The changing meaning of luxury in Europe

Extract

[...] In this part we will be approaching the concept of luxury from a slightly different angle. Our proposition is that increasingly the changes in aspirations, desire for experiences and selfdevelopment that have become a feature of modern life for a larger proportion of the European population have filtered down to and is affecting the way people perceive luxury. The definition is now more fluid and encompasses several dimensions apart from the purely materialistic/exclusive understanding. In order to try to get a grasp on this we have re-classified the 10 luxury statement into three new „value‟categories; „Materialism‟, „Enrichment‟ and This way we have been able to get a picture of the proportion of people within any given group (country, age, gender etc.) and what they value more in life and how their preferences relate to each other Luxury: Materialism, enrichment or time? [...]

[...] In its new meaning luxury is not a concept that should be understood purely in materialistic terms and cannot be tied purely to the price and quality of a product. Luxury is not about the quantity and sometimes not even about the quality of products / services (although this can be important). Rather, it is increasingly about the perceived quality of life that they provide - e.g it can be the „sensuous pleasure‟ you get from a good bottle of wine rather than the „shallow satisfaction‟ it is simply to be able to afford it. [...]

[...] and which of the others is the second best description of luxury in your life, if Hungary EU average Germany Spain Sweden Czech Rep Poland France Italy GB Perception of luxury: Time on my own Proportion who choose „Having time on my as the thing that is the best or second best description of luxury in their life, by country “Looking at all these things, can you tell me, for you, which of the following things would be the best description of in your life? [...]

[...] and which of the others is the second best description of luxury in your life, if - Driving an expensive car - Eating good quality food - Enjoying the best in home entertainment technology - Wearing designer clothes - Going on expensive holidays - Having beautiful home furnishings - Living in a nice area - Having nice toiletries and pampering myself - Having time on my own -Having time just to relax * 9 countries: GB, Italy, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary = 80% of total EU25 population 6.1 Perceptions of luxury in Europe the TOP 10 The following is based on an analysis of the question where and „second best‟ description are added together to give us a of what defines luxury in Europeans‟ lives Europeans select „going on expensive holidays' as their favourite description of luxury, with an average of 36% choosing this option as either their best or second best description. [...]

[...] cause and effect of the Household disposable income growth in Western Europe Index (1995 = 100) of disposable income in real terms for selected EU countries and the US 190 Index 1995=100 Germany Spain Italy UK France US Sweden Ireland GDP per head in the EU 25, by country In euros and purchasing power standards per inhabitant, at current prices In euros per inhabitant In purchasing power standards (PPS) per inhabitant Netherlands Hungary Ireland Finland Italy Czech Rep Denmark Lithuania Germany Slovenia Belgium Cyprus Sweden Slovakia Portugal Poland France Malta Austria Latvia EU 15 Estonia Greece EU 25 Spain UK CEE 10 Splashing out on luxury, by gender, age and social grade Proportion who agree/strongly agree they can afford to splash out on luxury goods sometimes As I read out a statement please say from this card how much you agree or disagree with each. [...]