While a Volkswagen Polo could be seen as a luxury car to a student, a Mercedes S-Class might be just an ordinary car to a wealthy heir. This demonstrates that luxury is a relative term that could refer to almost anything or nothing depending on whom you ask. In addition, luxury has today become an inflationary used and worn out label for almost anything. For instance, some discount supermarkets and beer brands claim to sell “luxury for everyone”. On the contrary, most luxury brands refrain from explicitly declaring their products as luxury, while at the same time actually selling more and more non-luxury products. In addition, there are an increasing number of non-luxury brands selling luxury products or “masstige” (mass prestige) products with (at least) some feeling of luxury.
These confusions are also reflected in the management literature. Although a variety of definitions already exist for luxury products and brands, including the most popular concepts by Dubois et al. (2001) and Vickers & Renand (2003), the discussion about the definition of luxury is still going on. From about 20 years ago until today, there is above all a consensus in business literature that there is actually no consensus about the definition of luxury products and brands and that the existing concepts remain a little bit “blurry”.
The ongoing discussion, together with the inconsistencies and impracticability of the existing definitions, is rooted in some major misunderstandings due to a missing conceptual base. Although it is impossible to develop a specific definition of luxury products, such as Louis Vuitton bags, that also covers intangible luxuries such as time and space, many authors do not distinguish between different understandings of luxury. Consequently, since different authors refer to different objects of investigation, it is impossible to achieve a consensus.
An adequate definition of luxury is long overdue for researchers and marketers. Since the 1980s, the luxury market has grown at about ten percent per year, a much higher rate than the world economy, making the luxury industry a relevant economic factor. Estimates of the size of the market for traditional luxury categories including fashion, jewelry and tableware range from about 150 billion € to 200 billion € in 2010. Considering not only traditional luxury categories, but also cars and services such as hotels and travel, the global luxury market is estimated to approach 1 trillion €. Despite the current economic uncertainties, Bain & Company (2011, p. 15) forecast the luxury market to grow in the next few years by about five to six percent p.a. worldwide and by even more than ten percent p.a. in Asia. High growth rates and the prospect of high margins attract numerous new players into the luxury market. This includes mass-market manufactures aiming to upgrade their products and brands into the luxury segment, as well as a wave of new luxury ventures. Before they can enter the luxury market, however, these companies need to know what actually constitutes a luxury product or brand.
The growth of the luxury industry is reflected in a growing body of scientific literature about this segment. However, a clear definition of the objects of investigation is necessary in order for the research results to be clear and comparable, and therefore would provide a basis for further research in luxury brand management and consumer behavior. For instance, without a clear definition of luxury products and brands, there can be no recognized definition as to what constitutes luxury consumers and how they can be distinguished from non-luxury consumers. For instance, selected luxury consumers as respondents for their study based on the following criterion: “all respondents had acquired […] at least one product they considered luxurious.” However, this means that they targeted virtually everybody to speak about virtually anything that could be a luxury.
As luxury brands are obviously characterized by selling luxury products, they are usually defined by product-related characteristics. Therefore, the concept requires not only defining both luxury products and brands, but also distinguishing similar concepts and differentiating between major types of luxury products and brands. In that way, it should create a better understanding of what actually constitutes luxury products and brands, and thus should be useful for both researchers and managers within the field of luxury brand management.
Klaus Heine (2012) The Concept of Luxury Brands
Mr. Rows Namoura Coffee 
The Concept of Luxury Brands
While a Volkswagen Polo could be seen as a luxury car to a student, a Mercedes S-Class might be just an ordinary car to a wealthy heir. This demonstrates that luxury is a relative term that could refer to almost anything or nothing depending on whom you ask. In addition, luxury has today become an inflationary used and worn out label for almost anything. For instance, some discount supermarkets and beer brands claim to sell “luxury for everyone”. On the contrary, most luxury brands refrain from explicitly declaring their products as luxury, while at the same time actually selling more and more non-luxury products. In addition, there are an increasing number of non-luxury brands selling luxury products or “masstige” (mass prestige) products with (at least) some feeling of luxury.
These confusions are also reflected in the management literature. Although a variety of definitions already exist for luxury products and brands, including the most popular concepts by Dubois et al. (2001) and Vickers & Renand (2003), the discussion about the definition of luxury is still going on. From about 20 years ago until today, there is above all a consensus in business literature that there is actually no consensus about the definition of luxury products and brands and that the existing concepts remain a little bit “blurry”.
The ongoing discussion, together with the inconsistencies and impracticability of the existing definitions, is rooted in some major misunderstandings due to a missing conceptual base. Although it is impossible to develop a specific definition of luxury products, such as Louis Vuitton bags, that also covers intangible luxuries such as time and space, many authors do not distinguish between different understandings of luxury. Consequently, since different authors refer to different objects of investigation, it is impossible to achieve a consensus.
An adequate definition of luxury is long overdue for researchers and marketers. Since the 1980s, the luxury market has grown at about ten percent per year, a much higher rate than the world economy, making the luxury industry a relevant economic factor. Estimates of the size of the market for traditional luxury categories including fashion, jewelry and tableware range from about 150 billion € to 200 billion € in 2010. Considering not only traditional luxury categories, but also cars and services such as hotels and travel, the global luxury market is estimated to approach 1 trillion €. Despite the current economic uncertainties, Bain & Company (2011, p. 15) forecast the luxury market to grow in the next few years by about five to six percent p.a. worldwide and by even more than ten percent p.a. in Asia. High growth rates and the prospect of high margins attract numerous new players into the luxury market. This includes mass-market manufactures aiming to upgrade their products and brands into the luxury segment, as well as a wave of new luxury ventures. Before they can enter the luxury market, however, these companies need to know what actually constitutes a luxury product or brand.
The growth of the luxury industry is reflected in a growing body of scientific literature about this segment. However, a clear definition of the objects of investigation is necessary in order for the research results to be clear and comparable, and therefore would provide a basis for further research in luxury brand management and consumer behavior. For instance, without a clear definition of luxury products and brands, there can be no recognized definition as to what constitutes luxury consumers and how they can be distinguished from non-luxury consumers. For instance, selected luxury consumers as respondents for their study based on the following criterion: “all respondents had acquired […] at least one product they considered luxurious.” However, this means that they targeted virtually everybody to speak about virtually anything that could be a luxury.
As luxury brands are obviously characterized by selling luxury products, they are usually defined by product-related characteristics. Therefore, the concept requires not only defining both luxury products and brands, but also distinguishing similar concepts and differentiating between major types of luxury products and brands. In that way, it should create a better understanding of what actually constitutes luxury products and brands, and thus should be useful for both researchers and managers within the field of luxury brand management.
Klaus Heine (2012) The Concept of Luxury Brands
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