Similarly, employee self-direction and freedom (a la Google and Atlassian) is often perceived as a frivolous luxury confined to the world of quirky technology developers.
Leisurely writing is a luxury in a world of sound bites and staccato paragraphs.
While our job is to travel and report back on the best of the best properties in the world, we know that the concept of luxury has taken a beating as of late.
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But herein lies a serious point of contention in the luxury world.
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Bulgari is a global player in the luxury market relying on a network of stores in exclusive shopping areas around the world and on selected distributors.
Xiang Yucheng, general manager of Kodak Cinema World, a 930-seat luxury cinema in Shanghai, says his average occupancy at just 20-24% is one of the highest in the country.
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The company already has a network of more than 30 luxury jewelry stores throughout the world.
Daimler is a fully integrated German maker of luxury cars, famed for its world-class design and engineering.
Four Seasons is one of the world's top luxury brands with a loyal fan base and well-earned reputation for providing a consistently excellent experience.
General Motors is beefing up its senior leadership at Cadillac, adding a new vice president to oversee the growth of the luxury brand around the world.
None of these problems affect graduates in the developing world, where higher education is a luxury.
It's a useful brand enhancement for the controlling shareholder of PPR, one of the world's most visible luxury conglomerates.
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The luxury brand based in Hamburg has a long history of supporting arts and culture throughout the world.
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But to compete in a function over form world, the luxury industry will need to do more things better, and be the best at a lot of things.
Meanwhile, German firms happen to produce exactly the things that a booming China wants, from luxury cars to the machinery that enables Chinese factories to be the workshops of the world.
Colony Capital, an American investment fund which specialises in property, and Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH, a French luxury goods firm, banded together last year to invest in Carrefour, the world's second-largest retailer.
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