upmarket

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Upmarket (or high-end) commodities are products, services or real estate targeted at high-income consumers. Examples of products would include items from Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Hammacher-Schlemmer, and Chanel.

In the United States, upmarket real estate areas are generally characterized by being within the city limits or a suburb of a major city, a high concentration of multi-million dollar homes (typically several hundred or more), high household incomes (generally a family average of $275,000 per year or more), an abundance of luxury boutiques, hotels, restaurants, vehicle dealerships, exclusive golf courses and nation wide familiarity on a first name basis without the inclusion of an anchor city or state. There are very few of these markets and most are among, if not the wealthiest areas of their states. In the United States some of these areas would include: San Marino, Highland Park, Hinsdale, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, Holmby Hills, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Kenilworth, Greenwich, Lincoln Park, River Oaks, Hillsborough, Georgetown, Potomac, Buckhead, Palm Beach, and the Upper East Side. When it comes to shopping, these markets are made up of "flagship" and/or "high volume" version of stores and all of these areas offer what is to be considered a world class shopping experience. Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, Times Square, Magnificent Mile, Rodeo Drive, Ala Moana Center, The Galleria, Galleria Edina, Lenox Square & Phipps Plaza, Bal Harbour Shops, Scottsdale Fashion Square, Biltmore Fashion Park, Somerset Collection, Westfield Valley Fair, Santana Row, The Forum Shops at Caesars and NorthPark Center are again, some of the best examples in the United States. There is an entire field of literature directed at the branding of upmarket goods in the United States.^[1] Elsewhere around the globe, an exact definition of upscale is not known, though many would consider places such as: Chūō the Downtown Burj Dubai district, Kadıköy, Knightsbridge, Paris city centre and shopping destinations like: Bağdat Avenue, the Champs-Élysées, Iguatemi São Paulo, Avenida Presidente Masaryk, Nihonbashi, Orchard Road, Sloane Street, and Zeil among the most upscale enclaves in the world.^[2]

Examples of upmarket goods

Clothing, cologne, chocolates and consumer electronics are examples of classes of goods that are commonly brand-segregated to yield upmarket branding. Luxury automobiles, such as Ferrari, Rolls Royce and Maybach, are frequently dubbed as upmarket or upscale.

There are also upmarket newspapers which are newspapers which are produced to appeal to high income individuals. Upmarket newspapers may focus less on tabloid journalism, with the intention of reporting more faithful news and advertising of high-end goods and real estate. Also, high-end fashion items includes clothing, jewelry, and watches. Clothing brands designed for economically sound and wealthy consumers include Lacoste and Ralph Lauren, while jewelry brands include Cartier. Rolex, and Tiffany.

A "high end" restaurant would include purveyors such as The Palm, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Maxim's de Paris and The Fat Duck restaurant in the United Kingdom. A high-end device is a device beyond the normal state of technology. It is often very expensive, but does its job as a rule in a more extravagant way than a standard solution. An internationally known high-end antenna was the Warsaw Radio Mast.

"Professional style" home appliances made by manufacturers such as Sub Zero and Viking are often regarded as being upmarket goods.

See also

• Destination hotel
• Downmarket
• Middle-market
• Over-consumption
• Low-end market

References