Thursday, November 5th, 2009
When I heard that Louis Vuitton was opening a store in Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, last month I was completely intrigued by this unexpected announcement. So I decided to research and came across some interesting information that has shed light not only onto Louis Vuitton’s decision but the luxury market as a whole.
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Tags: Louis Vuitton, luxury, Mongolia, recession, Retail
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Friday, October 9th, 2009
Lego
Lego has opened its first concept store in Concord Mills, located north of Charlotte, NC. The 4,520 square foot store has been designed to create an interaction between children with on-site master builders. The store has room for birthday parties and classes.
New World
A new world is likely to emerge in which designers rebel against long lead times and where they take their collections directly to the consumer through their own boutiques, trunk shows, and over the web.
Web Sales
Web sales are projected to reach $156 billion in 2009, representing 6% of the total U.S. retail pie
The Web Fashion Consumer
Consumers have come to expect new merchandise more frequently, thanks to the web and fast fashion retailers such as H & M. Many cannot understand why they have to wait 6 months to see the fashions seen on the runways. Buyers at department stores generally base their orders on the past, while fashion editors gravitate to the most photogenic and future looking styles, leaving the consumer stuck in the middle. This results in one facet of the fashion industry looking forward and the other looking backwards. The consequence: a consumer on one hand is told what to buy but on the other, not where to buy it.
In response, a new generation of fashion retailers is emerging on the web where news is freely given and fashion is sold. Net-a-porter with average sales of $820.00 per transaction and customers from 170 countries is one example of this new generation of merchants. The company has successfully merged its web retail site with a fashion news site catering to a new consumer who wants credible news over magazine advertisements and the most up to date fashion now.
Entertainment
Families spent 5.1% more on entertainment in 2008 than in 2009, something that has surprised many economists. As consumers tightened their pocket books and wallets one would expect entertainment to be one of the first categories to see significant decreases. But the 5.1% increase in spending equated to 16.5 billion more dollars spent in the category over 2007.
Household debt
The American family is trying to put money into savings and reduce their overall debt, but they are clearly not faring as well as one might expect in this recession. Household debt now amounts to about 125% of after tax income.
High Net Worth Individuals
Luxury retailers are faced with a significant decline in Americans with a high net worth defined as having $1,000,000 of assets available for investment. In 2008 the assets of these individuals dropped by as much as 22%. The result is a major decrease in sales at retailers such as Neiman Marcus where sales have decreased by over 20% in 2009 over 2008.
Tags: consumer, consumer spending, consumerism, entertainment, fashion, fashion trends, household income, japan, lego, luxury, online sales, online shopping, recession, Retail, versace, web sales
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Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
The media is quick to point out the dismal sales performance of numerous retail chains. Reports of significant decreases in comp sales are reported daily and full economic recovery is clearly tied to a resurgence of retail sales. While, the end of the recession may be near, retail sales will lag far behind a recovery. Why? There are too many consumers with too much debt, high unemployment, and homes under water to consider shopping for anything other than necessities. With consumer expenditures accounting for almost 70% of all economic activity and without a confident consumer, retail sales are going to continue in their depressed state, even as other signs of a recovery appear to be positive.
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Tags: consumer, consumer spending, economy, Real Estate, recession, Retail
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Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
Scratchies aren’t characters from The Simpsons. They’re what Aussies call scratch-off lottery tickets, and they are just one of the 21st-century equivalents of the lipstick that Depression-era women bought to brighten their lives.
It’s not only lipstick that’s enjoying a sales boost; women are turning to all beauty products for affordable indulgences. This category is booming in India, with some having just discovered makeup. (Good girls weren’t supposed to use cosmetics.) Now that it’s become acceptable to wear it, they’re not letting it go just because of the recession.
Global consumers are also finding solace in other treats. Chocolate is raising endorphins from Seoul to São Paulo. Argentineans can’t get enough of alfajores, dulce de leche sandwich cookies. (more…)
Tags: chocolate, consumers, lingerie, recession, Retail, sales
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Thursday, March 26th, 2009
As we all know, advertising revenues are down. Print, TV, Radio, Online. All down. So, media companies are looking everywhere to fill that void. So if traditional advertisers are down, what’s going up?
Porn
Cable companies may be raising their subscription rates – but apparently they’re starting to lower the cost of On-Demand-Porn channels. In addition, they’re starting to promote these services on ESPN and Spike TV.
Liquor
You may not have noticed, but major networks are loosening their rules on hard liquor advertising. Wine and beer have been allowed for years, but hard liquor has been a no-no. Absolut vodka ads were carried on the Grammy Awards. The first time in years that liquor ads ran in prime time.
Scene from Absolut TV spot
Gambling
Las Vegas may be in a recession, but spending by some local casinos is up. People appear to be looking for some diversions or get-rich-fast schemes during hard times.
Diets
“Belly fat” and “First Flat Stomach Rule” web ads suddenly seem like they’re coming out of the woodwork. Its not that they’re new; it’s just that websites in the past would have turned down this type of ad. But with revenues down they’re opening their doors to all kinds of low-end direct response ads and even pop-ups are coming back.
So, until the economy gets rolling again, we can all expect to see the worst of advertising, rather than the cream, rising to the top.
Tags: ads, advertising, marketing, recession
Posted in Advertising & Marketing | No Comments »