You can’t manage what you don’t measure, goes the old management maxim and yet, — with new brands, new players, as well as old companies reinventing themselves, all scrambling to capture a piece of the luxury travel market, nobody — truly nobody — seems to be measuring it. 

Maybe it simply cannot be done. But how could that be?  Read on for our series on The Magical Math of Luxury Marketing--starting now!

Ron Kurtz, a veteran cruise line executive, who now runs the American Affluence Research Center says "No one has a definition of luxury--or the affluent market for that matter. That's what we are trying to accomplish." 

His organization defines the affluent market in the U.S  as the wealthiest 10% of households, based on data from the Federal Reserve Board, which he calls "the best research on the subject".

Using that definition, says Kurtz, results in a group with a minimum net worth of  $800,000 and an annual income of $270,000. Although they represent only 10% of households, this group represents 40% of total income and 70-80% of total net worth.

Meanwhile, at a recent Luxury Marketing Council Forum,  Senior Vice President Bob Shullman of MMR, showing data from the firm's most recent Affluence Study pegged  the number of High-End Households ($250,000 and above annual income and $1,000,000 net worth) at  1,620,000. So where does this leave us? Happily, with a big story agenda on The Math Of Luxury Marketing in upcoming issues--Don't miss...

• The Pool of $$$ Questions—Just how big for US Marketers?
• What’s Driving Luxury, and How Far Is Up?
• How the Middle Class Drives Affordable Luxury
• Luxury Dollars Online? A Reality Check
• Sector by Sector—‘Pool of Dollars’ Analysis
• Aspiring to Luxury—The Cafeteria Plan