luxury

The Dawn Of A New Economy: Latest Findings on the Habits of the Wealthy from The Harrison Group and American Express Publishing

Filed under: Wealth

New research about America's wealthiest consumers was released Tuesday at the American Express Publishing Luxury Summit in Las Vegas. The results confirm that although discretionary spending is growing only modestly, there are changes occurring within the mindsets of today's affluent consumer that can drive America forward in the coming year.

Some of the highlights announced by Dr. Jim Taylor, vice chairman at Harrison Group, and Cara David, Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing & Integrated Media of American Express Publishing, include:

• Luxury consumption to increase by $28 billion
• Affluent and wealthy consumers have become... happier!
• The wealthiest consumers have become... wealthier
• Re-emerging consumers are conducting "Precision-Shopping"
• They are increasingly immune to persuasion
• Xer professionals are now experiencing an "Economic Status Jam"
• Social media remains mainly social, but desire digital information and content is growing... but not at the expense of
traditional media
• Resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, value and needs-based purchasing dominate

These findings come from the 2010 Survey of Affluence and Wealth in America, produced by American Express Publishing and Harrison Group, released on Tuesday. Fielded monthly, 1,910 respondents among the top 10 percent of Americans have been interviewed in 2010 so far. The mean sample household income is $520,000. Each respondent completed a 50-minute questionnaire, covering topics such as shifting attitudes and marketplace priorities, as well as current and anticipated spending on over 18 categories. This is the fourth year of this study, allowing for the tracking of attitudes and behaviors over these difficult years. here the relevant findings:

Tags: affluent, AffluentFamilies, american express publishing, consumers, luxury, shopping mall, spending, wealth

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Local Luxury: Top Luxury Day Spas in San Francisco, CA

by Keeley Mitchell (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spas

San Francisco has always done things its own way. Whether it was entertainment or politics, San Francisco always puts its own spin on things. The luxury day spas in San Francisco are no different. San Francisco's best luxury day spas are found off the beaten path and not in the ritzy hotels as one would expect.

International Orange Spa
Address: 2044 Fillmore Street, 2nd Floor (Pacific Heights)
Phone: 415-563-5000
Website: www.internationalorange.com
Hours: Monday thru Friday 11-9; Saturday and Sunday 9-7

Established by three Bay Area women, International Orange adds a twist to the archetypal spa. Customers can attend yoga classes before and after massages, facials and other treatments. The trendy spa offers ingenious services, such as rhythmic sequence of acupressure and holistic face lifts. The beautiful decor of milky white walls and cherry wood floors provides a serene ambiance that reinforces International Orange's therapeutic approach.

Kabuki Springs & Spa
Address: 1750 Geary Boulevard (Japantown)
Phone: 415-922-6000
Website: www.kabukisprings.com
Hours: Open Daily From 10am to 9:45pm

Located in San Francisco's vibrant Japantown, this Japanese paradise releases your inner empress through exotic rice exfoliations and massages. Along with a beautiful Japanese communal bath, customers can enjoy private candlelit baths while sipping on tea. Kabuki's focus is on nurturing harmony within the soul and relaxation through water and touch therapy.

Tags: bodywraps, dayspa, facials, local luxury, luxury, manicure, massages, pedicure, salon, sanfrancisco, spas

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Markus for Men Wins Readers' Choice Award for Best Men's Spa

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas

Markus for men Wins Best Men's Spa Award

Should you find yourself in Buenos Aires looking for a spa that caters to gentlemen, look no farther than Markus Day Spa For Men. There, you can chose from an array of treatments for face, body, hair, hands and feet – all of which have earned Markus the title of "El Primer Spa Masculino." Markus Day Spa For Men is also the winner of the Luxist Award Readers' Choice Award for Best Men's Spa.

Founded in 2005, Markus was designed to create an atmosphere of harmony and tranquility. Water fountains and fish tanks abound; dim lighting and wood accents pervade the establishment. Check into the Aqua Room and relax with up to eight friends or business partners in a large marble Jacuzzi. Sip tea or champagne while receiving reflexology treatment on your feet. Enjoy the "Adore Me" treatment – three hours of bliss including a face and body scrub, tantric massage, and even a tea serving.

Gallery: Markus for Men

Markus offers more than just relaxation. With a trained medical staff on call, the spa doubles as a tranquil place to receive aesthetic medicine. Botox injections and refill are available on demand, as are peelings, hair implants and plastic surgery. Best of all, the prices are much cheaper than similar procedures stateside.

Outings to Markus can be purchased individually or in bulk. A range of corporate packages are available at discounted rates and include a combination of hair cut, shave, facial and deep tissue massage. Sorry, ladies, Markus is only for caballeros.

Tags: awards-main, best mens spa, luxist-awards, luxury, markus for men, mens spa, spa, spas, winners-spas

Luxist Guest Post: Dr. E. Isaac Mostovicz on Theta-Lambda Luxury

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

Dr. E. Isaac Mostovicz heads Janus Thinking LTD. His research investigates the link between people's choices and their worldviews. Isaac's interest in human choice covers a wide array of topics, among which are marketing, leadership, CSR, ethics, strategy and politics. He has published over 20 articles, conference presentations and book chapters.

Did luxury really take nosedive during the last downturn? Is it rebounding? Have people's tastes changed? What is luxury at all?

The Janus Thinking blog has been covering the state of luxury and luxury consumers now since 2006. It has told the story of luxury's evolution since then – its peaks, dips and shifts – not merely tracking them over time or based on economic trends but analyzing them through a close look at consumer behavior.

Janus Thinking has a unique approach to luxury; it argues that luxury is affected by the psychological mindset of the consumer. Luxury is a behavior that can manifest itself in scenes and products of any kind, not just the ones we typically think of as luxury.

At its essence, luxury is overspending on something unnecessary. We might not really need it, but we somehow feel that special tinge of excitement or satisfaction afterward. It is impossible to explain such behavior with logic unless we understand first what luxury implies and how important this "needless need" for luxury really is.

At the end of the 19th century, a sociologist called Thorstein Veblen wrote his book The Theory of the Leisure Class to present his interpretation for why this luxury behavior exists. He introduces what later became known as "Veblen effects", namely conspicuous consumption to gain and signal status, and pecuniary emulation, or the effort to equal or surpass someone else's wealth. However, such a cynical criticism cannot explain why we all are after luxury (presumably including Veblen and his followers as well).

Satisfying the Needless Need

The need for squandering assets is biological. Amotz Zehavi, the Israeli biologist, calls it the "handicap principle". Zehavi argues that people show off their wealth by squandering it. For example, peacocks grow beautiful tails and deer grow impressive antlers just to show off that they are so fertile that they can waste excessive energy on something that they really do not need.

But while animals are ruled by hereditary, humans, on the other hand, enjoy a unique asset – we have choice. Driven by biology, peacocks cannot stop growing tails but humans can choose whether and how to spend on luxury.

Before trying to understand how we choose luxury, let's first go back to why we need it. Man is constantly busy with activities aimed at enhancing his self-esteem, everything from a quick look in the mirror to purchasing a mammoth yacht or private jet. All these activities send one message: I am worthy.

We can get this message most profoundly from items that have one particular quality, that we do not actually need it. Animals have basic needs – they graze and live in stables. However, man needs to satisfy higher and more important needs. If we are not worthy, what value do our lives have?

Tags: janus thinking, luxury, theta and lambda luxury

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What Hermès Plans for the Future

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Handbags

Hermès has been expanding steadily since it started back in 1837 as a saddle shop, today still offering long-lasting excellence in all things leather but also now large-scale items like helicopters and yachts. And it seems that growth will continue into the future, with Hermès' artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas looking to forge ahead into untapped territory, namely by expanding the innovative carbon fiber suitcase that was first introduced twenty years ago into a full line of luggage and by delving into "space and home" goods. As he said in an interview with the Wallstreet Journal "We have to reinvent ourselves. If we launch a perfume and it is like what we did in the '70s, what's the point? We are constantly reassessing who we are. Hermès is going to expand more on space and home. If you have a very large boat, what are you going to put inside?"

A beautiful Hermès leather chair and sofa, hopefully.

Hermès recently won the Luxist Awards Readers' Choice nod for Best Leathergoods Line. The company also opened its first men's store (shown above) on Madison Avenue in New York City last month.

Via JustLuxe

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Tags: hermes, leathergoods, luggage, luxury, luxury branding, pierre-alexis dumas

Luxury Hotels Make Comeback

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Demand for luxury hotels is ticking higher. Even though the broader hotel industry is likely to cope with depressed room rates this year, due to a combination of economic woes and an increase in capacity, the luxury sector could come back in 2010. Of course, – this sector cut rates by as much as 25 percent last year – but what's important is that the rich are looking for the good life again.

Occupancy is the real story of the luxury hotel recovery, though, with heads in beds expected to surge to as high as 59 percent, a strong gain over last year's 55 percent occupancy rate. In Europe, it could even reach 65 percent this year, with room rate recovery coming next year (at a 5 percent increase).

Bruce Siegel, director of sales and marketing at he Ritz-Carlton Naples Resorts in Florida said to Bloomberg News, "On the leisure side, we certainly are enjoying a rate premium year over year." Further, he continued, "Many guests from the U.S. Northeast with clear signs of exhaustion are arriving at our door." Overall room rates, including corporate bookings, are little changed, he said.

So, what are people looking for when they book rooms at the likes of the Ritz or the Four Seasons, often at $500 a night or more? Ocean views are a must, and guests will be paying more for rooms at the St. Regis, where butler service comes as part of the tab.

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Tags: butler, butlers, four seasons, hotel, hotels, luxury, luxury hotels, RitzCarlton, RitzCarltonHotel, st regis

Study Says Luxury Changes People for the Worse

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

A new study found that when people are exposed to luxury they become more self-centered and less empathetic towards others.

The study was put together by Harvard professor Roy Y.J. Chua and London Business School assistant professor Xi Zou as a step towards understanding how luxury goods effect the human psyche, and as a means of explaining the harmful decisions of wealthy groups like Wall Street executives. In the study people were asked to make a series of decisions designed to pit self-interests against society-interests, and the people who thought about luxury immediately before the test made more selfish and potentially harmful decisions than those who didn't.

The results seem to suggest that businessmen who have meetings at posh resorts surrounded by opulence and luxury will make more profit-driven, self-interested decisions than those who meet in a modest conference room. What do you think, does being surrounded by luxury make a person more likely to think only about themselves?

Via psfk

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Tags: lifestyle, luxury, psychology, spending, spending habits, SpendingHabits, study, wealth

Carolina Herrera Says Luxury Is Back

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

A lot of people have been wondering when luxury is coming back. It's been a tough few years for luxury brands. The recession has seen esteemed jewelers like Henry Dunay and fashion designers like Christian Lacroix lose their businesses. Whole chains of stores have been swallowed up. But if you ask the forever elegant fashion designer Carolina Herrera when luxury is returning she says it's already back. The Wall Street Journal has an interview with Herrera who says that her customers are beginning to spend once again. Herrera is best known for her ladylike gowns and dresses, which can cost over $10,000.

Her version of the new luxury walked the runway in her fall 2010 fashion show this week in New York City. Her designs did not stint on the expensive materials like mink and eel. The silhouette was ladylike and refined but also unapologetically lush. These are rich women's clothes. While Herrera has lowered her prices around ten percent and does have a successful second tier line she has no plans to embrace fast fashion. She has found that while her shoppers may be buying fewer clothes they are not willing to stop shopping entirely. In some ways what she speaks of is an older definition of luxury, the way it once was before mass luxury flooded the market. Women would shop carefully, select judiciously and expect clothing to last. It can be called thrift but it can also be seen as a mark of class.

Tags: Carolina Herrera, Carolina Herrera Runway, CarolinaHerrera, CarolinaHerreraRunway, fashion week fall 2010, FashionWeekFall2010, luxury

Feldo Watches See Carbon Fiber As Still In

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Feldo Luxury is a group I haven't personally heard of before. Not that I missed the memo, I don't think I was supposed to have heard about it. They are getting into the world of watches with an, original collection starting with the less than distinctive Feldo 1-1 R/B and 1-2 B/B watches. Each makes lots of use of carbon fiber and has only minor differences between the two models. The case is 45mm wide in an octagonal shape with a round dial. Feldo has used the "world's thinnest" carbon fiber plates on the dial. hands are large and circular - thinner forms of shapes I have seen on high-end Ulysse Nardin watches. Interesting looking seconds hands as well. The dial also has the date (once again displayed in a less than traditional manner). There is so much carbon fiber on the watch, it is as though the material is still as trendy as it was just until recently.

The gold tones on the watch are red gold plated, while the case is mostly PVD black steel. Inside the watch is an automatic Soprod A10 movement which is visible through the sapphire crystal caseback window. It comes with a black or white calf leather strap. Price is 2,775 euros. Having said all that I still don't know what to make of these watches. While there is a certain capability to the design, it lacks a level of maturity I prefer in watches that are in this range. It looks like the project of an ambitious industrial designer eager to make something new. A laudable goal, but the design just can't compete with similar offerings from more established groups at this price range for style and refinement. I will certainly look to Feldo's future offerings closely though.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com

Gallery: Feldo watches

Tags: carbon fiber, CarbonFiber, feldo, luxury, watch

Volna Typhoon Siberia SHCI Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Volna is a luxury watch brand with an interesting slogan - "Russian Heritage Swiss Made." As a luxury watch maker their theme is giant paradox as the Swiss concept of luxury and Soviet Russia are concepts that clash. But ignore that little issue for a moment and you have a unique design niche for a luxury watch maker. In the red tinted vision of old Soviet era military technology, is a brand that celebrates the look and feel of that style of military nationality. In a country where often times the military elite got paid in medals versus money, their military equipment at least needed to have an impressive look and feel.

Volna watches are all about attempting to rethink and recreate that image. The brand's newest watch is the Typhoon Siberia SHCI - a cool if not gimmicky means of adding something fun to the luxury sports chronograph watch segment. The name of the watch sounds like a foreign translation of a Hollywood action movie that might be called "Siberian Storm" - that somehow ends up "Typhoon Siberia." This new model is all in a very good type of grade 5 (G5) titanium and has a unique system that Volna has developed. Strap is rubber.

An irony of many chronograph diving watches is that operating the chronograph too deep underwater will damage the watch by letting water in. So Volna has developed a "Security Hand Chronograph Indicator" (SHCI) that displays a message on the dial of whether or not the chronograph is locked or unlocked for use. Locking it is done vial a turning lever located on the crown.

The watch case is 46.5mm wide and water resistant to 300 meters. There is a propeller engraved into the caseback and the crown. The dial is in black with decorative satin finished ruthenium plates and either red or black on black numerals and hands. Inside the watch is a Swiss Automatic movement that is likely a modified ETA. There are two versions of the watch (red on black or black on black dials), with limited editions of 125 pieces each. Not too sure about price, but it is over $10,000 per watch.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: luxury, Russia, SCHI, Soviet, Swiss, Typhoon Siberia, TyphoonSiberia, Volna, watch

Can The Right Attitude Help You Pull Off A Fake?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Handbags

A few days ago my colleague Rigel Celeste wrote an interesting story about what your handbag says about you. In the story she posited that "carrying a knock-off bag can say that you're putting a fake front to the world." According to an intriguing story on Bloomberg, a study done by Renee Richardson Gosline, an assistant professor of marketing at MIT's Sloan School of Management, showed that if you want to get away with wearing a fake you need to have a certain attitude. Her research revealed that people are more likely to peg a handbag as being a real designer bag if the woman carrying it is wearing expensive clothes or has an aura of wealth.

Her methodology involved showing 100 owners of luxury handbags photos of bags alone and photos of bags worn by people in social settings. The study subjects were more able to ascertain an item's authenticity and potential cost of the item when it was in context. Gosline, who also happens to be a former brand manager for LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton, found that even a nice fake won't fool many consumers if the rest of the package doesn't match up. I would suggest that a similar principle is often in effect with jewelry. A costume piece can appear more or less authentic depending on the person wearing it. Individual pieces of a person's wardrobe seen in context can elicit very different reactions from observers.

Gosline's research also showed that people are willing to pay twice as much for an item that they think will impress others and can be used to trumpet wealth and status. In another study she found that many purchasers who buy knock-off bags later gone on to buy real ones. Quoted in the Bloomberg article she says that the counterfeit served as a "placebo for brand attachment" leading people to become attached to a certain brand even though they never actually owned it.

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Tags: brands, counterfeit, fake, handbags, knockoff, luxury

This Year's Holiday Shopping Lesson: Lux Goes Online

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

The web isn't just for bargains. Some of the top luxury lifestyle brands in the world are turning to the internet to beef up their sales -- a must in a market where brick-and-mortar is lagging in the all-important holiday season. Giorgio Armani and Valentino Fashion Group, which have generally steered clear of the prolies shopping online, are changing their attitudes, as they have had to cope with the most severe recession in seventy years. Roberto Cavalli and Salvatore Ferragamo have joined the fray, too, both opening online stores in the past month.

In addition to younger buyers who are more comfortable skipping the store, a sense of "luxury shame" is causing many to turn to the web. The anonymity, once reserved for porn purchases, allows customers to indulge in big-ticket buys without having to endure looks of envy (or worse). If you need proof that luxury spending is going digital, take a look at Italy. This year, online sales of Italian luxury products are expected to surge 42 percent to $500 million, according to a study by Politecnico. Last year, it fell six percent for the luxury goods industry as a whole. In Italy, around 14 percent of holiday shopping will occur ont eh web, according to Deloitte's 2009 Christmas Survey.

The luxury industry's online endeavors are not limited to traditional stores, though Stefano Sassi, Valentino's CEO, notes that the startup costs are lower and that "There's a very interesting margin on e-commerce" as a result. Armani has launched applications for smartphones, including the iPhone and Blackberry and has launched a Christmas website.

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Tags: armani, BlackBerry, Christmas, christmas shopping, ChristmasShopping, Giorgio Armani, GiorgioArmani, holiday, Holiday season, holiday shopping, holidays, HolidaySeason, HolidayShopping, iphone, luxury, online retail, online retailers, online retailing, OnlineRetail, OnlineRetailers, OnlineRetailing, roberto cavalli, RobertoCavalli, salvatore ferragamo, SalvatoreFerragamo, Valentino

James Patterson In Palm Beach, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

If you'd like to be an author with a nice house, write thrillers. The best author houses I've seen belong to the thriller writers. Today's home in Palm Beach Florida belongs to James B. Patterson. According to the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties column Patterson calls his beautiful home with frontage on the intracoastal waterway the house that Alex Cross built, referring to his popular psychologist main character. Patterson used a wood-paneled office with a water view (outfitted with plenty of Patterson books in the listing pictures) as his writing studio. The turquoise and white kitchen currently decorated with a collection of gleaming copper pots has the type of farmhouse style appeal one doesn't usually see in lavish Palm Beach homes. Outside there is a terrace surrounding a heated pool with spa ,built-in barbecue and a dock with boat lift. This home is listed at $14.95 million.

Patterson is moving his family to an even bigger home, a two-acre Palm Beach estate, with a 20,505-square-foot main house which he picked up for $17.45 million over the summer.

Gallery: James Patterson in Palm Beach

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Tags: celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, florida, james patterson, JamesPatterson, luxury, luxury real estate, LuxuryRealEstate, palm beach, PalmBeach

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160 Years of Maritime Photography

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Books

Pierre Borhan, former director of photography for the French Ministry of Culture, presents a compelling anthology of maritime photography since 1843 in his beautiful new book, The Sea. The slipcased volume features 300 color and black and white images ranging from historical photos, documentary photos, and art photos to archival works and pictures taken in the present day. Images include striking seascapes and perspectives, including lonely lighthouses, bustling port towns, early explorations of Antarctica and the Arctic Circle, and abstract compositions of waves,
water, and light by some of the world's best-known photographers. It makes a perfect gift for lovers of all things related to water and the ocean.

Tags: books, luxury, ocean, photography, Pierre Borhan, PierreBorhan, sea

Seiko: The Luxury Watch Brand You Didn't Know Existed

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Have you, or anyone you know, ever complained about how Japan gets cool stuff that the rest of the world is left longing for? Electronics, games, cars, and also luxury watches. Sure you can get Seiko watches all over the world. In fact, Seiko is one of the most popular watch brands on the planet. Not all Seiko watches are made alike though. One the one hand you have most 'rank and file' Seiko watches that are known to be inexpensive and reliable watches. The "Toyota of watches" as many people call them.

On the other hand, there the other side to Seiko, the luxury watch maker. Deep inside Japan are several Seiko watch manufacturers making some of the best and most reliable luxury watches ever created. These are the "Lexus of watches." Until recently such highly desirable watches have been mostly for the Japanese domestic market only. Bearing such names like Grand Seiko and Credor, most Westerners didn't even know of their existence. There also exists a large population of American and European (among other places) watch lovers who are aware of the Seiko treasures in Japan, and are almost pained by the fact that they cannot get them locally. The good news is that is about to start changing.

Enter the Seiko Ananta line of watches. Finally a global high-end product from Seiko that contain the high-end 100% manufacture-made movements and watches. Why the important of "manufacture-made?" Today everyone speaks about "manufacture movements." These are movements in watches made all in-house by the manufacturer with out having third part companies make them. Such in-house movements are considered to be at the top of the heap for luxury watch desirability. The majority of watch brands don't make their own movements. Seiko does however. In fact, Seiko is of the few totally vertically integrated watch makers in the world.

Gallery: seiko ananta watches