Press Release

Latest Luxury Business newsletter dedicated to outdoor living

Stevens, PA March 28, 2005 - The latest issue of Luxury Business is dedicated to the luxury of outdoor living. Home has been an obsession for luxury consumers for the past twenty years. But after repeatedly decorating, redecorating, remodeling then redecorating their homes once again, luxury consumers are turning their attention elsewhere. Now they are powered by a new energy to connect with the outside world.

"I have been particularly interested in the potential of the luxury side of the outdoor living market for several years, as I have watched the 'cocooning' lifestage fade along with its obsession on home furnishings spending. Luxury consumers, those top 25 percent of U.S. households based upon income, are just not spending like they used to on home," explains Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses - as well as the Classes. (Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2005)

Rather there is strong indication from Unity Marketing's quarterly Luxury Tracking study that when luxury home spending goes down, spending on experiential luxuries, such as travel, dining, spas, goes up. Likewise when home spending rises, spending on experiential luxuries goes down. In effect luxury home marketers are competing directly with experiential luxury purveyors when it comes to grabbing share of the luxury consumers' budget. (See more on Luxury Tracking)

Outdoors is the 'new' indoors in home decorating

One way the new passion for connecting is reflected by luxury consumers is by focusing on the outdoor living spaces of their home. Unity Marketing sees the outdoor living areas as the new home decorating frontier and a place that savvy luxury home marketers should explore for future growth. 

"Today, the outdoor living market has expanded to encompass far more than just gardening, while gardening remains an important aspect of outdoor living. Outdoor living is a lifestyle, not just a hobby, and savvy luxury marketers that embrace this new lifestyle trend will get ahead of the dramatic growth curve that is coming," says Danziger.

Poised to benefit from the emerging 'outdoor-indoor' luxury lifestyle are established outdoor living brands like Smith & Hawken, whose CEO Barry Gilbert is interviewed in this issue.

Also slated to capture more sales are independent local garden centers that cater to the gardening consumer, a subset of the much larger outdoor living market. One of the best and brightest garden centers nationwide is Spring Valley, NY-based Matterhorn Nursery, whose founder Matt Horn is also featured in this issue.

There is room for lots more competition as the staid old-fashioned garden and gardening business morphs into a much expansive outdoor living market in answer to consumers' need for more luxurious tools, equipment, supplies and accessories to enhance their enjoyment and pleasure from the outdoor living experience.

More about the Luxury Business newsletter

Luxury Business: The Luxury Marketers Report is presented six times per year by Pam Danziger to provide the latest research-based insights and understandings about the luxury market. Today's luxury market, defined as the top 25 percent of U.S. households with incomes of $75,000 and above, presents compelling new challenges for luxury marketers. Through research, Unity discovers how luxury marketers can establish deeper connections with their affluent customers and anticipate change in their luxury shopping patterns and priorities.

To order a copy of this issue of Luxury Business and the next six over the course of the year, use this link http://www.unitymarketingonline.com/reports2/luxury/luxury2.html

For media: Sample issues and graphs and charts are available upon request.