Luxury Trends to watch for in Austin 2007

Michael Dell, watch out.  Big Brother is watching you!

Yes, a recently-released study by The Luxury Institute (TLI)(www.LuxuryInstitute.com) dissects the habits and trends of America’s wealthiest individuals, helping businesses adapt to their changing demands.

According to TLI, "the super-wealthy know the difference between value and price. They look for value and are willing to pay top-dollar for it in goods and services. For most luxury goods and services firms, this top 10% of earners are the folks who deliver about 80% of the profits."

"Being wealthy is defined more by the services you buy than the goods you own," CEO Milton Pedraza says. "The wealthy will continue to work and there will be more demand for services from mundane things like pool maintenance to high-level bill-paying services."

TLI identifies 7 trends to watch for in 2007 and beyond:

1. A preference for Membership (rather than Ownership of) real estate properties.
2. Private Banking on the rise, reaffirming a need for privacy, security, and relationships.
3. An insatiable appetite for air travel – primarily first and business-class travel.
4. A penchant for exporting American successes (ie travel standards, quality goods) to attract the super-wealthy in under-developed countries (ie China).
5. A shift in marketing aimed at aging baby-boomers towards offering products and services to the younger generation (Gen-X and Gen-Y).
6. The Ultimate Role Reversal: men are trading in their boardrooms for spa visits, skin and facial care products, and other "pampering" lifestyle habits, while more of the affluent women are charging into America’s board rooms as the newst breed of leadership in the Fortune 500.
7. And finally, a contnued dhigh demand for goods and services of the highest quality.  No earth-shattering news there, I’m afraid!

Let’s hope some of Austin’s super-wealthy share these same desires.