Member Brief: Direct to Consumer Luxe

On Tesla’s Model 3 and the Target One demographic. In June of 2018, The Atlantic published an article that articulated a macroeconomic trend that I’ve long felt was a credible undercurrent in retail. There is this cohort of consumers that isn’t quite 1%, yet isn’t quite middle class. These consumers are young executives, they are doctors, lawyers, bankers. The Atlantic goes on to illustrate the data behind their assertion that we are living in what progressive economists are beginning to call “Gilded Age 2.0.” And while politics can influence economic conclusions, there are conclusions that cannot be argued: retail is polarizing its consumer targets.