Luxury goods are in vogue like never before. In fact, 2007 was a record year for many manufacturers of luxury items. The share prices of these companies have also benefited, with luxury stocks having easily outperformed the Morgan Stanley Global Equity Index over the last six years. Many structural indicators suggest that this trend is set to continue. The luxury goods industry continues to benefit from the fact that the rich continue to get richer. As a result, more and more money is spent on luxury goods. This phenomenon manifests itself strongly in the US, where the top 20% of earners account for 60% of total US income. Where assets are concerned the picture is even more extreme, with the wealthiest 1% owning 40% of total US assets. In the first three months of 2008, sales of high- end luxury goods in the US continued to display double- digit growth
