WHAT'S THE STORY?

For most of us, retail therapy is buying a new pair of jeans or a handbag – but for the super-rich, it could be buying a yacht. Despite the cost of living hitting record highs, the super-rich seem impervious to inflation as products with a high price-tag continue to sell.

But just what does living in the lap of luxury mean today? The Agenda with Stephen Cole speaks to Luca Solca.

MEET THE EXPERT

Luca Solca is Senior Research Analyst of Global Luxury Goods at the Investment Research Institute, Sanford C. Bernstein.

Formerly a consultant and partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Europe and with 25 years' experience as a global luxury market expert, Solca is perfectly placed to comment on how the luxury industry is evolving.

WHAT DOES SOLCA SAY?

Asked about the main customers of luxury, Solca says it's those wanting to send a message:

"If we look at the mainstream luxury goods industry, those brands and those products are mostly relevant to people that change and improve their social status. If you've been rich for a long time, you have less of a need."

He adds that people sometimes buy luxury items as confirmation of their own success.

"When you buy luxury brands, that gives you reassurance in a way… you project your ideal self into those products and you become your ideal self by buying them."

Asked if historical perception of the super-rich is changing, Luca says it depends on how divided society is.

"Income inequality and wealth inequality has continued to increase in the past few decades. If there is opportunity for people that have less, to work hard and get to have more, then I think resentment is less of a problem.

"I think that one of the reasons why you don't have much of this problem in China is that everyone is getting better, and as a consequence, there's less resentment towards the rich than we have maybe in some of the European markets."

ALSO ON THE AGENDA:

- Diana Verde Nieto, Positive Luxury co-founder, explains the benefits of sustainable business, and why it's crucial to remaining relevant.

- Adam Sebba, CEO of luxury travel company The Luminaire, discusses rising demand for high-end luxury tourism.

- Marjorie Hernandez, digital fashion expert and co-founder of The Dematerialised, explains the growing trend of virtual luxury.

FIND MORE STORIES FROM THE AGENDA WITH STEPHEN COLE  HERE