When it comes to cabinetry, we believe more than any other time in recent history, there is a wide gap between how luxury is defined by each generation. From Baby Boomers to Millennials, the idea of luxury is miles apart.
For Baby Boomers, luxury cabinetry is defined by high quality construction, high quality finishes, exquisite design, and a long lasting lifetime. Baby Boomers also prefer professional kitchen designers to create their design. Brand names they can trust is a factor as well.
Our experience with younger generations, as well as the experience of professionals we work with, has shown that it is more about a "look" than quality, durability and brand name. We all know the younger generations like to order online. When a consumer orders online, it is all about a "look", unless they understand a brand.
Tens of thousands of kitchens are sold on line every year. No quality cabinetry brand is sold on line. The question is: will consumers continue to order cheap kitchens o line, even when they become more affluent?
We often hear about $3M - $5M homes being built with cheap stock cabinets. It is like putting a Kia engine in a $200K Aston Martin.
For consumers who want to conserve natural resources, reduce waste and save money on multiple renovations, buying a cheap kitchen that needs to be replaced often is not desirable, even if it looks good when they purchase it. Will consumers accept poor quality cabinetry in their kitchen for years after the finishes and structure deteriorate in order to save money and resources to replace? The most expensive kitchen is the cheapest kitchen.
Amazon, the king of training everyone to buy cheap, is trying to get into the luxury market. They want to sell $2000 shoes, $3000 handbags and other fashion items. This will prove to be an interesting experiment to see if people will buy luxury unseen. Or will they use brick and mortar for their resources and than give the sale to an on- line retailer who has very little overhead?
Your thoughts?
