December 8, 2008 • 5:02 pm
Can Bulgari Sell Glamour While Cutting Costs? – NYTimes.com
Since the 1990s, sales of luxury goods have exploded, along with the growth of a well-heeled new global elite, turning once little-known European brands into giants and transforming chic addresses like Fifth Avenue, Bond Street and the Champs-Élysées into veritable open-air malls for the upper middle class. However, demand for luxury goods is expected to drop by 3 to 7 percent next year, according to a recent study by Bain & Company, the first time the sector has recorded an annual sales decrease since Bain began tracking it in the early 1990s.
Filed under: affluent, economy, luxury, shopping
September 17, 2008 • 2:06 pm
Affluent African Americans Wield $29.8B in Spending Power – MarketingVOX
Key findings:
* Affluent African Americans most often read the The New York Times and Wall Street Journal newspapers, as well as magazines BusinessWeek and Newsweek, Jet and The Economist.
* 50 percent go out for fine dining and more than 25 percent go to clubs/bars at least once a week.
* More than 20 percent go clothes shopping at least once a week. Men focus their fashion spending on career wear, casual wear and shoes, while women spend on purses and shoes.
* 75 percent shop in higher-end, specialty department stores, and 66 percent shop in traditional department stores. Outlets and “last chance” stores also are popular destinations, suggesting that even affluent shoppers look for bargains.
* Luxury bottled water and wine (both domestic and imported) are the beverages of choice, though other high-end beverages are frequently consumed.
* More than 10 percent travel on business at least once a week and about one quarter shop during business travel.
* More than 70 percent have a passport and have used it on international travel in the past year. About one-third travel internationally at least three times a year and one-tenth travel internationally at least every other month.
* Nearly 10 percent plan to buy or lease a new vehicle in the next three months, and more than one-quarter more expect to do so in the next year.
* Luxury sedans are the most common current and future vehicle types preferred. Those who own mid-range and economy vehicles are looking to trade up in their next purchase or lease to a more prestigious option.
* While more than 60 percent have gym or fitness center memberships and one-third have home gyms, nearly 40 percent wish they were doing more to stay fit.
* 65 percent participate in cardio exercise and 57 percent participate in resistance/weight training to stay fit. About one-third jog, speed-walk or practice Yoga or Pilates. Another fifth say they run, swim or play tennis on a regular basis.
* Affluent African Americans are looking for insider information to satisfy their need for new social experiences. They see themselves as resources for friends and colleagues on what’s new and like to treat themselves to the very best and indulge in conveniences.
* Nearly 30 percent make the majority of their living through entrepreneurial activities, and another 10 percent aspire to do so in the next five years.
Filed under: African American, affluent
September 9, 2008 • 11:37 am
September 3, 2008 • 11:41 am
August 19, 2008 • 4:49 pm
Upscale Shoppers Lead Costco Pilgrimage – MarketingVOX
As the economy weakens, traffic at club stores targeting budget-conscious shoppers has increased at a rate faster than US population growth — with upscale consumers driving the increase, according to new data from Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI), writes Retailer Daily.
The number of people that shop at club stores like Costco, B.J.’s and Sam’s Club increased 3.6 percent from September 2006 to April 2008, while the total adult population increased just over 1 percent in the same time period, according to MRI’s Survey of the American Consumer.
Filed under: Consumer, affluent, economy, shopping
MediaPost Publications – As Supercenters Gain, Wal-Mart Still Attracts The Affluent – 08/13/2008
While the limping economy has hurt most retailers, Wal-Mart continues to be a big beneficiary. A new report
from Information Resources Inc. finds that the Bentonville, Ark.-based company is posting market-share gains in an impressive 84% of the top 100 consumer-product goods categories.
While lower- and middle-income shoppers increased their spending at Wal-Mart when the economy started to soften, the report finds that the bigger change has been upper-income consumers who have flocked to
Wal-Mart in the last six months, as gas prices soared.
Filed under: Consumer, affluent, economy, shopping
August 7, 2008 • 11:46 am
Rooms to Stop the Young From Straying – NYTimes.com
The rec room, once a wood-paneled corner of the basement with a dumpy couch and a TV with rabbit ears, is enjoying a revival in more upscale form. The space that parents cringed at the thought of entering and adolescents couldn’t wait to escape has been reimagined, largely by affluent suburbanites, as a haven of home theaters, stylish furniture, stainless kitchens and spa bathrooms — all deployed as lures to keep teenagers at home.
Filed under: Customization, Teens, affluent, entertainment, families, kids
As for Porsche, Luxury Institute CEO Milton Pedraza says the brand
unites design with its unassailable (so far) aerie as the quintessential sports
car for a serious driver. “They are incredibly focused, their styling is
unique, and they have been consistent over the decades,” he says
~A
MediaPost Publications – Porsche Wins Overall Brand Status Among The Affluent – 06/02/2008
At one point in Sinclair Lewis’ novel “Babbit” about the dyspeptic ambitions of a real estate salesman, the title character tools about town in his new car, his friend riding shotgun. In the scene, he proudly extols the virtues of the dashboard cigar lighter, an emblem of affluence.
Filed under: Consumer, affluent
