At every level of the market, there is a sparkling touch of luxury. BCBG Max Azria style Luna for ClearVision (top). Roberto Cavalli style Achille 215 S for Marcolin.

FEATURE
Dazzling Luxury

The high-end market is ready to shine—a look at the big picture may help build the dazzle factor in your own high-end eyewear sales

By Erinn Morgan
Photography by Peter Baker

The numbers seem unbelievable. In the U.S., there are 1.2 million households with a net worth of over $5 million (up from 300,000 in 1983), according to The Luxury Marketing Council. There are also 2.7 million people with liquid portfolios of $1 million or more. Real household income for the top 20 percent of households is up 70 percent in the last 20 years. Today they account for 27 percent. The fact of the matter is that the rich are getting richer.

Today luxury is a $400 billion market. Additionally, experts estimate that it will grow at a rate of 15 percent a year to become a $1 trillion market by 2010. It has also grown more quickly than other markets. For example, in the last decade, the luxury category has seen gross revenue growth numbers ranging from 20 to 32 percent, while the retail mass market increases have only ranged between four and six percent.

"Even the average household income in this country up to 2003 has grown about 40 percent and stands at $60,000," says Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing (unitymarketingonline.com), a marketing consulting firm for luxury marketers, and author of Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses as well as the Classes. "It's a pretty healthy income. The luxury market per se is growing fast because it targets the affluent consumer."

This market has defied the face of recession, now it's time to look at what luxury consumers want, what they are willing to spend, and how to reach them. The key to success with this new consumer is in understanding and meeting their desires. "Never before has the luxury market seen an audience and community of highly affluent buyers as interested as today's luxury consumers in learning what constitutes the best of the best," Greg Furman, executive director of The Luxury Marketing Council, told nucifora.com. "I call it the 'rise of connoisseurship.'

Eyewear does double duty as jewelry. Shown top: Tura Elegance style TE444 for Tura. Below: Chanel style 2087-B for Luxottica

THE NEW LUXURY MARKET

The big news in luxury, says Danziger, is that it is now defined by the consumer's perspective. "Old luxury was luxury from the point of view of some product arbiter. It was about conspicuous consumption. It was about brands. I define the new luxury market as luxury from the consumer's perspective, how they themselves define it."

The catalyst for this change is, not surprisingly, the baby boom generation. "They have rejected the old luxury standards," says Danziger. "They do not buy because of the brand, even though the brand may justify the purchase. They buy because they fall in love with the quality and design and look.

LEVELS OF LUXURY
 

Luxury holds its own in many realms—from a variety of retail categories to different pricepoint ranges. People of varying income levels each have their own idea of luxury ranging from two pairs to $6,000 frames.

Still, there is a targeted demographic for where some say the true luxury customer kicks off. "We are proposing that luxury income starts at $120,000 to $125,000," says Danziger. But opinions vary—The Luxury Marketing Council projects the prime luxury customer is any of the 2.7 million with liquid portfolios of $1 million. 

To this end, a new luxury category has been dubbed "uber premium." Its ranks go only for the crème de la crème of products and services. According to the Website trendwatching.com, uber premium is all about status-craving consumers seeking goods, services, and experiences that are out of reach for 99.9 percent of the mass class.

The various levels of luxury also exist in the retail eyewear market. Stores like Eyetique in Pittsburgh carry frames that range up to $6,000. "We do a fairly large amount of super high-end," says Brad Childs, vice president. "Within the high-end you have your true luxury brands—you get into product that is wrapped in leather and hand-carved sterling silver. Luxury goes along with people feeling good about what they are wearing."

Vogue editor and style maven Anna Wintour has declared the word "bling" verboten in the fashion bible. But Robert Marc's Sparkle style 544-53 shows that shine is far from gone—it's just gotten a bit more subtle

Other optical shops have been able to bring in higher pricepoints than they normally carry. "I have been able to bring inthat super premium level of eyewear," says Scott Mischel, owner of Marc Mischel Eyewear in Los Angeles. "A few years ago the comfortable pricepoint might have been $200 to $300; now it's $300 to $400. Everything has stepped up."

Conversely, other high-end shops are pulling back from this uber-premium. "We are fading away from the super high-end," says Eddy Mamelock, owner of 20/20 Optical in Greenwich, Conn. "You have to be able to be high-end, but not price yourself out of a sale. I recommend being as high-end as possible without going over the top."

Ooh La-La de Paris style Connie in honeywood brown and