Luxury

I had the privilege of being part of an academic discussion on Luxury Retailing and opportunity for Training such retailers. It was interesting to sit back and think about what is luxury. The immediate adjectives  that come to mind are aspiration, great quality, highly priced, not easily available, has an impeccable  history, linked to a lifestyle etc..

But when I ponder a little more, I realise that luxuryis a very relative term. Luxury over a period of time becomes necessity. To put it differently,once attained the luxury item ceases to be a luxury. Of course this need not be the case always. Once attained the aspiration moves to a more higher, more difficult to achieve object. While a car was a luxury at one stage in life, it changes from 'a car' to a  particular brand of car in a later stage of life.

The relativity with respect to Luxury is not just defined by affordability but also by geography. The cultural background of the place you live in also defines what is luxury and what is not. Owning an elephant or a race-horse is a luxury in certain regions however it has little value or acceptance as a luxury possession in another corner of the world.

Once you transcend this material world, then what is luxury ?