The list of the four hundred wealthiest people on the planet, minus
inherited wealth and finance, includes more people from luxury and
retail than technology or any other industry sector. Here’s a list of the
source of wealth for the ten richest people in Europe (who cares who
they are, their companies are infinitely more interesting than they
are):
Zara
L’Oréal
H&M
LVMH
Nutella
Aldi
Lidl
Trader Joe’s
Luxottica
Crate & Barrel^12The Luxury of Time
No technology firm has solved the problem of aging—losing relevance.
As a luxury brand, Apple is the first technology company to have a
shot at multigenerational success.
Apple did not start as a luxury brand. It was the best house in a
shitty neighborhood, tech hardware. A world of cables, geekware,
acronyms, and low margins.
In the early days, Apple simply made a more intuitive computer
than its competitors. Steve Jobs’s notions about elegant packaging
only appealed to a minority of customers; it was Steve Wozniak’s
architecture that drew the rest. Back then, the company appealed
largely to consumers’ brains. Many early Apple lovers were geeks
(which did nothing for its sex appeal). Apple, to its credit, gazed across
the tracks at luxury town and thought: Why not? Why can’t we be the
best house in the best neighborhood?