In addition, at the recent Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association in Lake Tahoe, CA, Wayne Wilbanks, managing principal of Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC, told attendees that manufacturers on the high end of the residential market have been virtually unscathed by the housing slowdown. (For more Industry Barometers click here. For more business articles click here. And don’t forget to sign up for eNewsletters, including the Market Update, that cover the state of the kitchen and bath industry).

This is especially true in the ultra high end of the kitchen and bath market, where price seems to be no object to wealthy consumers, and the wealthiest of consumers in the U.S. and abroad, who have posh residences and vacation homes around the world, continue to “buy, buy, buy” despite what happens in the housing market, or any other global or domestic economic market.

That’s why, according to panelists at The Luxury Home Alliance’s “Building Luxury Brands for Home” presentation last month, it’s imperative for kitchen and bath dealers and designers to be able to effectively tap into the luxury market, grab the attention of the most affluent consumers, market to their desires and educate them about the fact they are the ones who can turn their dream design into reality.

This trio of luxury experts – Beverly Hills, CA-based designer Barclay Butera, ASID; Houston, TX-based designer William W. Stubbs, IIDA; and Liz Conover, executive director of merchandising and marketing for specialty retailer Takashimaya New York – offered some tips about how kitchen and bath designers and other allied professionals can best reach wealthy clients, based on their experience with the ultra luxury market:

• Form a lasting relationship with their high-end clients by respecting their privacy, offering unique merchandise and unobtrusive, yet helpful customer service, suggested Conover.
• Figure out what clients need, and what their tastes are, urged Butera, adding that these clients should feel that the level of luxury they want is attainable, and that it can be interpreted to suit their own unique tastes.
• Recognize that luxury is about a lifestyle, not about products anymore, advised Stubbs, adding that, as a result, one should remember that he/she is selling a lifestyle. And, remember that people are willing to pay for luxury.

Look for more information about this in the upcoming 7/07 issue of Kitchen & Bath Design News. And log onto Live Events, as well.

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