I just read an article in the Economist about how the $ will continue to fall. Their 1-year (IIRC) target was $1.36 per 1Euro. With most luxury goods made or finished in Europe and designer showrooms mostly dealing in Euro, the US retail prices will continue to rise. In the past two-three years, retail prices in the US rose by about 30-40%. Think about it, today's sale prices are yesterday's full prices. Of course there are other factors in place, such as inflation and rising cost of materials and labor (and designer greed).
And yet, I see little or no slowing down of consumer spending. Today I find less on the sales rack at Barneys than ever before. I attribute part of it to buying on credit. I think there has been a cultural shift of mentality where now people have a sense of entitlement, and "we-only-live-once" mentality, that is fueled by easy credit. Another part is of course increase of wealth. I would love to see the figures about who buys designer clothes. I am sure a large percent of it is still wealthy people. While people like many of us here who appreciate design and quality buy items from more creative designers, I would think that a large % of those who shop in luxury stores are the rich, who are pretty much immune to prices. The third part might be just an increase in accessibility and rapid spread of information (which we are all a part of here [Y] ). Informatin about new designers and collections spreads faster, and shopping on the internet has allowed those on the periphery (pardon my french) easy access to much of the same goods that people in big cities get.
Personally, I find the increase in prices insulting, not only to my wallet but to my intellect and sense of self-respect. I am not one of those people who envy wealthy for their money. Of course I get offended sometimes at the inequity of this world when I hear about some outlandish spending habits, but that's another story. Overall, I think people are free to spend their money however they want. Yet, I also think that there is a limit to price tags. I know we are in the world of the market forces and designers will charge what the market will bear. I just refuse to be a part of that market.
What do you guys think? I am sure many of you have been thinking about this.
Comment