Rating: 
Summary: In the Lap of Luxury, and Paying for It
Review: If you pay even casual attention to consumer trends, you may well have noticed that "premium" goods and services are thriving in practically every category -- Panera sandwiches, Sub-Zero refrigerators, Starbucks coffee, Callaway golf clubs, BMW cars. And if you pay any attention to economic trends, you probably won't be surprised to hear that the top fifth of American households ranked by income saw their earnings rise faster than any other group between 1970 and 2000 -- by 70%, in fact, in real dollars -- and now control 63% of the country's net worth. Finally, most observers of social behavior probably have a sense that it's not just the top fifth buying "new luxury" goods: Practically everyone is willing to pay a premium in at least one category, partly because shopping is now a source of emotional fulfillment and meaning for many.All this has been written about before, both by those who applaud the democratization of luxury and taste and by those who deplore the democratization of selfishness and conspicuous consumption. Michael J. Silverstein, of the Boston Consulting Group, and Neil Fiske, his former colleague and now the president of Bath & Body Works, are in the applauding camp. Their "Trading Up: The New American Luxury" waves away the likes of Juliet Schor's "The Overspent American" and assures us that the "New Luxury is good news for America" because it "offers a new kind of emotional engagement" to consumers and gives business leaders "a new way to think about growth, profitability, and the art of fulfilling dreams." The business leaders are the target readers, as the book is set up to help them cash in on the trend. Along the way, "Trading Up" offers plenty of ammunition to naysayers: Messrs. Silverstein and Fiske draw on many interviews with New Luxury consumers, and they often come across as fairly shallow and unpleasant people. "The quality of our appliances represents us," one woman declares after bragging about her kitchen setup. Other women talk about spending their way through breakups in bouts of therapeutic or "revenge" shopping. A Callaway fan bluntly tells the authors that "I feel good, I feel equal" when his fancy clubs help him beat them at golf. "I may make a lot less money than you do, but I think I have a better life." Later the same guy explains another of his "luxury" habits this way: "When I'm on a date, if I say 'Give me a Sam Adams,' I know she knows I'm special and I have some taste." If that's true, it probably says more about his taste in women than in beer. Whatever you make of the pros and cons of the trend, Messrs. Silverstein and Fiske have gathered a slew of case studies and some fascinating material. While the emotional component of shopping and marketing is something others have addressed, it's still surprising to find that it apparently applies even to such workaday items as the washer-dryer. The authors say that they spoke to owners of Whirlpool's premium-priced Duet model and "found an emotional connection stronger than we have seen in any other category." Whirlpool, they add, is now pursuing a "laundry room as family hub" strategy. More broadly, "Trading Up" is probably onto something when it notes that the willingness of consumers to pay a premium in some categories makes them price-sensitive in others. Thus offerings in the middle range (neither luxuries nor bargains) get squeezed. The authors are also wise to stress "the collapse of the innovation cascade": The differentiations in style or technology that mark luxury goods can quickly become standard features throughout entire categories, upping the pressure to innovate again if you want to stand out. Messrs. Silverstein and Fiske frequently return to the idea of the emotional connection between consumers and their purchases, but one interesting aspect of this they hint at but never quite say aloud. There seems to be a conundrum built into the "trading up" idea. A major theme among the entrepreneurs in the book is that, as one puts it, "sophistication and taste are now within reach of the middle class." Yet the one characteristic that nearly all the model companies seem to enjoy is high profit margins. Shouldn't "sophisticated" or "savvy" (a word the authors apply to younger New Luxury adherents in particular) consumers and high margins have trouble co-existing? Emotion, presumably, is the key. Something stronger than logic has to come into play if you're going to get your customers to swallow a big markup. Think back to that Callaway fan -- he didn't say that he is equal to the authors and has a better life. He said he feels equal and thinks he has a better life. Perhaps that was a slip of the tongue. Or perhaps he is the savviest man in the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice Work!
Review: Silverstein & Fiske do a great job of explaining the apparent dichotomy of BMW's in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Chapter 3 is a great primer for how to market New Luxury. I have read chapter 3 a few times and I keep getting more out of it. This book more clearly explains consumer marketing than the textbooks I read in business school. The book would have been more valuable if they considered how to apply this thinking in a "B to B" environment. Overall, an excellent read but don't take my word for it, visit the Boston Consulting Group web site and download Chapter 1 to get a taste. I bet you will come back here and buy it!
Rating:
Summary: Nice Work!
Review: Silverstein & Fiske do a great job of explaining the apparent dichotomy of BMW's in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Chapter 3 is a great primer for how to market New Luxury. I have read chapter 3 a few times and I keep getting more out of it. This book more clearly explains consumer marketing than the textbooks I read in business school. The book would have been more valuable if they considered how to apply this thinking in a "B to B" environment. Overall, an excellent read but don't take my word for it, visit the Boston Consulting Group web site and download Chapter 1 to get a taste. I bet you will come back here and buy it!
Rating:
Summary: New Criteria for Self-Definition
Review: Silverstein and Fiske brilliantly examine "New Luxury": a rapidly developing socio-economic trend as America's middle-market consumers are trading up to "products and services which possess higher levels of quality, taste, and [key word] aspiration than [other] goods in the [same] category but are not so expensive as to be out of reach...[trading up to products and services which] sell at much higher prices than conventional goods and in much higher volumes than traditional luxury goods and, as a result, have soared into previously uncharted territory high above the familiar price-volume demand curve." The significance of this paradigm shift has profound implications for literally anyone who competes each day for consumers' attention, consideration, and (most important of all) business.
Think about it. How to explain the spectacular success of diverse companies such as Starbucks, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Lexus and BMW, Williams-Sonoma and Bed, Bath & Beyond, Restoration Hardware, Victoria's Secret, Prada, Coach, Panera Bread, and Callaway? Granted, most consumers cannot afford to purchase everything from companies such as these but an astonishing number of consumers are not only willing but eager to pay a premium for at least a few of the products offered.
Why? Silverstein and Fiske offer several reasons. New Luxury merchants never underestimate their customer; they shatter the price-volume demand curve; they create a ladder of genuine benefits (i.e. technical, functional, and emotional benefits); they escalate innovation, elevate quality, and deliver a flawless experience; they extend the price range and positioning of the brand; they customize the customer's value chain to deliver on the benefit ladder; they use influence marketing to "seed" success through brand apostles (i.e. "evangelism"); and finally, they continually attack the category like an outsider. What Silverstein and Fiske offer is this volume is a rigorous analysis of those companies which continue to be most successful in the New Luxury economy. They also explain in detail precisely HOW they achieve such success.
Rating:
Summary: New Criteria for Self-Definition
Review: Silverstein and Fiske brilliantly examine New Luxury": a rapidly developing socio-economic trend as America's middle-market consumers are trading up to "products and services which possess higher levels of quality, taste, and [key word] aspiration than [other] goods in the [same] category but are not so expensive as to be out of reach...[trading up to products and services which] sell at much higher prices than conventional goods and in much higher volumes than traditional luxury goods and, as a result, have soared into previously uncharted territory high above the familiar price-volume demand curve." The significance of this paradigm shift has profound implications for literally anyone who competes each day for consumers' attention, consideration, and (most important of all) business. Think about it. How to explain the spectacular success of diverse companies such as Starbucks, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Lexus and BMW, Williams-Sonoma and Bed, Bath & Beyond, Restoration Hardware, Victoria's Secret, Prada, Coach, Panera Bread, and Callaway? Granted, most consumers cannot afford to purchase everything from companies such as these but an astonishing number of consumers are not only willing but eager to pay a premium for at least a few of the products offered. Why? Silverstein and Fiske offer several reasons. New Luxury merchants never underestimate their customer; they shatter the price-volume demand curve; they create a ladder of genuine benefits (i.e. technical, functional, and emotional benefits); they escalate innovation, elevate quality, and deliver a flawless experience; they extend the price range and positioning of the brand; they customize the customer's value chain to deliver on the benefit ladder; they use influence marketing to "seed" success through brand apostles (i.e. "evangelism"); and finally, they continually attack the category like an outsider. What Silverstein and Fiske offer is this volume is a rigorous analysis of those companies which continue to be most successful in the New Luxury economy. They also explain in detail precisely HOW they achieve such success.
Rating:
Summary: New Criteria for Self-Definition
Review: Silverstein and Fiske brilliantly examine New Luxury": a rapidly developing socio-economic trend as America's middle-market consumers are trading up to "products and services which possess higher levels of quality, taste, and [key word] aspiration than [other] goods in the [same] category but are not so expensive as to be out of reach...[trading up to products and services which] sell at much higher prices than conventional goods and in much higher volumes than traditional luxury goods and, as a result, have soared into previously uncharted territory high above the familiar price-volume demand curve." The significance of this paradigm shift has profound implications for literally anyone who competes each day for consumers' attention, consideration, and (most important of all) business. Think about it. How to explain the spectacular success of diverse companies such as Starbucks, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Lexus and BMW, Williams-Sonoma and Bed, Bath & Beyond, Restoration Hardware, Victoria's Secret, Prada, Coach, Panera Bread, and Callaway? Granted, most consumers cannot afford to purchase everything from companies such as these but an astonishing number of consumers are not only willing but eager to pay a premium for at least a few of the products offered. Why? Silverstein and Fiske offer several reasons. New Luxury merchants never underestimate their customer; they shatter the price-volume demand curve; they create a ladder of genuine benefits (i.e. technical, functional, and emotional benefits); they escalate innovation, elevate quality, and deliver a flawless experience; they extend the price range and positioning of the brand; they customize the customer's value chain to deliver on the benefit ladder; they use influence marketing to "seed" success through brand apostles (i.e. "evangelism"); and finally, they continually attack the category like an outsider. What Silverstein and Fiske offer is this volume is a rigorous analysis of those companies which continue to be most successful in the New Luxury economy. They also explain in detail precisely HOW they achieve such success.
Rating:
Summary: A Business Book with Food, Wine, and Sex....a Great Read!
Review: Someone has finally figured out that business books don't have to read like medical journals. "Trading Up" is actually fun. It is filled with consumer insights and annecdotes that have you saying "aha...I do that!" in almost every chapter. I do, in fact, haunt [a store] for bargains so I can splurge on the spa and a good glass fo wine ... Good writing, however, doesn't mean the book is low on strategy. It is, in fact, some of the best strategic insight into consumer behavior I've read in years. While I picked the book up expecting just another marketing tome....there's not a marketing gimmick in sight. The book is all strategy: a no nonsense recipe for success in today's challanging business climate. It shows us that the "average" consumer is no more. Everyone is "gourmet" in the categories that matter to them...and a bargain hunter those that don't. You can now sell premium price to a mass market...and win big. [just lke ... the many other companies profiled in the book]. It doesn't matter if you're in the appliance business, selling cars, producing food products, running a fast conveninece restaurant, or marketing travel services...if you don't read "Trading Up"...you're gonna find yourself traded out!
Rating:
Summary: Start your luxury business now!
Review: The past fifteen years have been witness to both negative and positive shifts in the American economy. With the ever shrinking middle class, creating a larger gap between the rich and the poor, American industries are faced with either adapting to the consumer change or becoming extinct. A fairly new trend, which can trace its roots back as early as the 1930's, is the "trading up" phenomenon.
Michael Silverstein and Neil Fiske illustrate the American consumer's ever increasing need to create their individuality from the products they purchase, which creates a greater need for companies to specialize their product within their general market.
American consumerism has little to nothing to do with purchasing what one needs but focuses solely on what one wants. Trading Up is rife with stories from Callaway Golf to Victoria Secret and how each person had to take a risk in order to achieve the monumental success. "Trading up" utilizes emotional engagement as an essential factor in creating and advertising a product. The product must instill a sense of desire within the consumer enabling them to pay a high premium. Yet, emotional engagement is only the beginning.
Silverstein and Fiske refer to a "ladder of benefits", which are key factors in the "trading up" phenomenon. The "ladder of benefits" reshape and provide new meaning to an product already on the market. Through technical differences, superior functional performance and emotional engagement a company would be able to recreate an already existing product and sell it for a premium price. Trading Up is an excellent book to lay the groundwork for a motivated, creative, and business savvy individual, who is ready to take their industry to the next level. The middle class consumer is "trading up," will you?
Rating: 
Summary: All kinds of lousy
Review: The smug, self-congratulatory writing style of these consultants cum authors is annoying to say the least. This however isn't the biggest weakness of the book, extremely repetitive and obvious examples make the book read like a smart 9th grade economics report.
Skip this book, check out the other, better written books that address the same situation: "Why we buy" or "Bobos in Paradise," two vastly superior books.
Rating: 
Summary: Good proposition but.....
Review: The trading up proposition is interesting, but the readers can grab the gist of the book by just reading chapter 1 which summarizes the entire book, and chapter 14 which covers the way forward. The other chapters are like exhibits to support the executive summary.
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