Summer homes are more desirable than snack cakes in all but one respect: Many people could, if they chose, buy 100 different kinds of snack cake, while only the superaffluent can afford more than one summer home. In an age when consumers crave variety, luxury items pose a bit of a problem. How do you satisfy affluent people’s yen for a range of goods that are simply too pricey to buy in multiples?
A version of this article appeared in the April 2006 issue of Harvard Business Review.
