Stop bashing the Baby Boomers and start appreciating the opportunity they present

Baby-Boomer bashing has become a favourite Millennial and Gen Z past time. Yes, yes, we know they’ve taken our futures, they own everything, have everything and our lives won’t materialistically match theirs, but they should be aspired to rather than looked at enviously and begrudgingly. This is the youngest generation of older people ever and they are staying in good health for longer. 

They are also choosing to work longer. A recent survey by jobs website, "Rest Less", shows almost one in 12 of people in their 70s are working, compared with one in 22 a decade ago. Admittedly, there are more older people, overall, but, it is a growing trend driven partially by skills shortages. There has been an increase of 285,000 workers over 70 over the past ten years.

Due to better health and an appetite for a certain standard of lifestyle many of this generation is lucky enough to enjoy working and are using the additional income on luxury holidays and prestige cars. I look at my parents and they are both working past traditional retirement ages. Mortgages paid off, free travel, fuel allowance! and in good health, they see no reason to retire. This is the energetic generation of the 1960s and they don’t want to slow down just because they are getting older.

Stuart Lewis, of Rest Less, said: ‘Gone are the days of working hard five days a week for four and a half decades before suddenly stopping. We can see that part-time work is growing in popularity among the over-70s, both male and female.’

Baby boomers were born between 1944 and 1964. They're currently between 55-75 years old. They are the most successful generation of people ever and represent nearly 20% of the American and UK public.

Netwealth, a wealth manager, analysed the Office for National Statistics’ Wealth and Assets surveys between 2006 and 2016 (the most recent data available) and found those aged over 65 owned 28% of the UK’s household wealth in 2006, a figure which had increased to 36% 10 years later. The analysis also found one in five (20%) of over-65s in the UK to be a millionaire, compared with 7% in 2006. The total wealth owned by over 65s nearly doubled - from £2.4trillion to £4.7trillion - in the decade between 2006 and 2016, while in comparison, those between 25 and 54 years old saw their wealth increase by just 9% in real terms during the same time. That means that for every £1 of UK household wealth, Baby Boomers own the biggest share of 36p.

Mick Jagger: the ultimate Baby Boomer is still touring at 75

Author, Camilla Cavendish, has just published a new book called “Extra Time: 10 Lessons For An Ageing World”. She cites Mick Jagger, still touring at the age of 75, as an example of the so-called “young-old”; the growing number of people who extend an active and healthy middle age into their late Seventies. According to Cavendish, dementia rates have actually fallen by 20% in the past 20 years in the UK. 

“It’s not old age that’s getting longer, it’s middle age,” she writes. “We need to […] stop lumping everyone from 60 to 100 together and accept its normal to be vibrant and capable in your 70s”.

During the same period we’ve seen a massive decrease in traditional killers of older men and women. According to the British Medical Journal, between 1990 and 2013 cardio vascular disease death rates in England declined by 52%, coronary heart disease (CHD) by 60%, and stroke by 46%. The reason has been attributed to the reduction in smokers and also the banning of smoking in public places in 2007.

Many people lose their sense of purpose when they no longer work and if you don’t want to retire why should you when we live in a country of record employment and the demand is there for workers with experience? Old age should be a balance and many of these people are choosing to work part time which goes to pay for their more indulgent free time. So, what does it mean for businesses and brands?

I think we saw an example late last year when LVMH bought the travel company Belmond. LVMH, paid $25 per Belmond share, a premium of more than 40% on the company’s closing price, a deal valued at $2.6bn. Established over 40 years ago with the Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Belmond owns and operates a collection of the world’s finest hotels and luxury travel companies in 24 countries including Hotel Splendido in Portofino, Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, plus the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express and Belmond Royal Scotsman luxury trains and cruises such as Belmond Afloat in France fleet and Belmond Road to Mandalay.

Belmond's Venice-Simplon Orient Express, now part of LVMH

Bernard Arnault, Chairman and Chief Executive Offer of LVMH, said: “Belmond delivers unique experiences to discerning travellers and owns a number of exceptional assets in the most desirable destinations. Its heritage, its innovative services, its excellence in execution and its entrepreneurship resonates well with the values of the Group and is complementary to our own Cheval Blanc maisons and the Bvlgari hotels activities. This acquisition will significantly increase LVMH’s presence in the ultimate hospitality world.”

This “ultimate hospitality world” is targeted squarely at those with the time and disposable incomes. LVMH has just unveiled plans to open a Cheval Blanc hotel in Mayfair. The Cheval Blanc brand was created in 2006 and has locations in Courchevel, the Maldives, Saint-Barthelemy and Saint Tropez. The former department store La Samaritaine in Paris is due to reopen as a Cheval Blanc hotel later this year. Estimated to cost £500m, the development would be a joint project between LVMH and real instate investor O and H Group, which owns the sites on 8-14 Grafton Street, 163-164 New Bond Street and 22-24 Bruton Lane. If planning permission for the London hotel is granted, work would begin at the start of 2020, with a view to opening the Foster and Partners designed hotel in the third quarter of 2022.

A natural progression from owning and running the luxury retail stores of Bond Street for LVMH, another new luxury hotel and apartment development is The Residences at Mandarin Oriental Mayfair. Currently being built, and due to open in 2021, they are next door to Fenwick on Hanover Square and residents will enjoy privileged access to a full suite of services and amenities provided by the integrated Mandarin Oriental Mayfair Hotel, including in-residence dining and house-keeping, 24/7 Concierge, valet parking, an opulent spa and roof terrace bar overlooking Mayfair.

A big opportunity for brands is there. A move away from material goods to holidays and experiences actually makes more sense for this older generation than it does for Millennials. These people have enough stuff and they’ve often outgrown the novelty and fripperies of fashion while at the same time having the leisure time to take more holidays and at higher price points.

This “Young Old” generation has the luxury of time and money. They are healthier and more active. They’ve worked hard and have been blessed with the rise of property values and generous pension schemes. By choosing to work longer they are topping up their incomes and as such are a very attractive demographic for businesses specialising in life's luxuries. Sadly, for subsequent generations, working past traditional retirement ages could be less of an option and more of a necessity.