Luxury brand to open outlet in Monte Carlo.

According to a report from Marketwire, the Luxury Institute has just released its latest WealthSurvey. It seems that high net worth (HNWI) American consumers are just like the rest of us when it comes to customer service. Wealthy people don't like their personal data being shared with third parties, they want frontline staff to be empowered to sort out their problems regardless of company policies, and if they need to return a purchase, they want the experience to be fast, easy and convenient.

Now that the luxury travel exhibition and the luxury spa exhibition have packed up their stands, it's the turn of the luxury building and interior design conference. The Batilux event will start on Friday 25 January and will run until Monday 28 January. Exhibitors will be presenting some of the most luxurious and beautiful building materials, as well as environmentally friendly products and ideas for sustainable construction.

The annual Hurun Report surveys the wealthiest Chinese to find out which premium and luxury brands are the most preferred. This year's overall winner is BMW, but awards were presented in several categories including jewelry, drinks, financial services and luxury travel destination, won by France. In comparison to rich Americans' favourite whiskey, the Chinese placed Macallan in 3rd place, after Royal Salute and Johnny Walker.

A survey conducted by the Luxury Institute reports that wealthy Americans think Grand Marnier is the most prestigious liqueur. The institute regularly surveys the richest 10% of Americans for their Luxury Brand Status Index. Besides the findings for liqueurs and cognacs, they've also discovered that the favourite whiskey of high net worth individuals in the USA is Macallan.

Links on this page direct to the UK website for Amazon. Being based in Monaco, it makes more sense for us to order our books in Europe.

Management, Industry, Theory and History

Berry, C.J. (1994) The idea of luxury: a conceptual and historical investigation. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

A report from Bloomberg warns that we'll soon be seeing a shortage of Champagne due to increasing demand from the UK, USA and Japan. High demand and low supply will inevitably lead to higher prices, which is probably a good thing for the producers. But according to the article, the Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) is intending to extend the Champagne region in order to increase output over the next few years.

Most of us start thinking about our summer holidays when Christmas and New Year finish and the January blues kick in. Here in Monaco, we plan for a little luxury with the Monte Carlo Travel Market (MCTM), now in its 4th year. The exhibition will take place in the Grimaldi Forum from 11 to 13 January and is a high class networking event. Luxury lifestyles and prestigious travel are on show for the specially invited elite individuals and buyers.

A report just published by the WWF has criticised luxury companies for their poor performance in sustainable development. "Deeper Luxury" ranked leading luxury brands by comparing their own environmental claims against media reports and comments of non-governmental organizations.

If you haven't already picked up the press reports, you may be interested to know that the French luxury food company Hediard, has been bought by a Russian businessman. The company was sold by our very own Monegasque Michel Pastor, and becomes part of the Luxadvor group. Will we start to see more caviar for sale in the stores?