How to sell luxury

It is 1814 and a father writes a letter to his son advising him what is needed for a successful career selling luxury brands. He talks about the need for beauty, art, enjoyment of life, craftsmanship, skill and the expertise needed to sell to HNW’s. You know, not so much has changed…

Our latest article for Luxury Briefing magazine unearths his letter – and talks about the ‘New Romantic’ future. It's the fourteenth in our series and you can read all the others by following the links at the end of the article.

A father’s letter to his son on entering the luxury business. The Tradesman. London 1814.

‘What if there was no luxury? If the rich man were to clothe himself in coarse woollen garments, or to be contented only with a miserable hut, a bundle of straw for his bed, a table and two stands for furniture should we not need the Manufacturers of cloths, of architects, printers, writers, builders and stone masons?

The dawn of the swan, the feathers of the goose, the horsehair which forms our mattresses? If luxury did not exist should we have painters, sculptors, goldsmiths, watchmakers, artists?

Those without feeling for the beautiful and sublime might answer ‘Society can do without all these things for they do not belong to the necessary wants of life’.

But I say we need more for the enjoyment of life than bread, milk and roots. The fine arts are necessary. They animate and sharpen our Understanding; they grant us the highest possible degree of enjoyment.

Art, commerce and luxury are fundamentally connected. If there were no rich people who would buy the beautiful picture from the painter, the statue from the sculptor, the ring from the jewellers, the watch from the watchmaker?

Who would be there to encourage the musician who has perhaps spent the better part of life in his endeavours to bring his instruments to perfection? The actor would be obliged to take the spade in his hand were there not people who, by their applause, encourage him to attain the highest excellence in the art.

You must sell with wisdom and humility. Your job is to be a friend to the people of Capital. Also, a friend to the arts and the artisan. You will be amply rewarded for your talent and skill.

And what if your customer has no real taste for luxury? He buys merely out of ostentation to display the extent of his riches. His vanity and weakness will always contribute to the sum of life’s general welfare and the circulation of his Wealth will be to the advancement of all.

You need to closely apply yourself not only in the superficiality of Wealth but also by its most particular bearings. You will find that this consciousness strengthens you. Exert yourself and enrich your mind with the most extended liberal ideas without which you will appear contemptible in your vocation.

Only by these means will you attain full success, make others happy and yourself too. Such is my guide for your future life. I hope your qualities of virtue, work, love, reflection and order will become exhilarating Springs which will impel the most noble actions. It is the dearest wish of my heart that you may persevere in the course you have chosen and that it will lead you to freedom and independence.’

Well… they sure don’t use sales advice from 1814 in LVMH staff training sessions, but some things remain constant.

If I re-wrote it for click bait, pull quotes, call outs, headlines, sub heads, and side bars, we’d still have a piece on the need for beauty, art, enjoyment of life, craftsmanship, skill and the expertise needed to sell to HNW’s.

And these core themes, it turns out, have become more important than ever, as luxury adapts to the new Industrial Revolution. OK computer, yes, AI and digi-precision is changing the zeitgeist.

But some commentators say there is a growing cultural resistance taking place. They say the value of skill, craftsmanship, and human expertise is being celebrated as never before – and a strange backlash to the tech era is being created: a New Romanticism.

Substack/NYT writers Ted Gioia and Ross Barkan believe that just as the C18th Enlightenment triggered a counter movement, led largely by artists and poets, so our current mania for “algorithmic, mechanistic thinking” will lead to a revolt against the rule of technology and the technocratic philosophies that justify it.

And this movement, like the 1800’s Romantics, highlights an intrinsic desire for authenticity and human connection in a world that feels more automated. Many will seek products with a soul, that that tell a story that embody the maker's expertise, that are life enriching, that are of real quality. Surely music to luxury brands’ ears.

Why shouldn’t ‘Best’ be better? Provocative art critic Robert Hughes said, in The Spectacle of Skill, where he contrasts the timelessness of true artistic achievement to the fleeting nature of faddish trends.

“I prefer the good to the bad, the articulate to the mumbling, the aesthetically developed to the merely primitive. I love the spectacle of skill, whether it's an expert gardener at work or a good carpenter chopping wood. I don't think ill-read people are as good to be with as wise and fully literate ones. I would rather watch a great tennis player than a mediocre one".

So, here’s to the timeless paradox of luxury sales, that will be tested as never before: wanting things to stay as they are, so things will have to change.

A little more on Anew - a London-based luxury branding Agency

Anew’s two founders deliver: insights from market research, strategic brand thinking, new brand names, luxury logo design, messaging, online and offline content, coffee table books and luxury brand websites. We help companies increase brand profitability through sharper insights, distinctive propositions, creative ideas and faultless execution.

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