This is part two of a recent, qualitative survey of C-suite executives, when asked, "What are the trends that must be addressed by top management of luxury brands in 2016?" here, ranked in order of importance, is a summary of what they said.

If you haven't noticed, there's a boom in American whiskey right now. Led by bourbon, the category has grown 40% in the past decade, with revenue growth of 47% to $2.7 billion in 2014. The International Wine and Spirits Review forecasts 20% growth in the next five years. Supply can hardly keep up with demand, leading to shortages of the amber liquid in top markets across the country. And it's the favorite way for pop culture heavyweights to booze up, from Don Draper on "Mad Men" to Frank Underwood on "House of Cards" to Raylin Givins on "Justified." Like vodka …

January is a unique time in marketers' calendars, beginning with the recovery from a hectic fourth quarter and usually ending with the rollout of a yearlong plan. It's the perfect time to review their marketing performance over the past 12 months and put all of the new data they've gathered into action. For many marketers, that presents an opportunity to hit the reset button on what they know about their target audience.

2016 is here, and many people have been asking us two questions: What's our current forecast for the affluent market for 2016; and how did it fare during 2015? Our answers follow.

The ground has shifted in the luxury market and it's never going back to the way it was before. China, the once reliable growth engine for luxury brands, is all but tapped out. As a result, personal luxury goods spending, the segment of the market including fashion, jewelry and watches, posted a mere 2% growth worldwide in 2014, according to Bain and Company, and it isn't predicted to do any better in 2015.