WHITE PAPER: Re-imagining Affluence

Last year’s white paper focused on the Great Wealth Transfer. We saw how by 2045 most of the world’s wealth will be in the hands of new generations, Gen-X, Millennials, Gen-Z and now Gen Alpha. These phased generations of wealth will invest and engage differently to previous generations because their values and attitudes have been shaped by a different economic, environmental, and technological cycle.

This modern affluence mindset will mean the very definition of affluence will be reimagined and with it, we believe, so should the strategies of organisations and brands looking to engage with them. We have talked about cultural capital since our inception in 2019, but never has the potential return of investment from it looked so significant. We believe that the anxiety facing modern affluent audiences can be partly addressed by brands investing more in their cultural capital. A win, win.

First, this would make the world a richer, more vibrant place (you’ll see how important this is from our research partner, Altiant). Secondly, we believe brands are likely to get an increased return on investment over time and become stronger and more meaningful to this valuable global modern affluent population. Note that we purposely discuss the needs of the modern affluent consumer, rather than a demographic (e.g. Gen-Z) as we believe that modern affluence is a mindset and set of values/attitudes that transcends generations. We have also included luxury and premium brands of all sizes in this report so that we can fully appreciate the breadth of cultural conversations taking place in the industry and the opportunity afforded to all who partake.

If there are two words that define the insights mentioned in this report, they’d be ‘consistency’ and ‘community’ – both attributes seen in the world’s most successful brands today and we believe tomorrow, but words so dependent on strategic clarity, leadership, and investment. This report is our first in partnership with Claire Kent, an independent luxury and retail consultant, who has spent over thirty-five years involved in the sector including 17 years at Morgan Stanley, as their Managing Director - Luxury Goods and Retail Analyst. We’ve known Claire over several years and have always been impressed by the breadth and depth of her sector knowledge and incisiveness of her thinking which is why we were delighted to collaborate with her on this report.