Personal aspirations and theconsumption of luxury goods
Yann Truong
ESC Rennes Business School
Introduction
The market for luxury goods and services has been enlarging, steadily and strongly, since the early 1990s. Commentators have estimated its total worth at $840 billion in 2004, reaching $1 trillion by 2010 (Fiske & Silverstein 2004; Metha 2006; Luxury Institute 2007). The economic factors driving this trend include increasing disposable income, lower unemployment, reducing production costs and increasing female employment, as well as a growing wealthy class in emerging countries (Silverstein & Fiske 2003, 2005; Fiske & Silverstein 2004; Yeoman & McMahon-Beattie 2006). Parallel social...