Affordable Luxury, what it is?

I feel, although high quality in product, service, price and other elements is important for any business, especially where business is seeking to be superior from other similar types of businesses in the same segment or industry, there is a fundamental difference why people like you and buy your product or refer your business and service. They simply feel a connection btw themselves and your business.

Connection:
a) It can be called Branding from a psychology perspective.
b) Or can be called High Quality product or service from a commercial perspective.

But it seems we consumer see connection beyond above mentioned variables.
perhaps we choose to connect for reason unknown to us.

Consumers:
Type 1: one who wants to be with a brand
Type 2: one who want brands to be with them
Type 3: one who need no brands

With simply defining consumers in three types, it becomes easy to choose who we can target, but again how do you connect?

Asking How should i connect is a wrong question?
You can not connect with a consumer, it is consumer who connects with you...it connects with the founders or leaders values, vision, dreams, personality, aspiration, style, common sense, goal, objectives. This translated in to various elements like product, price, advertising, distribution, CRM, and all the other spokes of the business.

Final word!
"Affordable is any brand which makes that genuine connection", is indeed a Luxury.

"Affordable is any brand which makes that genuine connection", is indeed a Luxury!

What about Luxury in India!

As far as India, i believe Indian have different approach to what luxury means to them, they see luxury from very different perspective. There is three sets of consumers, with the description you gave, i think u are talking about mass luxury consumers, who are mostly middle class but are moving up the value chain, with new money and freedom, these consumers although have more money at there hands but have strong middle class values of saving and they spend on only those brands whom they have read and seen in glossy magazines and lifestyle TV channels and who are also popular amongst celebrities and most importantly which can be recognized in there community or circle of frnds or business associates, like, Levis, Puma, CK etc...they are the chunk of the population.

Other set of consumers have the similar attitude but they differ in terms of there spending Vs saving ratio. They are upper middle class, well to do, have enough money after saving for themselves. They are middle level and senior management people, television actors and SME business men, stock brokers, agents etc...

Third kind of people are rich guys and ultra rich guys, who spend on things which u are talking about. But hear again one must understand we are Indian and there are three sets of mindset in this category. One is flamboyant mindset or attitude, which shows off and is rebel breaking from the society norms and enjoying the luxury money can buy, they are the people who spend from family wealth and actually never experienced hard work,...this people are also sometime seen from the negative perspective. 

Another set of people are sensible (1st Gen) entrepreneurs and kids of rich families with strong values, they spend on luxury stuff not because they aspire but they are use to that kind of lifestyle. And third kind of people are ultra rich they also have the similar attitude as mentioned above but they differ marginally and also would rather not spend to much on luxury goods because they see no value after a point, very interestingly for them street side food and Gucci go hand in hand, and most put that money for good cause and invest in other stuff.

India has its own luxury lifestyle, different from west, because hear in India we see things less from materia possession. Having said that, i don't discourage luxury or lifestyle companies to not look at India as a market. But i would rather say, when selling to Indian, keep in mind Indian mindset.