This entry was posted on Saturday, April 21st, 2007 at 10:10 pm and is filed under Luxury Gifts, Luxury Gossip, Luxury Info, Luxury News, Luxury Products, Quality of Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
The Luxury Blingdex
Luxury is booming and Wall Street is keeping a keen eye on how the rich are spending their wealth. And what better way to measure that hedonism than by creating a variety of indexes that track the shopping of the ultra-rich? The demand for four-figure handbags, five-figure baubles, six-figure cars, luxury resorts and travel, insurable art and heady wines has created a new and trackable economy for the very wealthy.
What intrigues investors is how well the carriage trade merchants are faring. This is mostly due to the fact that the rich are getting richer and their numbers on a global basis are growing along with their spending habits. A look at some of these uber-wealth tracking indexes reveals more than a little about the favored products and shopping stops of the rich. For example, sales at Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys New York are increasing at twice the level of the retail sector as a whole. Some of the indexes and the luxury companies they track include:
- Merrill Lynch tracks a basket of companies including BMW, Porsche, Bulgari, Coach, Tiffany Jewelers, auctioneer Sothebys and the private banking firm Julius Baer. The performance? Up 23 percent in 2005 and 12.5 percent in 2006. This compares to the respective 14 and 7 percent for global consumer stock during the same periods.
- Citibanks Plutonomy Index tracks world spending of the worlds growing class of plutocrats. This index mirrors much of Merrills, but also includes Japans highly regarded Shinwa Art Auction and Hong Kongs Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. We might call this one the œruler of wealth.
- Deutsche Borse introduced its own World Luxury Index earlier this year. It tracks Bulgari, Sothebys, Hermes International and requires that the companies it tracks generate at least 50 percent of its income from luxury spending.
What is the appeal of these indexes? Some surmise that those who cant afford the lifestyle of the ultra-wealthy can still be œin the money by investing in so-called luxury stocks. Finding true luxury stocks can be a difficult task, though. Many of these high end brands are now part of larger conglomerates. And because publicly-traded pure luxe companies are becoming so rare, many of the indexes are including brands such as Nike, Puma, Gap Stores, Harley Davidson and other popular products in their mix.
The reason for this interest is obvious. The rich are getting richer and are far more numerous. The number of millionaires in the US has more than doubled since 1995 and total wealth held by the top 1 percent has increased by more than 50 percent since 1998 (much due to real estate appreciation, Im sure). It should come as no surprise that luxury spending has kept pace with the soaring incomes and wealth at the top rung of of the economic ladder. And according to a Citigroup study, the top 20 percent of American earners are responsible for between 37 and 70 percent of total consumption.
And what is fueling this consumption? Its the desire to have the finest in homes, travel, dining, dress, art and social connections, according to Margaret Mager with Goldman Sachs High-End Consumer Index. œToday the good life is defines by the assets you have, she said.
Tip of the top hat to Robert Frank and The Wall Street Journal Wealth Report
April 29th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
Market in Beijing, capital of China
Dear Sirs,
I want to setting up representative office for your company in Beijing, capital of China promoting your business. You know China is a quite biggest country. There are 96billion square kilometers and over 800 cities. Any city is as big as a small country. Occupy Chinese market is equal occupy Asia market, that is meaning you make big effort get profit from more small country that is same as working on Chinese market profit. If you cannot decide yet, would you like transferring my opinion, email address and phone number to your headquarter?
According to American 《fortune》magazine report in May16, 2005: American corporations have got profit USD1.9billion since 1999 from Chinese market, till 2003 it has increased to USD4.4billion. And this figure will be kept increasing.
As report, Chinese luxurious market is made of Chinese population from 10million to 13million. Main part is from entrepreneurs and other part is young who work for multinational from east big cities of China. Their purchase habit is as same as Japanese.
I am not advice but only suggestion because of Chinese purchase volume is big. Let me give you the example. You know the Luxurious limousine “Mulliner728″, it is cost USD1,500,000 in China. Only tax in China can purchase other Benz S350. “Mulliner” come to China since 2002. Estimating sale 10 sets, till Sept. Till last year, “Mulliner” have set up 4 monopolistic stores and sold 85 sets Mulliner Luxurious limousine in China. And last week watches exhibition in Beijing sale more Luxurious watches, each watches price are over USD1,000,000. As report I have got recently, there are over 1.6billion Chinese people purchase Luxurious products. Beijing One store has sold out 800kg gold products within one day before Christmas. Chinese purchase power is unprecedented.
Chinese are researching keep value products. According over 10-year work in this market and knowing public, I do believe it is the time enters this market for your product. According to Judean businessman rule 80/20. It is 80% poor and 20% richer. China has enough 20% richer can support luxurious market now. So I said it is time for your enter this market.
What is my meaning that China has biggest market potential, and foreign market is opening. It is quite necessary setting up representative in Beijing, capital of China Now. the more earlier you coming, the more advantage you occupy in this market. Description of Chinese plutocrat(the richest persons),
About Chinese plutocrats, there are more description in China, it is unable to decide which is right. Recently, I red American magazine from 《times》, it seems correctly. Detail as followed:
Male plutocrat,
Dress: Made in China or Italy famous brand Western-style clothes (leave brand label on wristband) and mobile leather cover, leather vanity etc Luxury fittings.
Relax method: Play golf and skiing in USD10thousands/year tax club. And they luxury gambled in Las Vegas and other places.
Diet: Each meal price is above USD600. dish menu is including shark fins and abalones etc. luxury seafood.
Cocktail time: Drinking Scotland royal whiskey etc.
reading book: Jack Welch 《Straight from the Gut》and William (Bill) H. Gates autobiography.
Female plutocrat:
Dress: LV and Chanel fashionable dress, Fendi handbag, golden necklace, bright red nail paints and newest style Nokia mobile.
Relax method: Shopping, hot spring to recuperate, take a holiday in Thailand and Australia.
Diet: algae and sea-fog products that benefit for skin beauty.
Cocktail time: Cappuccino drink mixture by Green tea and coffee; and cucumber juice.
reading book: John Gray《Men are from Mars》,《Women are from Venus》; indoor decorate design, law book concerning divorce and solatium.
《times》said: Chinese plutocrat like driving Benz with lucky license plate and black color ROLLS-ROYCE. Smoking with Dunhill brand and Cuba cigar; Night life is staying KTV room; prefer long hair pets, pug, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern stone-dog and Beijing dog; They are used to go abroad shopping as mad as a hatter and look in their study abroad children.
You know what I am saying, China is quite good market right now that deserve work on, is it?
Ok, just write here, hoping hear from you soon.
Cheers,
Nancy
Tel: 8610-63964311
zhuyannancy@126.com
April 30th, 2007 at 4:51 am
Nancy,
Thanks for your response. I have emailed you directly.
June 18th, 2007 at 10:10 am
[…] The Luxury Blingdex […]
August 20th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
[…] The Luxury Blingdex […]