Related: The Sun Never Sets on the Rich
Rich Untouched by Real Estate Collapse
"Even luxury shops must coax; Turn to discounts as clientele holds back" by Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff | December 12, 2008
Get ready to pry open those Prada purses and Gucci wallets. Upscale merchants who typically disdain deep discounts are suddenly embracing them this holiday season like a new best friend.
Oh, I feel SOOOOO SORRY for them as I suck down shit for supper -- made even tastier by the fact that this is FRONT-PAGE STUFF!!!!
Yes, even the affluent want a break this Christmas.
What, they haven't gotten enough of them already?
And they're getting it.
Of course! The world is their oyster!
Diners at Back Bay steakhouse Fleming's receive a free round-trip ride in a Mercedes anywhere in Boston. Off 5th, the luxury outlet stores for Saks Fifth Avenue, recently promoted a buy-one-get-two-free deal for cashmere sweaters that normally cost at least $125 each. And Spa Newbury is doubling consumers' money with its "Recession Relief" deal: $200 gift certificates for $100 and vitamin spa facials and lavender full-body scrubs for $50, usually $100.
These aggressive promotions are signs of the struggles faced by luxury merchants that once rode the tide of easy spending by the rich in recent years. Now, wealthier consumers, who have seen their nest eggs dwindle, bonuses shrink, and job security wither, are cutting back on purchases.
But not the TRULY WEALTHY!!! They are doing JUST FINE!!!!
And the luxury market, which had been more insulated from previous downturns, also is losing many aspirational customers who had been using credit cards and home equity lines to fund shopping sprees.
Well, we can't all win the lottery!
The rotten economy took its toll in November: Luxury spending, which includes high-end apparel, leather goods, restaurants, and jewelry, plunged 24.4 percent compared with the previous year after tumbling 20.1 percent in October, according to SpendingPulse, a data service provided by MasterCard Advisors. Neiman Marcus Inc. reported sales plummeted 11.8 percent in stores open at least a year, and Tiffany & Co.'s North American shops saw sales drop 14 percent at stores open a year.
How you doing staying in that home, American? You still working?
The unprecedented discounting this holiday season is just the beginning of what upscale retailers are willing to do to try to bring back customers. For example, Saks also offered no payments or interest on purchases for a year for shoppers spending $2,000 on their Saks Fifth Avenue credit card....
Think the BANK would be willing to do that for your MORTGAGE?
Yeah, that's what I thought!
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Some upscale retailers are so eager to draw customers that they're literally giving away money.
CASH?
Bloomingdale's offered customers $25 gift cards just for showing up a few days before Thanksgiving. Lord & Taylor sent teams of holiday elves during last Friday's morning rush hour to distribute thousands of $25 gift cards with no minimum purchase requirement to Manhattan commuters.
Oh, I can't use those!
And last night, Saks hosted a "Holiday Cheer is Free at Saks" event in Boston for shoppers to pamper themselves with free makeovers, free skin care consultations, and free stocking stuffers, like Vera Wang candles, Dior body lotion, and La Prairie lip plumper. Two more events are planned leading up to Christmas.
"For us, in Boston it's a great way of creating excitement and buzz," said Rosemarie Puya, vice president and general manager of Saks Boston.
So it ISN'T ABOUT doing to RIGHT and GENEROUS THING, it's about bidness, huh? No wonder I feel so sick around Xmas!
Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar is putting on a full-court press to draw consumers. The free Mercedes ride has resulted in a slight uptick in business over the past few weeks....
Really? Who is coming in?
For Scott Reinold, the free Mercedes ride on Tuesday made his monthly indulgent steakhouse meal a little easier to digest. Reinold, who works as an account executive for the Red Sox selling premium suites and rental packages, said business has slowed with the slumping economy and he expects his bonus to be smaller this year. At the same time, he's watched his investment fall at least 25 percent.
This is the "rich" guy?
Hey, at least he is GETTING a BONUS!!!
"I'm cutting back with all of my discretionary income," he said. Instead of the $80 bottle of wine Reinold and his friends usually buy at Fleming's, they opted on Tuesday for a more moderately priced vintage - $40.
Oh, poor baby!! Had to buy rot-gut wine. 'ey?
Here's a better idea: DON'T DRINK at all!!!!!
"When you see your investments taking a hit every month and see people losing their jobs, it just makes you really think twice before spending," Reinold said.
Try having no income and no job along with it and see how you feel!
Can I have my shoes back?
Of course, it can ALL be YOURS, too, Amurka!!
What could be more of a STATUS SYMBOL thank LOB-STAAAH!?
"Mainers rally with knife, fork to aid struggling lobstermen" by Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff | December 12, 2008
CUNDYS HARBOR, Maine - .... From the state Capitol to the grass roots, Mainers are being asked to help out the suffering industry by eating more lobster - during the week, as a family, and as a dietary staple that now is sometimes as inexpensive as bologna....
Then GET SOME to ZIMBABWE, the CONGO, PALESTINE, AFGHANISTAN... PRONTO!!!!
Oh, yeah, some Americans could do with a meal or two. I saw the homeless guy again today, trudging along in the slop! Hey, don't look at me; I'm not made of money, and the job search?
The rest of the article reads like a dining advertisement for them! That's AmeriKa's "newspapers" for you!
Besides:
"Household wealth falls to record low" by Bloomberg News | December 12, 2008
WASHINGTON - US household wealth fell in the third quarter by the most on record as property values and stock prices tumbled, highlighting the tattered state of consumer finances....
Yeah, that's YOU, Amurkn!!At least you got a free Mercedes ride if you want it!
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