Luxury brands tend to target overseas customers such as Arabs, Russian & Chinese during the summer seasons to achieve their targets for the rest of the year.
Brands such as Louis Vuitton, Ferrari, Graff and Prada are missing a trick by not targeting a source of wealth that exists in the UK, which are affluent Britons.
If we look at some of the those affluent Arab households who fall within the top 1% highest earners earning in excess of £1m+HHI, their houses are on average are worth £1.5m, they have on average 1- 2 holiday homes, a yacht, another £100k on cars, the women will buy on average 3-4 handbags a year at £2,000 minimum nowadays, 4 holidays at £15,000 and a further £35,000 on private schools. The Ultra HNW Arabs wealth in London has approximately £30m and their wealth was accumulated in investments, properties, hotels, and finance.
The majority are self-made and of a middle class upbringings. Specialist HNW agency Mediareach Star regularly holds events for the UHNW people in luxury homes and Central London plush hotels, which are attended by an average of 500 people each time and the reason for the success is that they know and understand the audience and know what makes them tick. A fact many luxury brands failed to grasp and deliver on numerous occasions.
A recent function I have been to had 25 Iraqi’s who between them own 100 hotels from 3-5 stars, 4 Iraqis from Liverpool who dabbled into properties after finishing universities only to find themselves owning 5000 homes, 3 billionaires who made their wealth from trading and commodities and 100 doctors, lawyers, dentists, media & software entrepreneurs.
The latest ONS clusters research has pointed to 5 areas mostly in London and one in Edinburgh where the wealthy are located and a close look at the composition of these areas reveal that the majority are Arabs, Russians, Jewish and English. These HNWI earn in excess of £400k and tend to be immune from the economic downturn. While we tend to believe that the rich and affluent tend to be old, money hungry white men, this is simply not true now.
The admen must develop creative for luxury products need to branch out and cater for this diverse group with money to spend.
Grabbing the attention of niche population can be quite a challenge but if done properly the rewards can be immense. But first you need to understand this audience well. Being of an Arab/Iraqi background allows me to interact with this audience at first hand. These affluent audiences demand elite efficient service at all times tailored to their needs. Businesses and brands are like restaurants; we go to lots of restaurants all the time but keep visiting the restaurants that give us better service and good food and are known for their consistency.
The majority of affluent people in the UK have worked hard to create their wealth and demand to be treated best and expect the service to exceed expectation. So if you have an affluent brand seeking affluent consumers in London you aught to understand what they desire and what makes them tick as upfront investment will drive ROI over a short period of time and increases your returns and the bottom line.