Two weeks ago I followed various social media pages as they captured the spirit of the Jamaica Carnival road march. One of the videos that held my attention was from @duttyberry, who interviewed a beautiful young Jamaican woman, stunning in her costume, walking down the road. She was flawless; all things right — her hair, make-up, and her little Louis Vuitton clutch attached to her wrist. She was confidently out to have fun, and I felt her joy.

His questioning was to unearth how much she had to spend to prepare for the day. She responded: “About US$2,000 for the costume and US$500 for advance prep for hair, nails, etc,” roughly $380,000 to participate in the day’s event.

What interested me was when she said she had to prepare in advance because of her anxiety. Yes, I assumed she wanted to ensure everything came together. We all have those special moments in our lives that we plan for, and maybe this was hers. And I could see that she was pleased that she got it right.

There is nothing more powerful than a woman feeling confident in her skin. Sometimes their confidence is propelled not only internally, but externally. When they buy a new outfit or get their hair done, they walk into a room differently; with a pep, knowing that no one or nothing can kill their joy for today.

There is just something about Jamaican women; all women — they take their individual style and beauty seriously, and they will find the money to do it.

Today, luxury brands seem to be a big part of that representation. Whether it is the vacations they go on, the parties, or the goods they embrace, they crave effortless indulgence.

Between 2019 to 2021, during the height of the pandemic, the world’s 10 wealthiest men more than doubled their money from US$700 billion to US$1.5 trillion, making US$15,000 per second or US$1.3 billion daily.

The top three men on the list — Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bernard Arnault — recorded revenue of US$17 billion for the first quarter of 2021 alone, moving Arnault’s net worth to US$186.3 billion (Forbes, 2021).

Bernard Arnault owns LVMH, a massive conglomerate of luxury brands with 75 labels ranging from Dom Perignon, Louis Vuitton, Moët, Tiffany & Co, Hennessy, Fendi, Christian Dior, and Givenchy.

The global market for personal luxury goods rose by 5 per cent between 2019 and 2021 (The Wall Street Journal, 2021). Shoppers under 40 accounted for more than 60 per cent of luxury purchases worldwide in 2022, and that figure is estimated to jump to 70 per cent of their purchases worldwide by 2025 (Reuters, 2021).

In case you missed it, LVMH’s market value surpassed US$500 billion this week. It became the first European company to reach that milestone, thanks to booming sales of luxury goods in China and a strengthening euro. This increased the wealth of the world’s richest person, fashion tycoon Bernard Arnault, to nearly US$212 billion (Bloomberg Billionaires Index).

What is baffling is that, amid the global impact of increased inflation, rising interest rates, and the noise about a looming recession, the demand for luxury products, particularly LVMH products Louis Vuitton handbags, Moet & Chandon Champagne, and Christian Dior, continues to grow. And I guess the personal need for luxury will be a mainstay as young people see them as status symbols of success.

So, since luxury is booming globally, why isn’t Jamaica taking advantage of it? We have luxury niches that the world would want. So how haven’t we seen this vision clearly to refashion our economic policies to meaningfully incentivise local manufacturers towards economies of scale for export production targeting the global luxury marketplace?

In many instances, the costs of importing the inputs for production are too prohibitive for them to compete with price globally. Take local stationery company, Topp In Designx Limited, recently its owner, Sheri-Ann Toppin, spoke with me and lamented being the first Jamaicans to have participated at the US National Stationery Show Expo at the Javitz Center in New York. Some five of their creations were nominated in four categories out of 800 submissions made by other stationers. Their designs also made it to the new product section on display at the entrance to the show, which generated significant interest from large and boutique luxury retailers. However, the cost to import raw materials made their export production uncompetitive: “We just could not compete with cost, which for me was devastating, as we had a good product which was in demand worldwide, but it was just not feasible to export from Jamaica,” she said.

Sheri-Ann is not the only local manufacturer that could become a global luxury sensation. But we continue to dither, not looking at the big picture for our country. Our coffee is a prime example.

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is a luxury product. It is regarded as the best and most expensive globally due to the exact conditions for growing coffee (dangerous slopes over 3,000 feet) and the extensive quality control associated with reaping it.

We must position our Blue Mountain Coffee amid other sophisticated luxury brands with an ongoing global advertising campaign similar to how we market our tourism industry using selected international celebrities with the brand cache.

Blue Mountain Coffee should already be on the pages of exclusive fashion and business magazines in London, Milan, Paris, and New York while catering to luxury shoppers in China.

Why not reach out to LVMH and partner with one of their signature brands? For example, if you buy a Louis Vuitton handbag, you get a special limited edition Blue Mountain half-pound of ground coffee. But it means we must have the consistent supply.

Nestle Nespresso offers an exclusive Jamaica Blue Mountain edition for US$2.00 per capsule of coffee (1.35 oz). It is among the most expensive with the marketing: “Get lost in the sip on the misty slopes of the Blue Mountains…” This is how this premium brand is sold online.

Moreover, our tourism services have remained virtually the same for decades. Now is the moment to upscale our services and incorporate our creative, cultural, and music offerings into calendar destination packages for the luxury tourist seeking diverse experiences. In 2020 Trinidad and Tobago recorded 37,861 visitors to its annual Carnival with an estimated spend of TT$458.12 million (The Daily Express, January 6, 2023).

Jamaica must act urgently and strategically pick the highest-demand niches for the future and go all-in. If we don’t we will only continue to dabble, receiving mediocre, low-paying stopover arrivals in tourism to brag about Brand Jamaica without truly optimising what’s possible for meaningful spending in our economy. The global luxury market is booming. It’s time we carve out a piece and take advantage of it with Jamaican products and services.

Today is the final day of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association Expo at the National Indoor Sports Centre under the theme ‘Connecting the World to Jamaica’. I encourage you to go tour the exposition and speak with our local manufacturers and service providers.

Lisa Hanna is Member of Parliament for St Ann South Eastern, People’s National Party spokesperson on foreign affairs and foreign trade, and a former Cabinet member.