Jyoti Sankar Das and Arun Mittal, The Luxe Dip: A Glimpse into the Basics of Luxury, 2025, 188 pp., White Falcon Publishing. ISBN: 978-9349311336

Reviewed by: Sachin Jain, World Gold Council Delhi, India. E-mail: sachin.jain@gold.org

Having had the pleasure of working alongside Dr Jyoti Sankar Das at the Swatch Group, I have seen firsthand the depth of insight and clarity he brings to every subject he engages with. In the LUXE DIP, he brings that same academic rigor, curiosity and elegance to the world of luxury—a space often misunderstood as superficial, while this book approaches the subject with academic depth and intelligence. The book is a compelling introduction to the fundamentals of luxury—what it is, how it has evolved and why it matters. The authors strip away the cliches and present a nuanced, accessible and thoughtful exploration of luxury as a cultural, social and economic force.

Whether you are a student, a brand strategist or simply someone curious about what lies beneath the surface of luxury, The Luxe Dip could be a valuable guide. What makes this book extremely engaging is the author’s ability to blend academic insight with real-world experience, making complex ideas feel relatable and relevant. The Luxe Dip is more than a book; it is an invitation to rethink how we define and engage with luxury in the modern world. It is an excellent resource for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of this fascinating and ever-evolving domain.

India is today at a sweet spot where the world’s youngest population meets a rising disposable income, globe-trotting individuals and a developing taste for the finest things that life offers. No wonder, therefore, the luxury industry has been growing at a strong double-digit rate over the last few years. While most of the global population is aging, India’s growing Gen Z & Alpha is raring to go. The country is projected to have 370 million Gen Z by 2030. The millennials, along with the Gen Z, will be the driving force behind India’s growing luxury consumption, with Gen Alpha being the largest growing influencers in the families.

This book, therefore, emerges from a relevant time and context and is a boon for all those management students, sales & retail marketing students, luxury & fashion retail staff, new corporate entrants and all those youngsters who do not have much knowledge of the luxury goods industry and are keen to make it a career choice.

The authors have probably used a storytelling approach with fictional characters and anecdotes to explain the theoretical luxury concepts and the industry in general. Personal industry experiences, secondary and primary research have gone into the writing of this enthralling book. Luxury brands are known for their history, heritage and brand stories. The uniqueness and originality of the book lie in its narration, wherein two fictional characters, one who heads a luxury brand in the country and the other, his friend from academia. Their friendship and contribution to each other’s knowledge domains are an eye-opener for both academia and industry. The authors have demonstrated how collaborative work can result in success and help in adequately training our young future managers to transition to the corporate world smoothly.

Also, our retail managers and store staff are not adequately trained in the nuances of selling luxury. This book could be a ready reckoner for those who want to be self-trained and step into the mysterious world of luxury. In order to make the book interesting and easily readable, the authors have kept it less bulky and woven it around lots of heritage luxury stories and anecdotes to sustain the interest of the readers. The objective appears to be to enhance the knowledge of luxury and build in the required skill and mindset to sell.

The authors have divided the book into eight chapters, which together go on to introduce luxury to all those readers who want to dive into this fascinating world of luxury. The flow of the chapters is sequential, and a reader who begins with the first chapter would be curious to move into the second one and so on and so forth. Dr Jyoti S Das, who is now an Associate Professor of Practice at Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), has been a seasoned industry professional, having worked in the luxury industry for 17 years, apart from contributing 11 long years to the FMCD industry. He, along with Dr Arun Mittal, who happens to be an academician, has woven an excellent and practical way of explaining the theoretical concepts around luxury and fashion.

Chapter 1 begins with the understanding of luxury. The definition of luxury is extremely fluid, and there is no consensus on it either in literature or in the real world. This chapter describes the meaning and definition of luxury, but more importantly, it integrates fictional anecdotes revolving around the two central fictional characters with true brand stories. These stories convey the meaning of luxury. The authors have attempted to explain the understanding of luxury by describing true brand stories. For readers who want to know and understand luxury, it becomes far easier and more interesting if it is explained through stories.

Chapter 2 sweeps the readers across civilisations in our global historical timeline, wherein the genesis of the usage of luxury goods traces back thousands of years to the Paleolithic age of human history, where luxury had a spiritual veil. The materialistic culture began in the Mesopotamian and Chinese civilisations, wherein owning palaces, rare statues, ornaments, and precious stones became the symbol of status and wealth. The discovery of grain granaries, rare artifacts, the swimming pool and the bronze statue of a dancing girl reveals the wealth and luxury during the Indus Valley civilisation. The Egyptian civilisation is known for its Pyramids, where Pharaohs were mummified and kept for posterity along with their luxuries of life, as they believed in life after death. The authors in “A brief history of luxury” use a storytelling approach to explain the history of luxury and its evolution through the evolving civilisations, from the Mesopotamian to the Egyptian and Roman civilisations up to recent times. Some nice stories, which are the outcome of some personal experiences, make the journey of this chapter very interesting. Fictional anecdotes integrated with true stories would make it interesting for readers to discover the history of luxury and its evolution. This evolution is perhaps the first I have found in many luxury books I have read. Though interesting, it seems a little far-fetched.

Chapter 3 beautifully explains the differences between luxury goods and consumer goods marketing. The authors felt that it is important to bring out a differential perspective between mass consumer goods and luxury items. This would help in the understanding of luxury simply. One of the authors, Dr Jyoti Sankar Das, has in fact worked in both industries and therefore was in a better position to contribute to this chapter with real-life research examples. This chapter would be very insightful for all those youngsters who are students or working and can relate to the many examples cited in this chapter. While consumer goods offer functional value and some degree of emotional connect, the luxury products are known for their high performance, high quality and craftsmanship. The luxury consumers exhibit a very deep emotional connection with the brands. The authors correctly explain the added luxury value (ALV) in the form of exclusivity, status signalling, snob value, and bandwagon value. They also add that an extreme value at every touchpoint of a customer journey and lifecycle is critical for the survival of luxury brands in the near future.

What would help most to the luxury management students, retail managers, and luxury custodians is a new concept that the authors have come up with in Chapter 5 in the form of “A five-senses approach” to sell and retail luxury. The five-senses approach is the author’s original contribution based on their primary and secondary research. The chapter explains how important it is for luxury retail managers and staff to keep in mind the five-senses approach while framing and implementing their luxury retail strategies. Many examples and stories would make this chapter interesting. It is beautifully explained how luxury selling can go notches up if it is driven by a multi-sensory approach. Emporio Armani launched their café and Louis Vuitton their signature restaurant to reach the consumer’s heart through their taste buds. The visual merchandising we see in luxury stores is an example of triggering the sense of sight. One can see this in all the Forever Mark stores or even a visit to the Emporio Mall in New Delhi, with luxury stores showcasing their best visual merchandising trends. “A thing of beauty is indeed a joy forever”, as rightfully quoted by John Keats.

Luxury has always been traditionally marked by history and heritage. But in this emerging era of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, can luxury stay away? The authors rightfully disagree, and therefore Chapter 6 provides an introduction to it by describing “How artificial intelligence and blockchain technology are reshaping the luxury goods industry?”

Considering that AI and blockchain are now reshaping the industry, it was felt important to include this chapter, which will be extremely informative and interesting for the youngsters. A lot of examples from the luxury goods industry are cited to show their growing importance.

With numerous luxury brands having either entered India or being in a queue to do so, a huge job market for trained manpower is waiting to explode. The authors have struck the right timing and would surely have an early momentum to begin with. The industry requires trained personnel who are well-groomed for pursuing a career in luxury. Chapter 7, therefore, focuses on a conversation for Luxury Grooming and Career Guide advisory.

Most youngsters in India who are either working in the luxury or fashion industry or are aspiring to work are sadly not very well trained. This chapter is a kind of Quick grooming tips compiled in a few pages and can help as a reference and self-training guide. It also depicts a Career Guide chart, which gives an idea of a career path in the luxury goods industry in the Indian context.

Luxury can best be learned and understood by knowing about its history and heritage from the large number of fascinating stories woven around it. Therefore, the art of selling luxury lies in brand storytelling and all management and retail students who aspire to work in this industry must develop the art of storytelling. This last chapter is purely an outcome of secondary research. A short summary of brand history and accompanying brand stories is compiled for many luxury brands. These stories are in the public domain and on the brand’s websites. Just that the authors have made a short summary of each brand and written it so that the readers can read the “shorts” more effectively. Luxury brand history and stories are always very interesting, and this chapter, I am sure, will be very informative and equally interesting for all readers.

Saying this, I must also add that though this book is a fine introduction to the basic concepts of luxury, it missed out some higher-order concepts of luxury, which the authors could introduce in their next book. The book also delves more into the global context of luxury and less into the Indian scenario. It is a good book to introduce luxury to students and people who have little knowledge of luxury, but I would request Dr Das to come out with another book diving deep into the industry’s potential for the Indian market.

In conclusion, I can only say that this book must be a prescribed introductory textbook in all management schools, for it explains the luxury concepts in a storytelling, anecdotal and fictional mode. The new generation, which is averse to reading serious books, will find this interesting as it feels like reading a novel and at the same time, one keeps learning serious luxury concepts. I found the book extremely useful and knowledge-driven. My best wishes to Dr Jyoti Sankar Das and Dr Arun Mittal, and I am looking forward to reading many more books authored by them.