I can't believe some of the shit they are saying out loud [:O] Check out the husbands/wives comments!
Luxury: Slower But Still Strong
Jan. 21, 2008
NEW
YORK ? Luxury is alive and well. At least according to the retailers at
Financo Inc.?s annual retail gathering here last week.
?The well-reported demise of luxury is a little early and not very
accurate,? said Saks Inc. CEO Steve Sadove. ?The consumer is out there.
Luxury is a great place to be.? (a funny comment from a CEO of the chain that makes its money on perfume and juciy tracksuits).
?For years I?ve talked about the rich. I love the rich,? said Neiman
Marcus Group Inc. CEO Burt Tansky. However, last Christmas, he
admitted, ?got a little choppy. That?s okay?it?s all psychological.?
Who is the real enemy behind the slowdown? It?s ?we husbands,? said
Tansky, answering his own question, for too often invoking the word
?enough? to dissuade our wives from shopping.
Regardless of December?s slowdown, ?there?s no trading down. Quality is
here, luxury is here. ... Whether [business] slows down or not, we
don?t change our strategy,? Tansky stated.
Neiman?s subsidiary, Bergdorf Goodman, has just completed its fifth
year in a row of double-digit comps growth, boasted Jim Gold, its CEO,
on a panel moderated by Financo chairman Gil Harrison. ?New York?s
luxury retail has been on a meteoric rise. ... International tourism
gave our store a material lift in October and November,? he said.
The category drivers were men?s sportswear, upper-end jewelry, and
men?s and women?s shoes. He also noted the best-in-class designers at
the top end, including Loro Piana, experienced ?extraordinary holiday
business.? However, European ready-to-wear fashion was a particular
weak spot, he acknowledged. (mmm, maybe because Bergdorf buys total Eurotrash shit, and that's why noone goes there?)
?It?s not about whether they can afford to buy, but whether they are in
the mood to buy,? Gold said. He also emphasized that the high-end
customer does not ?trade down?ever,? even during an economic slowdown.
?They take a breather, and they come back, as we saw after 9/11, with a
vengeance,? Gold said. He said that when they do buy, however, they
purchase ?the most-special? merchandise, not basics, which is why
Bergdorf?s buyers are scouring the market for the best of the best.
Meanwhile, premium denim sales are still strong, with the so-called
sweet spot at $175, topping out at $300. Gold singled out Dolce &
Gabbana as a top performer, connecting with customers with its most
distressed models. ?The more ripped-up and shredded it is, the more
expensive it is,? Gold said. (Guess why your "European designer" section is not doing well)
But if business has been good at the high end among U.S. stores, it?s been even better overseas.
Also on the panel, Bonnie Brooks, president of Lane Crawford Joyce
Group, said the retailer?s business ?was nothing short of sensational?
at holiday. ?Christmas was our best ever this year,? she said, citing
mind-boggling comp-sales gains of 50 percent in some stores.
So far, her company is not planning for any luxury slowdown. ?Quite the
opposite?we are moving forward with our expansion,? she said of the
group, which now has 300 stores in China in 22 cities. ?It?s not just
Beijing and Shanghai,? she said.
In addition, e-commerce is still in a slow-moving pattern across Asia.
While Brooks sees it as a growth opportunity down the road, the Asian
customer?s primary experience so far is ?carrying out the [purchase] in
a shopping bag.?
But she stressed Lane Crawford has no plans to expand into the U.S. One
overseas retailer who does, Baugur International, also was at the
conference and dinner, and had everyone in the room wondering whether
it would proceed with a bid for Saks Fifth Avenue.