What We Talk About When We Talk About Luxury: By Greg Rohl.

The kitchen and bath industry, and particularly the decorative or luxury segment of our business, has experienced tremendous growth over the past thirty years. If you were in the business or starting a business in the early 1980’s, you were well positioned to catch the Boomer wave, as the peak of that generation was entering their mid to late 20’s and starting to settle down and create households.

As the years progressed, the Boomer wave and its investment in homes and particularly kitchens and baths surged as incomes increased, starter homes were remodeled, sold for larger homes, and many acquired or built vacation homes featuring large kitchens for entertaining and beautiful bathroom retreats.

Appreciation for luxury was in large part driven by status, exclusivity and achievement. Brands on our clothes, our cars, our watches and in our homes signaled our success. In particular, many kitchen and bath brands found themselves well positioned as their names became desired features and go-to choices in showrooms and by specifiers. This generational wave of wealth sustained those who worked hard and had a little luck through business challenges, political seasons and recessions great and small. But, alas, nothing lasts forever, and over the past few years we’ve seen a shift as a confluence of forces are changing the way, the why and the how consumers buy.

These forces include inevitable demographic changes, but moreover the changing consumer psychographics are motivating brands to evolve the way they talk about their products. Those who market any luxury segment are and will be particularly challenged to convey value in new ways, as the very perception of luxury is being challenged. Luxury itself may need to be rehabilitated in an age of environmental concerns, pandemics and social justice. Perhaps a new language of luxury is required if we’re to convince tomorrow's customers to invest a bit more for the products we sell and specify?

The good news is that global luxury brands with tremendous resources are well aware of these changes and can provide some guidance we can use today to start reframing the way we talk about luxury and guide our customers toward the best possible solutions. Solutions that don’t signal status, but confirm their own personal values. Products engineered not for planned obsolescence, but to be repaired, reused and recycled. Managing a budget not by choosing commodities and more, but better and less. Specifying a fixture not because it makes a statement, but because it makes a memory. Designing spaces that promote wellness instead of indulging excess. And supporting brands that appeal not by being exclusive, but by connecting people and creating community.

The decorative plumbing and hardware profession is a natural “deliverer” of these qualities, and as the business world only gets more dynamic and challenging, becoming more effective communicators of our value and the value of the products we make, sell and specify is one thing that can be controlled. Look at how luxury brands within and without the industry are changing the way they communicate their value. There are clothing, housewares, retail, and even e-commerce brands that are utilizing this new luxury lexicon and if they’re customer is potentially your customer, it's time to get fluent.

“Life is Change, Growth is Optional. Choose Wisely.” - Karen Kaiser Clark