To Be in Luxury Make a Definitive Statement
When I think of luxury, I think of something that stops me in my tracks because it is so beautifully conceived, artfully executed, and satisfies me so completely, I want to revel in it, forever. There are hotel suites I do not want to leave. Dinners I do not want to end. I have garments that I love to wear, do not want to take off, and I love to look at. Now I ask you, how often do you encounter a product, service, or experience that meets that description?
Record numbers of new businesses have been created over the last twenty months, many in response to the pandemic. This is, in fact, a continuation of a surge in entrepreneurship, occurring over the last decade, but circumstances of the last year and a half, have emboldened many founders to take the leap to start their own businesses. You might say, culturally, entrepreneurship is in. Further, many of these startups have branded their ventures as luxury businesses.
The presence of new luxury ventures is inspiring as we get to see how these businesses will add to the spectrum of high-end offerings. At the same time, it can be problematic, as inevitably, some of these businesses will be luxury only in label and will not bring the highest-level products and services to the market. In some cases, they will be far from what I would call luxury. This can also mean a dilution of the meaning of luxury.
Luxury weakened by poor conceptualization and execution used to concern me, until I realized the market, quite nicely, sorts this out. Those that are not really luxury, and I mean absolutely serious, will fade, retreat, or go away. They will not prevail. That is because, luxury is one of those categories where you cannot survive, being a fraction of what you should be. The difference between a high-end brand that endures, and one that fizzles out, is how committed the founder, leaders, and custodians of the brand are to making a definitive statement.
What is a definitive statement? It is when a visionary keeps going where others stop. It is when something is added, refined, or continued that others cannot even conceive of including. It is when someone looks around, sees what others are doing, saying, and producing, and decides that is not their benchmark. They define their own high standards, eliminating the routine and common.
Dabbling, or making a half-hearted attempt at luxury does not work. The market simply will chew you up and spit you out. Without showing the world you are definite about who you are, what you do, and clarity about what you demand from the market in terms of serious clients, respect amongst peers, and commitment to the luxury concept you present, it will soon be over for you.
Some luxury newcomers make a lukewarm attempt. Dare I say, today no effort at all. Thinking the word luxury will be magic, and attract limitless wealth, they attach it to their products and enterprises. Words, are of course, important, but in luxury you must go beyond words, to making a statement with your product, service, or way with clients. Otherwise, the market does not believe you. It then ignores you and gives its love to something more definite.
If you are not going to push the limits, do not call what you do luxury. If you cannot tell me why it is luxury, with a definitive statement in what you present, that your clients want to revel in forever, do not fool yourself. You are not in luxury and soon the market will let you know.
