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Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster

How Luxury lost its Luster - Dana Thomas
by Earl of Cruise
Dana Thomas publiziert mit diesem Buch einen knallharten Blick hinter die Kulissen der Luxus-Mode-Industrie von Heute.
How Luxury lost its Luster von Dana Thomas ist nicht nur interessant, lehrreich, unterhaltsam und nur für Fashionistas, sondern auch auf andere Bereiche die Luxus Vorgaukeln übertragbar - die Touristik und die Kreuzfahrt in Zeiten des Massentourismus.
Es gab eine Zeit, als Luxus nur einer dünnen und limitierten Welt der Aristokratie und der des sehr wohlhabenden Bürgertums, dem heutigen alten Geld zugänglich war. Luxus war nicht einfach nur ein Produkt, es war ein Lebensstil, gekennzeichnet durch die Geschichte und Tradition des erlesenen Handwerks, der hohen Qualität, und eines verwöhnten Kauferlebnisses.
Für seine Gründer würde der heutige Luxus-Markt praktisch unkenntlich sein. Vorbei sind die Familienunternehmen, die sich über Generationen der Integrität und der Qualität gewidmet hatten. Die Luxus Industrie wird heute von einigen Milliarden Dollar schweren globalen Konzernen gelenkt, deren Schwerpunkt auf Wachstum, Sichtbarkeit, Markenbewusstsein, Werbung und vor allem Gewinne zielt. Handgefertigte Waren sind praktisch ausgestorben. Fast alle Fertigungsstätten sind in große Fabriken in Länder wie China ausgelagert, wo die teure Marken-Handtasche, direkt neben einer von einem Massenmarkt-Label, das wesentlich weniger kostet, zusammengesetzt wird.
Dana Thomas, Journalistin, die Stil und das Luxus-Business für die Washington Post, Newsweek und The New York Times Magazine in den letzten fünfzehn Jahren geschrieben hat, gräbt tief in die dunkle Seite der Luxus-Industrie, um Geheimnisse aufzudecken, die Prada , Gucci und Burberry uns nicht wissen lassen wollen. Sie reiste zu den Labors in Grasse, wo die Zutaten für Christian Dior und Prada Parfums produziert werden, zu den überfüllten Fabriken in China, in denen tausende Arbeitnehmer Taschen mit dem Label "Made in Italy" zusammenkleben, und Thomas erforschte die ganze heutige High-End-Shopping Erfahrung, um einige drängende Fragen zu beantworten: Was ist die neue Definition von Luxus, wenn die Werbung für diese Lebensweise hauptsächlich auf den Massenmarkt ausgerichtet ist? Was werden wir dafür zu bezahlen, wenn die Qualität den Weg zur Menge genommen? Kann die Integrität in einer Unternehmenskultur überleben, wenn regelmäßiges Wachstum angesteuert werden und Gewinnprognosen zu erfüllen sind?
Sind Produkte der Luxus Labels immer noch das Beste, was Geld kaufen kann?
Sie werden sich fragen warum ich hier über eine Mode Buch schreibe?
Es ist ganz einfach. Das was in der Luxus Industrie seit den 90ern passiert ist, hat es auch in der Kreuzfahrt Industrie gegeben. Seit dem die Liner in den 60ern von den Düsenclippern von den Meeren verdrängt wurden, und erstmals in den 70ern spezielle Schiffe für Kreuzfahrten gebaut wurden, stiegen schon in den 70ern Großinvestoren in das "neue" Business ein. Schon damals zeigte der Trend zu großen Passagiermengen an Bord. Und mit dem Flottenwachstum kam der Standard.
Als dann in den 90ern durch kluge Geschäftspolitiken die Reedereien und auf Grund ihrer Werbekampagnen neue Kundenschichten öffneten, war die Kreuzfahrt nur noch ein gut gehendes, vom Yield Management abhängiges, Touristik Geschäft im Massensegment.
Die so genannte "Demokratisierung" des Luxus, ist genauso ein Märchen, wie die der Luxusfashion. Die Orientierung auf die Massen ist eine Augenwischerei. Sie Funktioniert und spült den Konzernen Geld in die Kassen.
Die Schiffe sind das Ziel geworden, nicht weil sie so großartig gestaltet wurden, sondern sie wurden auf "Wow-Effekt" ausgestattet, damit der Gast an Bord nicht merkt, wie er eigentlich ausgenommen wird. Denn vom reinen Passagepreise kann der Reeder nicht leben. Er braucht zwingend die Nebeneinnahmen aus Getränken, Sonderrestaurants, Special Events und Chichi Angeboten und zuletzt den Landausflügen, damit er pro Gast eine kleine Marge hat.
Leidtragende an dieser Entwicklung sind die Zielgebiete, deren Menschen und Umwelt, aber auch das Personal an Bord der Schiffe. Nicht zuletzt der Gast an Bord selber, der einen Traum zur See bucht und ein austauschbares Produkt erhält. Und weil gerade dieser Gast auch ein Wiederholer (Repeater) sein soll, und zudem immer neue Kunden gewonnen werden müssen, werden immer neue Gimmiks an Bord angeboten ... einige davon gab schon vorher, wie eine Kegelbahn, Rutschen und der Gleichen.
How Luxury lost its Luster von Dana Thomas ist also nicht nur für Fashion Victims, sondern auch eine Parabel auf die Kreuzfahrtindustrie.
Tranfer und Medien - ISBN-13: 978-0143113706

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