The Industry Is Special
Key Aspects• Luxury is a socio-cultural code that is commonly understood.• Luxury and its interpretation are constantly changing according to the context. • The context for interpreting luxury is defined by time, culture and society.• The interpretation of modern luxury is characterised by its democratisation, romantic consumerism, globalisation and digitalisation. • High-end luxury is differentiated based on perceived scarcity, high-end quality and price, product aesthetics and uniqueness as well as symbolism. • Customers desire luxury as it makes them feel good through positive emotions. • Luxury consumption is intrinsically and extrinsically motivated.• Luxury is an experience.• The experience tends to be immaterial, and personal perception matters.• Luxury shares common elements with art and religion.Luxury means selling dreams, and like every dream, it depends on one's personal perception and interpretation, particularly of what is luminous or boundless. Both facets are part of the origin of the word 'luxury'-the Latin root word lux translates into 'light', while the Latin luxuria relates to selfindulgence and opulence. Finding one common definition of luxury is impossible, as it means something different to every person on the planet. The customers and the changing definition of luxury are thus identified as the biggest threats disrupting luxury. 1 Luxury is also close to another