,' feeling guilty about paying $5,000 for a handbag while Rome burns.
Luxury, in short, is dead.
Or not.
A new survey from Prince and Associates shows that true luxury — goods that are rare, expertly made and sold to a select few — may be making a comeback. And the truly rich couldn't be happier.
The survey, which polled 108 private jet owners with a mean net worth $116 million, found that 94% of those surveyed defined luxury as 'for oneself,' rather than for the masses (2.8%). That marks a big change from last year, when 37% agreed that luxury should also be for the masses.
What's more, 92% said they feel no guilt over luxury spending today, since they said the money was hard-earned. (So much for luxury shame among the jet set). And 73% said a true luxury brand is a reward for being elite.
'What you're seeing is a shift to real elitism,' says Russ Alan Prince, the president of Prince Assoc. 'The rich like it better that everybody can't be part of the luxury boom anymore.'
Mr. Prince said the fall of the so-called mass affluent or 'trading up' crowd could returns luxury its roots — selling super-crafted, little-known status to a select few. Needless to say, Tiffany charm bracelets, though labeled as luxury, convey about as much status as a mood ring.
'Luxury is becoming luxury again,' he said. 'I say we're entering a luxury Renaissance.'
Granted, even the superrich have cut back, with most in the survey saying they plan to spend less on luxury goods. But they plan to buy fewer goods of higher quality, rather than scrapping luxury altogether. Fully 82% said they plan to make fewer purchases, but 72% said they plan to make 'more upscale' purchases.
In other words, if you're Hermes or LVMH, you're going to do better in the coming months than Burberry or Coach.
經(jīng)濟衰退讓所謂的奢侈品行業(yè)遭受了沖擊。
這一點，看看迪奧(Christian Dior)或Richemont的業(yè)績報告，或Saks、Nieman Marcus百貨店里空蕩蕩的走廊就知道了。就好像經(jīng)濟方面的打擊還不夠糟糕似的，富裕階層消費者據(jù)稱還在遭受所謂“奢侈犯罪感”，對在這樣的危難時刻還花5,000美元買一只手袋之類的行為產(chǎn)生了負疚感。
法國總統(tǒng)薩科齊和夫人布呂尼。布呂尼身穿迪奧的紫色套裙。簡而言之，奢侈品行業(yè)已經(jīng)消亡。
也許未必。
Prince and Associates最近所做的一項調(diào)查顯示，真正的奢侈品（也就是那些稀有的、由真正行家制作的、只出售給特定的少數(shù)人的商品）或許正在回潮。而那些真正富有的人別提多開心了。
Prince and Associates調(diào)查了108位擁有私人飛機的人士，他們的平均凈資產(chǎn)額在1.16億美元。調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，94%的受訪者給奢侈品選擇的定義是“給自己的”，而不是“為大眾的”（這個選項的比例是2.8%）。這個結(jié)果與去年相比有很大的變化，當(dāng)時，有37%的人認為奢侈品也應(yīng)該為大眾市場服務(wù)。
而且，92%的受訪者表示，他們目前對奢侈品消費沒有負疚感，他們說，這些錢都是他們辛苦掙來的。（這些乘私人飛機旅行的人士的奢侈負疚感也莫過如此）。73%的受訪者表示，真正的奢侈品是對成為精英人士的一種獎賞。
Prince Assoc.總裁普林斯(Alan Prince)說，可以看到一種向真正的精英優(yōu)越論的轉(zhuǎn)變。富人們更喜歡這樣一種感覺，那就是不再是每個人都能成為奢侈品繁榮的一部分。
普林斯說，所謂的大眾化富人或“追逐高價消費”者的衰微可以讓奢侈恢復(fù)其本來面目，那就是：向特定的少數(shù)人兜售一種精心打造的、很少人了解的身份地位。第凡內(nèi)(Tiffany)的裝飾性手鐲雖然被作為奢侈品看待，但無需解釋，其傳遞的身份信息并不比一只心情戒指更多。
“奢侈品重新成為奢侈品，”他說，“我想說我們正在進入一個奢侈品復(fù)興的時代”。
當(dāng)然，即使是超級富豪也在壓縮開支。調(diào)查中大部分人都表示，他們計劃減少在奢侈品上的開支。不過，他們只是打算減少對高檔商品的購買量，并不是徹底不再碰奢侈品。至少82%的受訪者說，他們將減少奢侈品購買量，但72%的人表示，他們計劃購買“更高檔”的東西。
也就是說 ，如果你是愛馬仕(Hermes)或路易威登(LVMH)，那么，在接下來的幾個月，你的生意會比Burberry或Coach更興隆。
You can see it in the earnings of Christian Dior or Richemont, or the empty aisles of Saks and Nieman Marcus. As if the economy weren't bad enough, wealthy consumers are allegedly suffering from 'luxury shame,' feeling guilty about paying $5,000 for a handbag while Rome burns.
Luxury, in short, is dead.
Or not.
A new survey from Prince and Associates shows that true luxury — goods that are rare, expertly made and sold to a select few — may be making a comeback. And the truly rich couldn't be happier.
The survey, which polled 108 private jet owners with a mean net worth $116 million, found that 94% of those surveyed defined luxury as 'for oneself,' rather than for the masses (2.8%). That marks a big change from last year, when 37% agreed that luxury should also be for the masses.
What's more, 92% said they feel no guilt over luxury spending today, since they said the money was hard-earned. (So much for luxury shame among the jet set). And 73% said a true luxury brand is a reward for being elite.
'What you're seeing is a shift to real elitism,' says Russ Alan Prince, the president of Prince Assoc. 'The rich like it better that everybody can't be part of the luxury boom anymore.'
Mr. Prince said the fall of the so-called mass affluent or 'trading up' crowd could returns luxury its roots — selling super-crafted, little-known status to a select few. Needless to say, Tiffany charm bracelets, though labeled as luxury, convey about as much status as a mood ring.
'Luxury is becoming luxury again,' he said. 'I say we're entering a luxury Renaissance.'
Granted, even the superrich have cut back, with most in the survey saying they plan to spend less on luxury goods. But they plan to buy fewer goods of higher quality, rather than scrapping luxury altogether. Fully 82% said they plan to make fewer purchases, but 72% said they plan to make 'more upscale' purchases.
In other words, if you're Hermes or LVMH, you're going to do better in the coming months than Burberry or Coach.
經(jīng)濟衰退讓所謂的奢侈品行業(yè)遭受了沖擊。
這一點，看看迪奧(Christian Dior)或Richemont的業(yè)績報告，或Saks、Nieman Marcus百貨店里空蕩蕩的走廊就知道了。就好像經(jīng)濟方面的打擊還不夠糟糕似的，富裕階層消費者據(jù)稱還在遭受所謂“奢侈犯罪感”，對在這樣的危難時刻還花5,000美元買一只手袋之類的行為產(chǎn)生了負疚感。
法國總統(tǒng)薩科齊和夫人布呂尼。布呂尼身穿迪奧的紫色套裙。簡而言之，奢侈品行業(yè)已經(jīng)消亡。
也許未必。
Prince and Associates最近所做的一項調(diào)查顯示，真正的奢侈品（也就是那些稀有的、由真正行家制作的、只出售給特定的少數(shù)人的商品）或許正在回潮。而那些真正富有的人別提多開心了。
Prince and Associates調(diào)查了108位擁有私人飛機的人士，他們的平均凈資產(chǎn)額在1.16億美元。調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，94%的受訪者給奢侈品選擇的定義是“給自己的”，而不是“為大眾的”（這個選項的比例是2.8%）。這個結(jié)果與去年相比有很大的變化，當(dāng)時，有37%的人認為奢侈品也應(yīng)該為大眾市場服務(wù)。
而且，92%的受訪者表示，他們目前對奢侈品消費沒有負疚感，他們說，這些錢都是他們辛苦掙來的。（這些乘私人飛機旅行的人士的奢侈負疚感也莫過如此）。73%的受訪者表示，真正的奢侈品是對成為精英人士的一種獎賞。
Prince Assoc.總裁普林斯(Alan Prince)說，可以看到一種向真正的精英優(yōu)越論的轉(zhuǎn)變。富人們更喜歡這樣一種感覺，那就是不再是每個人都能成為奢侈品繁榮的一部分。
普林斯說，所謂的大眾化富人或“追逐高價消費”者的衰微可以讓奢侈恢復(fù)其本來面目，那就是：向特定的少數(shù)人兜售一種精心打造的、很少人了解的身份地位。第凡內(nèi)(Tiffany)的裝飾性手鐲雖然被作為奢侈品看待，但無需解釋，其傳遞的身份信息并不比一只心情戒指更多。
“奢侈品重新成為奢侈品，”他說，“我想說我們正在進入一個奢侈品復(fù)興的時代”。
當(dāng)然，即使是超級富豪也在壓縮開支。調(diào)查中大部分人都表示，他們計劃減少在奢侈品上的開支。不過，他們只是打算減少對高檔商品的購買量，并不是徹底不再碰奢侈品。至少82%的受訪者說，他們將減少奢侈品購買量，但72%的人表示，他們計劃購買“更高檔”的東西。
也就是說 ，如果你是愛馬仕(Hermes)或路易威登(LVMH)，那么，在接下來的幾個月，你的生意會比Burberry或Coach更興隆。