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Tribes: Life-long Learners

Tribes

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Jul 2, 2020 9:46:00 AM

Author: The Future Laboratory

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This tribe of high-net-worth high achievers are more interested in spending their money on self-enriching experiences than on gratuitous displays of wealth, and see little separation between work, learning and leisure.

In today’s world, the truly successful are those who know how to adapt to changing conditions and consciously seek new challenges. This means that a commitment to life-long learning has become mandatory for the next generation of high-net-worth consumers.

Indeed, a 2016 study by Pew Research Center revealed that nearly three-quarters (73%) of American adults consider themselves life-long learners, and those who live in higher-income bracket households are significantly more likely to be life-long learners than those in lower income brackets. The luxurians’ shift to learning also indicates a change in how they are spending their time and money.

The rapid growth of the experience economy is no secret, but the experience economy is also evolving. Consumers are increasingly looking for services and interactions that provide a clear functional benefit, with learning one of the key parameters. According to authors Joseph Pine and James Gilmore, the first to coin the term ‘experience economy’ back in 1998, we are now seeing a shift towards what they describe as the transformation economy, in which consumers prioritise goods and services that offer them opportunities for personal development. ‘Brands must remember that consumers are looking to become better people,’ Pine explained in an interview with The Business of Fashion.

Our Life-long Learners tribe are at the forefront of this shift. A subset of the Ascetic Luxurians tribe we covered in 2015, Life-long Learners are more interested in spending their money on self-enriching experiences than gratuitous displays of wealth. These are usually structured around some type of educational activity, with the return on their investment measured in terms of personal growth rather than capital gain. For Life-long Learners, the differences between work, learning and leisure are practically non-existent.

Members of this tribe frequently attend lectures and workshops on a wide variety of subjects and construct their social circle around such events. They travel often and make sure learning is a key component of their adventures, whether that means visiting a thought-leadership festival, learning a new skill or simply immersing themselves as deeply as possible in the local culture. At home they make sure they have the space and the tools to create and learn.

Life-long Learners is part of our new Luxury Tribes Report. If you have already purchased the Life-long Learners report, you can watch the original case study video below - you can find the password to the video inside your PDF report.

To get an exclusive glance into the homes and mindsets of your future luxury consumers, and unlock all four videos, download all of the Tribes: Luxury Collection reports.

DOWNLOAD THE TRIBES REPORTS

 

Nim de Swardt

Australia-born Nim has spent her life travelling, having lived across four continents and now finding herself ensconced on the coast of Bermuda in her role as Bacardi’s global Millennials manager. Travel has always been central to Nim’s learning journey. ‘I think of life-long learning as the constant curious quest that is the essence of my life, being so hyperactively curious.’

For Nim, self-education is a 24/7 commitment that starts as soon as she wakes up, when she does a short period of meditation and uses the Calm app to reflect on the day ahead and what she hopes to achieve. After that, while getting ready for work, Nim listens to one of her collection of podcasts, 50 at the last count, on subjects ranging from personal growth and productivity to entrepreneurship, innovation and more work-specific subjects such as the hospitality industry.

Saulo Jamariqueli

Saulo grew up in Brazil, where, from a very early age, he pursued an unconventional learning path. Saulo left school at the age of 14 to take up an apprenticeship at a television channel, starting as a camera operator before rising through the ranks as he learned more about the process of being an editor. By the age of 18 he was working for MTV and several other production companies in São Paulo, the money from which he invested in travelling rather than attending university, eventually ending up London.

The success of Saulo’s career is wholly due to his relentless autodidacticism and thirst for acquiring new skills. The first thing he does every morning is to watch a tutorial relating to whatever subject he is trying to master at the moment.

Martina Klemmer

Originally from Sweden, Martina has spent the past two decades living in London and Paris, before moving back to her homeland this summer to settle in Stockholm with her partner and three children. She has spent her life immersed in the art world, first as an enthusiast and patron, and then as a consultant and mentor. ‘I love working with art, it’s a domain where you constantly discover new practices and artists. It is a world where there is no end to learning.’

Martina feels she is now at a stage in her life when she has returned to active learning. ‘As you get older you feel your brain stagnating and that urge that time is running out. Then you start purposely searching for education again.’ Her learning schedule gravitates towards a relentless schedule of lectures and seminars, sometimes one every day, although more commonly four a week.

For Tribes: The Luxury Collection, we spotlight 12 consumers who are challenging the industry. 

Discover all four reports in the Tribes: The Luxury Collection here:

Life_long Learners Ascetic Lux Anti-Lux Unthered Lux

Life-long Learners

Ascetic Luxurians

Anti Luxurians

 

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