Oh, I admit it.
If I had the money, I’d be out there buying Cole-Haan boots rather than stalking Zappo’s trying to find a replacement for my go-to, 12-year-old Hush Puppy moccasins that are finally showing their age. (And after six years, I’ve finally had it with the bleach stain on one of them.)
But, ‘tis the season for class warfare – bring it on – so I’ll do my bit by playing along and dishing on an article that appeared on boston.com’s business page last week. High end, you’ll be delighted to know, is back in high demand.
Even as unemployment remains high and job growth is anemic, luxury spending is up, with some retailers reporting business booming at prerecession levels.
While at Kohl’s, sales are below the doldrums, at Saks – I almost typed Sears there for a moment; hah! – things are looking pretty dern good:
“Some of our best sellers are the most expensive items – the exotic handbags, the high-end diamonds.
And don’t let those class-baiters tell you that this doesn’t trickle down:
Revenues are up more than 30 percent at the Seaport Candle Co., which makes custom handmade candles and light fixtures... The small factory in South Boston is running seven days a week and took on two more workers to keep up with the demand, according to Carole Lucas, the company owner. The most expensive luminaires cost $95 each and some orders can easily reach $1,000.
Working in a candle factory in South Boston! How positively, how Dickensian-ly, romantic. I hope their logo is the poor little match girl. (No, wait, she froze to death on Christmas Eve. She won’t do.)
But the point so clearly demonstrated here is that the big spenders are job creators. Yea, us! I mean, Yea, them!
Ah, but this so so arid. Someone needs to put a face on high demand for high end, and boston.com has kindly obliged, providing us a character for a best of time/worst of time that Deloitte & Touche’s Tom McCrorey has dubbed “the tale of two consumers.”
At Neiman Marcus,
…Debbie Lurie tried on designer dresses and sweaters. Lurie said her outlook on the economy has improved this year, so she’s spending more freely. Already that day, she had purchased a pair of Cole Haan boots and an Alice + Olivia winter coat.
“Our portfolio is doing better this year, my husband tells me,’’ said Lurie, who was visiting from Baltimore.
Must be a lot more fun at her house than in the ones where the husband is telling his wife that he just got laid off.
Lurie estimates that she will spend a few thousand dollars this holiday season, partly because “the kids need ski clothes.’’
And partly because Alice & Olivia winter coats aren’t cheap - low-end’s about $500 a shot; and Cole Haan boots aren’t leaping off the shelves at PayLess, either.
But poor Debbie Lurie. Here I am excoriating her when, for all I know, the bit on her was taken completely out of context.
So, Deb, honey. I’m going to give you not one, but two contexts because my context portfolio is doing better this year. (And, frankly, my husband didn’t need to tell me. I figured it out for myself.)
Full Context #1:
At Neiman Marcus,
Lurie said her outlook on the economy has improved this year, so she’s spending more freely. Already that day, she had purchased a pair of Cole Haan boots and an Alice + Olivia winter coat, which she was donating to an online auction to benefit the scholarship fund at her kids’ school.
“Sometimes the bidding just gets carried away, especially at this time of year, which really brings out the generous in people,” Lurie said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if someone ends up paying $2, 000 for that striped pea-coat I got for $500.”
Lurie noted that she and her family are quite blessed.
“Our portfolio is doing better this year, my husband tells me,’’ said Lurie, who was visiting from Baltimore.
Because of this, the family anticipates doubling, perhaps even tripling their annual charitable donations.
“We’re focusing this year on places where the need is greatest,” Lurie added. “For us, that means underfunded social services, and small non-profits in the arts. Sure, it may be more prestigious and glamorous to write a big check to MOMA, but the shelter that feeds out-of-work vets, and the group that teaches puppetry to deaf kids, well, let’s just say that, in this climate, some charities are more worthy than others.
Lurie estimates that she will spend a few thousand dollars this holiday season, partly because “the kids need ski clothes, which we’re not going to go hog wild on. The younger one will be wearing some hand-me-downs. But mostly we’ll be spending that much because we’ve adopted a family and we’ll be doing a lot for them this year. We’re all about teaching our kids that just because they were born lucky, doesn’t mean they were born deserving.”
See what I mean about context? For all we know, the reporter missed the real Debbie.
Of course, there’s that other possibility…
Full Context #2:
At Neiman Marcus,
…Debbie Lurie tried on designer dresses and sweaters. Lurie said her outlook on the economy has improved this year, so she’s spending more freely. Already that day, she had purchased a pair of Cole Haan boots and an Alice + Olivia winter coat.
“The funny thing about Christmas shopping is that I always manage to get a few purchases in pour moi. I suppose I should be a bit embarrassed, but the truth is that I’m the designated shopper for the whole kit and kaboodle, and they’re just a big bunch of ingrates.
“Our portfolio is doing better this year, my husband tells me,’’ said Lurie, who was visiting from Baltimore. “And I’m taking him at his word. Let the bucks stop here,” she smiled.
Lurie estimates that she will spend a few thousand dollars this holiday season, partly because “the kids need ski clothes,’’ but mostly because - ha-ha - I deserve that $500 striped pea-coat from Alice and Olivia, and those Cole Haan boots. Not that I want my kids to look like ragamuffins, especially since we’ll be spending the week between Christmas and New Year’s in Gstaad. We were thinking about Park City or Vail, but, quite frankly, Americans are such a bunch of negative, gloomy guses. You’d think they’d be happy for those of us who make the wealth, like my husband, and those of us who spread the wealth, like me. And did I say a ‘few thousand dollars’. Who am I kidding? You did say our portfolio is doing better this year, didn’t you honey?
Context #1 vs. Context #2: Admit you can see that wrapping a little context around some quotes can make all the difference in the world.
So will the real Debbie Lurie please stand up?
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