Luxury goods#Luxury brands

The word "luxury" derives from the Latin verb luxor meaning to overextend or strain. From this, the noun luxuria and verb luxurio developed, "indicating immoderate growth, swelling, ... in persons and animals, willful or unruly behavior, disregard for moral restraints, and licensciousness", and the term has had negative connotations for most of its long history.Lapatin, 1-2 One definition in the OED is a "thing desirable but not necessary". A luxury good can be identified by comparing the demand for the good at one point in time against the demand for the good at a different time, at a different income level. When personal income increases, demand for luxury goods increases even more than income does.

Conversely, when personal income decreases, demand for luxury goods drops even more than income does.{{cite web|url= https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/3/20/21184814/climate-change-energy-income-inequality |title=Why rich people use so much more energy |last=Roberts |first=David |date=20 March 2020 |website=vox.com |access-date=22 March 2020}} For example, if income rises 1%, and the demand for a product rises 2%, then the product is a luxury good. This contrasts with necessity goods, or basic goods, for which demand stays the same or decreases only slightly as income decreases.

With increasing accessibility to luxury goods,{{cite journal |last1=Wong |first1=N.Y. |last2=Ahuvia |first2=A. C. |year=1998 |title=Personal taste and family face: Luxury consumption in Confucian and Western societies |journal=Psychology & Marketing |volume=15 |issue=5 |pages=423–441 |doi=10.1002/(SICI)1520-6793(199808)15:5<423::AID-MAR2>3.0.CO;2-9 |s2cid=55715301 }} new product categories have been created within the luxury market, called "accessible luxury" or "mass luxury". These are meant specifically for the middle class, sometimes called the "aspiring class" in this context. Because luxury has diffused into the masses, defining the word has become more difficult.{{cite web|url= http://www.pauravshukla.com/what-is-luxury |title=What is luxury? |website=pauravshukla.com |date=14 May 2010 |access-date=9 August 2010}}

Whereas luxury often refers to certain types of products, luxury is not restricted to physical goods; services can also be luxury. Likewise, from the consumer perspective, luxury is an experience defined as "hedonic escapism".{{cite journal |last1=Holmqvist |first1=Jonas |last2=Diaz Ruiz |first2=Carlos |last3=Peñaloza |first3=Lisa |date=1 August 2020 |title=Moments of luxury: Hedonic escapism as a luxury experience |journal=Journal of Business Research |language=en |volume=116 |pages=503–513 |doi=10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.10.015|s2cid=211427257 |doi-access=free }}

"Superior goods" is the gradable antonym of "inferior good". If the quantity of an item demanded increases with income, but not by enough to increase the share of the budget spent on it, then it is only a normal good and is not a superior good. Consumption of all normal goods increases as income increases. For example, if income increases by 50%, then consumption will increase (maybe by only 1%, maybe by 40%, maybe by 70%). A superior good is a normal good for which the proportional consumption increase exceeds the proportional income increase. So, if income increases by 50%, then consumption of a superior good will increase by more than 50% (maybe 51%, maybe 70%).

In economics terminology, all goods with an income elasticity of demand greater than zero are "normal", but only the subset having income elasticity of demand > 1 are "superior".{{cite web |title=superior good |url= http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/superior-good.html |date=2011 |website=businessdictionary.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110208075739/http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/superior-good.html |archive-date=8 February 2011 |access-date=3 January 2023}}

Some articles in the microeconomics discipline use the term superior good as an alternative to an inferior good, thus making "superior goods" and "normal goods" synonymous. Where this is done, a product making up an increasing share of spending under income increases is often called an ultra-superior good.{{Citation needed|reason=Had an inline self-published blog comment citation|date=September 2011}}

File:Ballbüchlein Griot KGM 66-142.jpg luxury or treasure binding for a book, using techniques from the making of gold boxes, in gold, mother of pearl and hardstone, Berlin, 1750–1760. By this time, such lavish bindings were unusual.]]

Though often verging on the meaningless in modern marketing, "luxury" remains a legitimate and current technical term in art history for objects that are especially highly decorated to very high standards and use expensive materials. The term is especially used for medieval manuscripts to distinguish between practical working books for normal use, and fully illuminated manuscripts, that were often bound in treasure bindings with metalwork and jewels. These are often much larger, with less text on each page and many illustrations, and if liturgical texts were originally usually kept on the altar or sacristy rather any library that the church or monastery who owned them may have had. Secular luxury manuscripts were commissioned by the very wealthy and differed in the same ways from cheaper books.{{cite book |last1=Kren |first1=Thomas |title=Illuminated manuscripts of Germany and Central Europe in the J. Paul Getty Museum |date=2009 |publisher=J. Paul Getty museum |location=Los Angeles |pages=7–9 |isbn=9780892369485}}

"Luxury" and "luxury arts" may be used for other applied arts where both utilitarian and luxury versions of the same types of objects were made. This might cover metalwork, ceramics, glass, arms and armor, and various objects.{{cite book |last1=Belozerskaya |first1=Marina |title=Luxury arts of the Renaissance |date=2005 |publisher=J. Paul Getty Museum |location=Los Angeles |pages=Lapatin, 1–10 |isbn=9780892367856}} It is much less used for objects from the fine arts, with no function beyond being an artwork: paintings, drawings, and sculpture, even though the disparity in cost between an expensive and cheap work may have been as large.Lapatin, 9

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An awareness of a concept of luxury dates back at least as far as Plato.

{{cite book

|last1 = Berry

|first1 = Christopher J.

|author-link1 = Christopher J. Berry

|date = 16 June 1994

|chapter = The Classical Paradigm

|title = The Idea of Luxury: A Conceptual and Historical Investigation

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CNAmXWSO-EcC

|series = Ideas in Context, ISSN 0962-4945, volume 30

|publication-place = Cambridge

|publisher = Cambridge University Press

|page = 45

|isbn = 9780521466912

|access-date = 27 December 2024

|quote = Plato broaches the subject of luxury in the context of his celebrated proposal to study the nature of justice and injustice in the polis (Politea: 368e).

}}

File:Patek-Philippe MG 2583.jpges caused mechanical watches to become primarily luxury goods.]]

File:Rolls Royce Phantom - Flickr - Alexandre Prévot (5) (cropped).jpg]]

Image:Seven types of caviar.jpg]]

File:Kelly Bag.jpg. While many handbags are valued on their ability to carry objects, designer handbags are valued based on fashion.]]

Luxury goods have high income elasticity of demand: as people become wealthier, they will buy proportionately more luxury goods. This also means that should there be a decline in income, its demand will drop more than proportionately. The income elasticity of demand is not constant with respect to income and may change signs at different income levels. That is to say, a luxury good may become a necessity good or even an inferior good at different income levels.

Some luxury products have been claimed to be examples of Veblen goods, with a positive price elasticity of demand: for example, making a perfume more expensive can increase its perceived value as a luxury good to such an extent that sales can go up, rather than down. However, Veblen goods are not synonymous with luxury goods.

Although the technical term luxury good is independent of the goods' quality, they are generally considered to be goods at the highest end of the market in terms of quality and price. Many markets have a luxury segment including, for example, luxury versions of automobiles, yachts, wine, bottled water, coffee, tea, foods, watches, clothes, jewelry, cosmetics and high fidelity sound equipment.{{cite web|url= https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/luxury-item.asp |title=What Is Luxury Item?|last=Kenton |first=Will |website=investopedia.com |access-date=30 September 2019}} Luxuries may be services. Hiring full-time or live-in domestic servants is a luxury reflecting income disparities. Some financial services, especially in some brokerage houses, can be considered luxury services by default because persons in lower-income brackets generally do not use them.

Luxury goods often have special luxury packaging to differentiate the products from mainstream competitors.

Originally, luxury goods were available only to the very wealthy and "aristocratic world of old money" that offered them a history of tradition, superior quality, and a pampered buying experience.{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Dana |title=Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster |url= https://archive.org/details/deluxehowluxuryl00thom |url-access=registration |date=2007 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=9781594201295}} Luxury goods have been transformed by a shift from custom-made (bespoke) works with exclusive distribution practices by specialized, quality-minded family-run and small businesses to a mass production of specialty branded goods by profit-focused large corporations and marketers. The trend in modern luxury is simply a product or service that is marketed, packaged, and sold by global corporations that are focused "on growth, visibility, brand awareness, advertising, and, above all, profits." Increasingly, luxury logos are now available to all consumers at a premium price across the world, including online.{{cite web |last1=Danziger |first1=Pamela N. |title=5 Brands That Reveal The Future Of Luxury Online |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2018/02/26/5-brands-that-reveal-the-future-of-luxury-online |work=Forbes |date=26 February 2018 |access-date=9 October 2019}}

Global consumer companies, such as Procter & Gamble, are also attracted to the industry due to the difficulty of making a profit in the mass consumer goods market.{{cite news|url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-10-28/procter-and-gamble-profits-from-high-end-products |title=Procter & Gamble Cleans Up With Luxury Paper Towels |website=bloomberg.com|access-date=28 July 2018}} The customer base for various luxury goods continue to be more culturally diversified, and this presents more unseen challenges and new opportunities to companies in this industry.{{cite journal |last1=Seo |first1=Yuri |last2=Oliver |first2=Margo Buchanan |date=2015 |title=Luxury branding: the industry, trends, and future conceptualisations |journal=Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=82–98 |doi=10.1108/APJML-10-2014-0148}}

There are several trends in luxury:{{cite web |url= https://www.erienewsnow.com/story/41105746/global-luxury-fashion-industry-analysis-2019-market-growth-trends-opportunities-forecast-to-2024 |title=Global Luxury Fashion Industry Analysis 2019, Market Growth, Trends, Opportunities Forecast To 2024 |website=erienewsnow.com |access-date=1 October 2019 |archive-date=1 October 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191001120307/https://www.erienewsnow.com/story/41105746/global-luxury-fashion-industry-analysis-2019-market-growth-trends-opportunities-forecast-to-2024 |url-status=dead }}

• Democratization of luxury. Also known as masstige (from mass-prestige), is a marketing strategy that aims to make brands prestigious while retaining their affordability.{{cite magazine |last1=Silverstein |first1=Michael J. |last2=Fiske |first2=Neil |date=April 2003 |title=Luxury for the Masses |magazine=Harvard Business Review |url= https://hbr.org/2003/04/luxury-for-the-masses |access-date=12 November 2023 |issn=0017-8012}}
• Globalization: Consumers in some countries are becoming wealthier; thus, new markets are opening for luxury marketers.{{cite press release |title=The Luxury Industry: Accelerating and Advancing Corporate Responsibility to Meet Evolving Consumer Demands |url= https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-luxury-industry-accelerating-and-advancing-corporate-responsibility-to-meet-evolving-consumer-demands-301578457.html |via=prnewswire.com |work=Boston Consulting Group (BCG) |date=30 June 2022 |access-date=3 January 2023}} Reports by consulting agencies like McKinsey predicted that East Asia would become the world's largest personal luxury goods market. China will consume half the global market value of luxury goods.{{cite book|chapter=Chinese Consumer Attitudes Toward Luxury |date=2010 |chapter-url= http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781119199755.ch5 |title=Luxury China: Market Opportunities and Potential |pages=53–76 |access-date=12 November 2023 |editor1-first=Chevalier |editor1-last=Michel |editor2-first=Pierre |editor2-last=Lu |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |doi=10.1002/9781119199755.ch5 |isbn=9780470823415 }}
• Consolidation: Consolidation involves the growth of big companies and ownership of brands across many segments of luxury products. Examples include Kering, LVMH, and Richemont, which dominate the market in areas ranging from luxury drinks to fashion and cosmetics.{{cite web|url= https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/professional/lvmh-kering-richemont-where-to-place-your-bets |title=LVMH, Kering, Richemont? Where to Place Your Bets |date=13 June 2016 |work=The Business of Fashion |access-date=28 July 2018 |language=en-GB}}
• Luxury brand collaborations. This marketing strategy demonstrates the potential of unexpected partnerships and co-branding opportunities between luxury brands and an unconventional partner seemingly at the opposite end of the design spectrum. Collaborations include pairings of luxury brands like Fendi x Versace but also pairings with streetwear brands including skateboarding brand Supreme x LVMH, with celebrities such as Bad Bunny x Adidas, anime characters like Doraemon x Gucci, and now video game franchises like Fortnite x Balenciaga.{{cite web |last1=Cruz |first1=Angela |last2=Ruiz |first2=Carlos Diaz |date=7 August 2023 |title=Unconventional luxury brand collaborations are everywhere. What is the appeal? |url= http://theconversation.com/unconventional-luxury-brand-collaborations-are-everywhere-what-is-the-appeal-210382 |access-date=10 August 2023 |work=The Conversation}} The collaborations are often limited edition collections.

The luxury goods market has been on an upward climb for many years. Apart from the setback caused by the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the industry has performed well, particularly in 2000. That year, the world luxury goods market was worth nearly $170 billion and grew 7.9 percent.[http://www.library.yorku.ca/eresolver/?id=984257 "The World Market for Luxury Goods." Global Market for Luxury Goods. Nov 1, 2001, March 5, 2007]. The United States has been the largest regional market for luxury goods. The largest sector in this category was luxury drinks, including premium whisky, champagne, and cognac.{{Citation needed|date=March 2018}} The watches and jewelry section showed the strongest performance, growing in value by 23.3 percent, while the clothing and accessories section grew 11.6 percent between 1996 and 2000, to $32.8 billion. The largest ten markets for luxury goods account for 83 percent of overall sales and include Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom, and United States.{{Citation needed|date=February 2013}}

In 2012, China surpassed Japan as the world's largest luxury market.{{cite web|title=China bans television ads for bling| date=8 February 2013 |url= https://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/08/business/china-bans-luxury-product-ads/index.html?hpt=hp_bn5 |access-date=15 February 2013}} China's luxury consumption accounts for over 25% of the global market.{{cite web|url= https://www.export-to-china.com/chinaWants/luxury|title=Export to China |website=export-to-china.com|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150402114900/https://www.export-to-china.com/chinaWants/luxury |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead}} According to the Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report 2020, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Singapore were four of the five most expensive cities for luxury goods in Asia.{{cite web|url= https://www.internationalinvestment.net/news/4009190/asia-most-expensive-region-wealthy |title=Asia is most expensive region for wealthy |first=Pedro |last=Gonçalves |work=International Investment|date=16 January 2020 |access-date=9 October 2020}} In 2014, the luxury sector was expected to grow over the following ten years because of 440 million consumers spending a total of 880 billion euros, or $1.2 trillion.{{cite web |url= http://www.wwd.com/business-news/forecasts-analysis/luxe-spending-to-grow-to-12-trillion-7399091?src=nl/mornReport/20140129 | title=Luxe Spending to Grow to $1.2 Trillion |website=wwd.com |date=28 January 2014 |access-date=29 January 2014 |last=Zargani | first=Luisa}}

The advertising expenditure for the average luxury brand is 5-15% of sales revenue, or about 25% with the inclusion of other communications such as public relations, events, and sponsorships.{{cite book |last=Okonkwo |first=Uche |title=Luxury Fashion Branding: Trends, Tactics, Techniques |date=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9780230590885 |page=145 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=a_6CublRtYwC&pg=PA145 |access-date=4 October 2019}}

A rather small group in comparison, the wealthy tend to be extremely influential.{{Cite web|date=14 September 2020|title=Luxury definition in transition: ideal values instead of overconsumption |url= https://www.hausvoneden.com/lifestyle/luxury-definition/ |access-date=6 July 2021 |website=hausvoneden.com |language=de |last1=Eden |first1=Haus Von }} Once a brand gets an "endorsement" from members of this group, then the brand can be defined as a true "luxury" brand. An example of different product lines in the same brand is found in the automotive industry, with "entry-level" cars marketed to younger, less wealthy consumers, and higher-cost models for older and more wealthy consumers.{{Cite web|title=Sustainable Luxuries? Millennials are Skeptical – Yet They Buy|url= https://www.hec.edu/en/knowledge/articles/sustainable-luxuries-millennials-are-skeptical-yet-they-buy |access-date=6 July 2021 |website=hec.edu |date= 7 September 2020 |language=en}}

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In economics, superior goods or luxury goods make up a larger proportion of consumption as income rises, and therefore are a type of normal goods in consumer theory. Such a good must possess two economic characteristics: it must be scarce, and, along with that, it must have a high price.[http://www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/AC231E/AC231E10.htm Shellfish Economics] A course outline for the FAO of the United Nations; Fisheries and Aquaculture Department. Retrieved 18 April 2008. The scarcity of the good can be natural or artificial; however, the general population (i.e., consumers) must recognize the good as distinguishably better. Possession of such a good usually signifies "superiority" in resources and is usually accompanied by prestige.

A Veblen good is a superior good with a prestige value so high that a price decline might lower demand. Veblen's contribution is demonstrated by the significance of the Veblen effect, which refers to the phenomenon of people purchasing costly items even when more affordable options that provide similar levels of satisfaction are available.{{Cite journal |last1=Rod |first1=Aleš |last2=Rais |first2=Jonáš |last3=Schwarz |first3=Jiří |last4=Čermáková |first4=Klára |date=2015 |title=Economics of Luxury: Counting Probability of Buying Counterfeits of Luxury Goods |journal=Procedia Economics and Finance |language=en |volume=30 |pages=720–729 |doi=10.1016/S2212-5671(15)01321-0|doi-access=free }}

The income elasticity of a superior good is above one by definition because it raises the expenditure share as income rises. A superior good may also be a luxury good that is not purchased below a certain income level. Examples would include smoked salmon, caviar, and most other delicacies. On the other hand, superior goods may have a wide quality distribution, such as wine and holidays. However, though the number of such goods consumed may stay constant even with rising wealth, the level of spending will go up to secure a better experience.

A higher income inequality leads to higher consumption of luxury goods because of status anxiety.{{Cite web|url= https://www.wbs.ac.uk/news/how-inequality-may-be-fuelling-our-obsession-with-luxury-goods/ |title=How inequality may be fuelling our obsession with luxury goods |work=Warwick Business School}}{{cite journal |last1=Pybus |first1=Katie |last2=Power |first2=Madeleine |last3=Pickett |first3=Kate E. |last4=Wilkinson |first4=Richard |title=Income inequality, status consumption and status anxiety: An exploratory review of implications for sustainability and directions for future research |journal=Social Sciences & Humanities Open |date=2022 |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=100353 |doi=10.1016/j.ssaho.2022.100353 |doi-access=free}}

{{See also|Positional good}}

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Several manufactured products attain the status of "luxury goods" due to their design, quality, durability, or performance, which are superior to comparable substitutes.{{cite book|last1=Parker|first1=Christopher J. |last2=Doyle |first2=Stephen |editor1-last=Ozuem|editor1-first=Wilson|editor2-last=Azemi|editor2-first=Yllka|title=Designing Indulgent Interaction: Luxury Fashion, M-Commerce, and Übermensch|date=2018|publisher=IGI Global |isbn=9781522526971|pages=1–21 |chapter-url= https://www.igi-global.com/gateway/chapter/191070 |chapter=1}}

Some goods are perceived as luxurious by the public simply because they play the role of status symbols, as such goods tend to signify the purchasing power of those who acquire them.{{Citation needed|date=March 2018}} These items, while not necessarily being better (in quality, performance, or appearance) than their less expensive substitutes, are purchased with the main purpose of displaying wealth or income of their owners.{{Citation needed|date=March 2018}} These kinds of goods are the objects of a socio-economic phenomenon called conspicuous consumption and commonly include luxury cars, watches, jewelry, designer clothing, yachts, private jets, corporate helicopters as well as large residences, urban mansions, and country houses.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}

The idea of a luxury brand is not necessarily a product or a price point, but a mindset where core values that are expressed by a brand are directly connected to the producer's dedication and alignment to perceptions of quality with its customers' values and aspirations.{{cite web |last=Danziger |first=Pamela N. |title=What Makes A Brand Luxury And Why Shinola Earns The Title |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2017/05/07/what-makes-a-brand-luxury-why-shinola-earns-the-title/#31feef096976 |work=Forbes |date=7 May 2017 |access-date=1 February 2020}} Thus, it is these target customers, not the product, that make a luxury brand. Brands considered luxury connect with their customers by communicating that they are at the top of their class or considered the best in their field.{{cite web |last=Danziger |first=Pamela N. |title=10 core values that make a brand luxury |url= https://www.brandknewmag.com/10-core-values-that-make-a-brand-luxury/ |publisher=BrandKnew Magazine |date=13 October 2016 |access-date=1 February 2020}} Furthermore, these brands must deliver – in some meaningful way – measurably better performance.

What consumers perceive as luxurious brands and products change over the years, but there appear to be three main drivers: (1) a high price, especially when compared to other brands within its segment; (2) limited supply, in that a brand may not need to be expensive, but it arguably should not be easily obtainable and contributing to the customers' feeling that they have something special; and (3) endorsement by celebrities, which can make a brand or particular products more appealing for consumers and thus more "luxurious" in their minds.{{cite web |last=Eckloff |first=Lucy |title=Why is a brand considered luxury and why does this change over time? |url= https://www.kadence.com/journal/whatdefinesluxurybrands |website=kadence.com |date=21 May 2018 |access-date=1 February 2020}} Two additional elements of luxury brands include special packaging and personalization. These differentiating elements distance the brands from the mass market and thus provide them with a unique feeling and user experience as well as a special and memorable "luxury feel" for customers.

Examples include LVMH, the largest luxury goods producer in the world with over fifty brands (including Louis Vuitton){{cite book |last=Christensen |first=Jens |title=Global Experience Industries: the Business of Experience Economy. |date=2009 |publisher=Aarhus University Press |isbn=9788779344327}} and sales of €42.6 billion in 2017,{{cite web|url= https://r.lvmh-static.com/uploads/2017/11/2017-financial-documents.pdf |title=Annual Report 2017 (PDF) |work=LVMH |access-date=4 October 2019 }} Kering, which made €15.9 billion in revenue for a net income of €2.3 billion in 2019,[https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200211006173/en/Kering-2019-Full-year-Results Kering: 2019 Full-year Results], Businesswire.com, 12 February 2020 and Richemont.

The luxury brand concept is now so popular that it is used in almost every retail, manufacturing, and service sector.{{cite book |last1=Kapferer |first1=Jean-Noël |title=The luxury strategy: break the rules of marketing to build luxury brands |last2=Bastien |first2=Vincent |date=2012 |publisher=Kogan Page |isbn=9780749464912 |edition=Second}} New marketing concepts such as "mass-luxury" or "hyper luxury" further blur the definition of what is a luxury product, a luxury brand, or a luxury company. Lately, luxury brands have extended their reach to young consumers through unconventional luxury brand collaborations in which luxury brands partner with non-luxury brands seemingly at the opposite spectrum of design, image, and value.{{cite journal |last1=Diaz Ruiz |first1=Carlos |last2=Cruz |first2=Angela Gracia B. |date=1 January 2023 |title=Unconventional luxury brand collaborations: a new form of luxury consumption among young adults in China |journal=International Marketing Review |volume=40 |issue=7 |pages=1–21 |doi=10.1108/IMR-04-2022-0099 |issn=0265-1335 |doi-access=free }} For example, luxury fashion houses partner with streetwear brands and video games.{{cite web |date=31 October 2019 |title=Louis Vuitton x League of Legends: what if you dressed as your favorite video game character? |url= https://www.vogue.fr/fashion/article/league-of-legends-characters-are-now-dressed-by-louis-vuitton-outfits-skins-trophy-case |access-date=29 May 2023 |work=Vogue France |language=fr-FR}}

The sale of luxury goods requires a high level of client service, human touch, and brand consistency. Since the early 2010s, many luxury brands have invested in their own boutiques rather than wholesalers like department stores. Three of the world’s biggest luxury conglomerates— LVMH, Kering, and Richemont — significantly increased the share of annual sales captured from their directly operated stores and e-commerce over the past decade.{{Cite web |last=Bain |first=Marc |date=October 10, 2018 |title=Luxury labels are going direct-to-consumer |url=https://qz.com/1418251/luxury-labels-like-gucci-and-cartier-going-direct-to-consumer |access-date=10 September 2024 |website=Quartz}}{{Cite web |last=PYMNTS |date=2024-02-12 |title=Trouble Ahead for Department Stores as Luxury Brands Move Direct-to-Consumer |url=https://www.pymnts.com/news/retail/2024/luxury-brands-d2c-push-spells-trouble-department-stores/ |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=PYMNTS.com |language=en-US}}

Luxury brands use distinct boutique types to tailor the experiences of different client groups.

Flagship boutiques are grand, multi-story boutiques in major cities that are merchandised with a wide range of collections and staffed by a large team of sales associates. They also offer supplemental services, like jewelry cleaning, hot stamping, on-site service.{{Cite web |last=Hanyak |first=Angela |date=1 October 2023 |title=Luxury Shopping in Europe: How to Prepare and What to Expect |url=https://www.angelahanyak.com/notes-from-here/luxury-shopping-in-europe#types-of-luxury-boutiques |access-date=14 September 2024 |website=Notes From Here}}

Many luxury brands use flagship boutiques to illustrate their unique vision or heritage,{{Cite web |last=Quillin |first=Jessica |title=The Strategy of a Luxury Flagship Store |url=https://www.fashionstrategyweekly.com/p/the-strategy-of-a-luxury-flagship |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=www.fashionstrategyweekly.com |language=en}} often through distinctive architecture{{Cite web |last=Peppin |first=Hayley |date=2021-10-28 |title=Six most architecturally captivating luxury storefronts from around the globe |url=https://harpersbazaar.com.au/luxury-designer-boutiques-architecture/ |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=Harper's Bazaar Australia |language=en-US}} that transforms them from storefronts to tourist attractions.{{Cite web |last=Zhang |first=Miles Socha, Tianwei |date=2023-08-29 |title=What to Watch: Behold the Super Mega Flagship Store |url=https://wwd.com/business-news/retail/luxury-mega-flagship-stores-bigger-1235742604/ |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=WWD |language=en-US}}

Large cities often have secondary boutiques in addition to their flagship boutique. Multiple boutiques allow luxury brands to cater to different types of clients, which can differ even within small geographic areas. Secondary boutiques often offer different merchandise than flagship boutiques, and establish different types of relationships with clients.{{Cite web |last=Nguyen |first=Janet |date=2024-06-08 |title=Why you might find two Louis Vuitton stores on the same block |url=https://www.marketplace.org/2024/06/07/why-you-might-find-two-louis-vuitton-stores-on-the-same-block/ |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=Marketplace |language=en-US}}

Luxury boutiques in smaller cities are often secondary boutiques as well. The rising popularity of secondary and tertiary cities around the world has pushed luxury brands to open secondary boutiques in smaller cities than those that can support a flagship boutique.{{Cite web |title=Smaller cities are unlocking luxury's local future. Here's what you need to know |url=https://frameweb.com/article/retail/smaller-cities-are-unlocking-luxurys-local-future-heres-what-you-need-to-know |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=frameweb.com |language=en}}

Luxury brands use seasonal boutiques to follow their well-heeled clientele as they leave major cities for smaller resort towns in the summer and winter.{{Cite news |last=Fearon |first=Francesca |date=2024-07-08 |title=Luxury brands catch a break from holiday resort boutiques |url=https://www.ft.com/content/aeaaa412-d70d-4da8-9009-6b1e58eb8e09 |access-date=2024-09-14 |work=Financial Times}} Common throughout Europe, seasonal boutiques have short-term leases, like a pop-up shop, which are open only during the resort's high season. These boutiques offer merchandise relevant to the resort where they are located, like a cruise collection in a beach resort{{Cite web |last=WW |first=FashionNetwork com |title=Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Jacquemus... Luxury takes up residence in Saint-Tropez |url=https://ww.fashionnetwork.com/news/Louis-vuitton-gucci-jacquemus-luxury-takes-up-residence-in-saint-tropez,1640372.html |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=FashionNetwork.com |language=en-WW}} or skiwear in a mountain resort.{{Cite web |title=CHANEL's Seasonal Boutiques in Courchevel & Gstaad |url=https://www.lofficielbaltic.com/en/fashion/chanel-s-seasonal-boutiques-in-courchevel-gstaad |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=L'Officiel Baltic |language=en}}

{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2018}}

File:Brioniboutique.jpg. Luxury stores such as this one produce bespoke clothing—clothing specifically designed for the person buying them.]]

Since the development of mass-market "luxury" brands in the 1800s. Extraordinary places will be the factor of development that can be achieved by enabling the conversion of items from the mass-market to the luxury market.

Many innovative technologies are being added to mass-market products and then transformed into luxury items to be placed in department stores.{{cite journal |last1=Heine |first1=Klaus |last2=Phan |first2=Michel |date=May 2011 |title=Trading-Up Mass-Market Goods to Luxury Products |url= http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1016/j.ausmj.2011.03.001 |journal=Australasian Marketing Journal |language=en |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=108–114 |doi=10.1016/j.ausmj.2011.03.001 |s2cid=167596249 |issn=1839-3349}}

Department stores that sell major luxury brands have opened up in most major cities worldwide. Le Bon Marché in Paris, France is credited as one of the first of its kind.

In the United States, the development of luxury-oriented department stores not only changed the retail industry, but also ushered the idea of freedom through consumerism, and a new opportunity for middle- and upper-class women.{{cite web |last=Blakemore |first=Erin |title=How 19th-Century Women Used Department Stores to Gain Their Freedom |url= https://www.history.com/news/how-19th-century-women-used-department-stores-to-gain-their-freedom |publisher=History |date=19 November 2018 |access-date=17 January 2020}}

{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2018}}

Fashion brands within the luxury goods market tend to be concentrated in exclusive or affluent districts of cities worldwide. These include:

{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Amsterdam's P.C. Hooftstraat{{cite web |title=Hermès to open flagship store in Amsterdam |url=https://ww.fashionnetwork.com/news/Hermes-to-open-flagship-store-in-amsterdam,886598.html |work=Fashion Network |date=2 November 2017 |access-date=8 September 2024}}
• Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island
• Athens Voukourestiou Street and Kolonaki district
• Atlanta's Buckhead district
• Auckland's Orakei Local Board area
• Bangalore's UB City
• Bangkok's Pathumwan
• Barcelona's Passeig de Gràcia{{cite web |title=Barcelona's luxury and art street: 200 years of Passeig de Gràcia |url=https://www.catalannews.com/culture/item/barcelonas-luxury-and-art-street-200-years-of-passeig-de-gracia |work=Catalan News |date=22 July 2023 |access-date=8 September 2024}}
• Beijing's Yabaolu
• Berlin's Kurfürstendamm
• Bogotá's Zona T
• Boston's Newbury Street{{cite web|url= https://www.boston-discovery-guide.com/newbury-street-shopping.html |title=Newbury Street Shopping |website=boston-discovery-guide.com |access-date=3 March 2024}}{{cite web|url= https://boston.racked.com/maps/eighteen-stores-to-spend-it-all-when-you-have-money-to-burn |title=Eighteen Stores to Spend It All When You Have Money to Burn |first=Susie |last=Kostaras |date=29 January 2013 |work=Racked |access-date=3 March 2024}}
• Brisbane's Teneriffe
• Brussels Louizalaan/Avenue Louise
• Budapest's Rózsadomb district
• Buenos Aires's Recoleta
• Cairo's Zamalek
• Cartagena's Bocagrande
• Chicago's Oak Street and Magnificent Mile{{cite web |title=10 Best Places For Luxury Shopping in Chicago |url= https://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/united-states/10-best-places-for-luxury-shopping-in-chicago/ |work=Discover Walks |date=16 July 2023 |access-date=3 March 2024}}
• Dubai's Al Barsha and Jumeirah districts
• Dublin's Dublin 4 district
• Düsseldorf's Königsallee
• Florence's Via de' Tornabuoni
• Frankfurt's Goethestraße{{cite web |title=Shopping in Frankfurt: Hier kann man am besten Mode einkaufen! |url= https://www.fashion-insider.de/77640/shopping-in-frankfurt-hier-kann-man-am-besten-mode-einkaufen/ |work=Fashion Insider Modeblog |date=28 February 2020 |access-date=8 September 2024}}
• Guangzhou's Haizhu District
• Hamburg's Neuer Wall
• Hanoi's Hang Bac in Hoàn Kiếm district
• Hong Kong's Central, Tsim Sha Tsui
• Istanbul's Abdi İpekçi Street and İstinye Park
• Jakarta's Menteng and Kebayoran Baru
• Johannesburg's Sandton (Nelson Mandela Square)
• Kuala Lumpur's Bukit Bintang and KLCC
• Las Vegas's Strip
• Leeds Victoria Quarter
• Lisbon's Avenida da Liberdade
• London's Bond Street and Sloane Street
• Los Angeles Beverly Hills (Rodeo Drive)
• Madrid's Calle de Serrano
• Manila's Ayala Avenue
• Medellín's El Poblado
• Melbourne's Collins Street
• Montreal's Rue Sainte-Catherine
• Mexico City's Avenida Presidente Masaryk
• Miami's Star Island and Coral Gables
• Milan's Via Monte Napoleone
• Moscow's Tverskaya Street and Stoleshnikov Lane
• Munich's Maximilianstraße{{cite web |title=After 120 Years, This Munich Jeweler Has Decided to Move |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/04/fashion/jewelry-hemmerle-munich.html |work=The New York Times |date=4 March 2024 |access-date=8 September 2024}}
• New York's Madison Avenue, Fifth Avenue and SoHo
• Paris Champs-Élysées, Avenue Montaigne and Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
• Palm Beach's Worth Avenue{{cite news |last=Eyeman |first=Scott |title=See Worth Avenue in a whole new way |url= https://www.palmbeachpost.com/article/20101202/NEWS/812033143 |work=The Palm Beach Post |date=31 March 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200803171000/https://www.palmbeachpost.com/article/20101202/NEWS/812033143 |archive-date=3 August 2020 |access-date=3 March 2024}}{{cite web|url= https://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/story/business/2023/11/16/palm-beach-worth-avenue-iconic-shopping-lilly-pulitzer-tiffany-florida/71523121007/ |title=Shop Local: Palm Beach's Worth Ave. offers an iconic restaurant and holiday shopping experience |first=Kristina |last=Webb |work=Palm Beach Daily News |date=20 November 2023 |access-date=3 March 2024}}
• Panama City's Multiplaza Pacific
• Palm Desert's El Paseo
• Perth's Dalkeith
• Philadelphia's Walnut Street
• Prague's Pařížská Street{{cite web |title=Czech This Out: Luxury Is Flourishing in Prague |url=https://wwd.com/feature/luxury-prague-saint-laurent-chanel-1203402691/ |work=Women's Wear Daily |date=18 December 2019 |access-date=8 September 2024}}{{cite web |title=High Street's glamour |url=https://eurobuildcee.com/en/news/34363-high-streets-glamour |work=Eurobuild Central & Eastern Europe |date=23 April 2024 |access-date=8 September 2024}}
• Rio de Janeiro's Leblon and Copacabana districts
• Rome's Via Condotti
• Reykjavík's Vesturbær and Garðabær
• San Francisco's Union Square
• San Jose's Santana Row
• San Juan, Puerto Rico's The Mall of San Juan
• Santiago's Alonso de Córdoba
• São Paulo's Jardins district and Rua Oscar Freire Street
• Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)'s District 1
• Seoul's Cheongdam-dong
• Shanghai's Middle Huaihai Road
• Singapore's Orchard Road
• Stockholm's Biblioteksgatan
• Sydney's Castlereagh Street
• Taipei's Xinyi District
• Tel Aviv's Kikar Hamedina
• Tokyo's Ginza and Aoyama
• Toronto's Mink Mile
• Vancouver's Alberni Street
• Vienna's Innere Stadt
• Warsaw's Nowy Świat Street{{cite news |last=Sobczyk |first=Marcin |title=Luxury Retailers Shop Warsaw |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323728204578515252401792888 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=4 June 2013 |access-date=3 March 2024}} and Mokotowska Street{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/23/style/warsaw-poland-shopping.html |title=In Warsaw, Mining a Rich Vein of Polish Creativity |first=Ginanne |last=Brownell |date=23 November 2022 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=3 March 2024}}
• Zürich's Bahnhofstrasse{{cite web |title=The world's most expensive streets |url=https://en.worldtempus.com/article/industry-news/business/top-10-the-worlds-most-expensive-streets-20778.html |work=WorldTempus |date=11 January 2016 |access-date=8 September 2024}}

{{div col end}}

{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}

• Affordable affluence
• Behavioral economics
• Collecting
• Commodity fetishism
• Conspicuous consumption
• Designer label
• Inferior good
• Lists of most expensive items by category
• Money
• Mid-luxury
• Necessity good
• Positional good
• Quiet luxury
• Sumptuary law
• Veblen goods
• Wealth effect

{{div col end}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{commons category-inline}}

• {{cite book |last1=Chadha |first1=Radha |last2=Husband |first2=Paul |title=The cult of the luxury brand: inside Asia's love affair with luxury |date=2007 |publisher=Nicholas Brealey International |isbn=9781904838050}}
• {{cite book|last=Lapatin |first=Kenneth |title=Luxus, The Sumptuous Arts of Greece and Rome |date= 2015 |publisher=J. Paul Getty Museum |isbn=9781606064221}}
• {{cite book |last1=Wiesing |first1=Lambert |title=A Philosophy of Luxury |date=2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780367138417}}

{{Goodtypes}}

{{Most Expensive}}

{{Wealth}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luxury Good}}

Category:Goods (economics)

Category:Brand management

Category:Retailing by products and services sold

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