luxury goods

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Fashionistas Chase Fleeting Bargains Online

Sites court shoppers with flash sales on designer brands

(Newser) - New online shops are hooking up high-end customers with discount flash sales on luxury goods such as designer bags and shoes. Alerting members via text message, the members-only sites sell items in private sales that often begin immediately and can last just hours. The created frenzy works: Customers of one...

Live It Up While Going Green

10 luxury ways to cut carbon waste

(Newser) - You don't have to give up the high life to be green. Forbes finds 10 luxurious ways to reduce your carbon footprint:
  1. Wear cashmere at home so you can turn down the thermostat.
  2. Buy carbon offsets for your private jet.
  3. Drive a hybrid Cadillac Escalade SUV.
  4. Use occasional perfumed candles
...

Billionaire Pays $500K for 27 Bottles of Wine

Global economic downturn? What global economic downturn?

(Newser) - As the global economy falters, many people are fighting to make ends meet. And then there’s the Chinese billionaire who spent $500,000 for 27 bottles of wine today. The sale set a record for a single lot. “I don’t think he has bought this as an...

Recession Not Slowing Ultrarich
 Recession Not Slowing Ultrarich 
Apr 14, 2008 10:02 AM CDT

Recession Not Slowing Ultrarich

Real estate, art, yachts still finding no shortage of willing consumers

(Newser) - As many Americans batten down the hatches, the über-rich are still living it up, the New York Times reports. Already this year, 71 New York apartments have sold for more than $10 million—compared to just 17 in 2007. The good times were so good, many say, they haven’...

Plastic Surgeons Feel Subprime Pain

Multi-billion dollar industry sagging noticeably

(Newser) - The subprime crisis has hit Goldy Anthony hard; she can’t even afford her bi-monthly trips to the plastic surgeon anymore. “I would rather have Botox than go out to dinner, but it’s just gotten so bad,” says Anthony, who works in Los Angeles' slumping mortgage business....

Why Buy a Bag You Can Rent?
 Why Buy a Bag You Can Rent? 
Mar 25, 2008 7:09 PM CDT

Why Buy a Bag You Can Rent?

Bag and jewelry rental businesses capitalize on economic downturn

(Newser) - The economic downturn has fueled a surge in leased luxury goods, Portfolio reports. A small membership fee or monthly payment enables designer addicts to rent It-bags and other high-end accessories at businesses like From Bags to Riches. "Instead of owning an asset you can just buy the experience,"...

Docs Not Toasting Ladies' Vodka

Russian spirit targets rich women, prompts alcoholism fears

(Newser) - A made-for-women vodka touted as the perfect salad accompaniment has sobered Russian doctors, who fear high-end spirits like "Ladies" will only worsen already-high rates of alcoholism, Reuters reports. Estimates peg 10 percent of Russia's 142 million citizens as alcoholics, and the chief of one rehab center says 60% of...

Retailers Expressing Gratitude
 Retailers Expressing Gratitude 
Mar 19, 2008 1:58 PM CDT

Retailers Expressing Gratitude

Slow economy sparks personal greetings from retailers

(Newser) - Today's slow economy has sparked more retailers to thank shoppers with bouquets and personal notes, Portfolio reports. Common for big spenders, such thank-yous are now mailed to regular shoppers too—like one reporter who bought two shirts and a jacket at Nordstrom. "Our salespeople build relationships with their customers...

Why Fork Over $11,000 for a Coffee Machine?
Why Fork Over $11,000 for a Coffee Machine?
OPINION
Mar 13, 2008 7:18 PM CDT

Why Fork Over $11,000 for a Coffee Machine?

'Clover addict' thinks it could change how we think about our joe

(Newser) - A cup of coffee brewed with 16 ounces of water at 203 degrees for 44 seconds? Coming right up. The brouhaha over the $11,000 Clover 1s—the ultra-high-tech machine that brews one cup at a time—makes sense, Paul Adams writes in Slate. After two hours test-driving the built-to-order...

Mama's Top Brand New Bags
Mama's Top Brand New Bags
Mar 7, 2008 5:54 PM CST

Mama's Top Brand New Bags

Forbes picks its favorite luxury purses of the year

(Newser) - After spending thousands of dollars on a handbag, you might not be able to afford anything to put inside it—so choose wisely. Forbes outlines the best in "it" bags:
  1. Hermes Kelly Bag, $5,000 and up: Embrace your inner Grace Kelly with the original "it" bag, made
...

Not Your Parents' Russian Vodka
Not Your Parents' Russian Vodka
Feb 25, 2008 8:15 PM CST

Not Your Parents' Russian Vodka

Premium imports, in fancy bottles, begin to arrive on US shores

(Newser) - If a shot of Georgi isn’t your style, Russian vodka makers are rushing to sell a new wave of premium bottles, the Los Angeles Times reports. Vodkas from France, Finland, and the US have gained popularity stateside over the past few years, but buyers couldn't find anything Russian other...

How to Be Middle-Class Rich
How to Be Middle-Class Rich
Feb 21, 2008 10:26 AM CST

How to Be Middle-Class Rich

You don't have to have über-big bucks to spend like you do

(Newser) - Middle-class millionaires are carving out a luxe lifestyle to define their 16.5-million strong group, Forbes reports. And while the $1 million to $10 million stashed in the bank doesn’t make them all that rich, that doesn't put much of a dent in lavish spending habits:
  1. Mega-home improvements, to
...

Italian Church Pairs Perfume With Prayer

Opened in Dante's time, pharmacy today sells scents in LA, Tokyo

(Newser) - Florence's Santa Maria Novella church has an intriguing sideline: It's home to one of the world's oldest pharmacies, which today churns out tonics and perfumes made according to medieval recipes. Smithsonian profiles the church, where Dominican monks began concocting herbal remedies and rose water, used to clean plague-touched homes, more...

Made in Italy — in a Chinese Sweatshop

Italian luxury goods made by Chinese labor cost 90% less

(Newser) - For consumers of luxury goods, the "Made in Italy" designation remains so prestigious that it can add 300% to an item's price. But the days of artisans plying their trade in little workshops are largely over, the Los Angeles Times reports, replaced by thousands of Tuscan factories employing Chinese...

Investors Uncork Wild Wine Prices
Investors Uncork Wild Wine Prices
Dec 30, 2007 6:50 PM CST

Investors Uncork Wild Wine Prices

Internet, foreign funds make even second-tier wines pricier

(Newser) - Investors are uncorking a new area of speculation these days: fine wine. Thanks to the Internet, which has turned an elite hobby into a worldwide auction, prices are overflowing. Buyers can even throw money at vino investment funds and an electronic trading exchange based in London, which is up 39%...

Nokia Wins Big on Luxe Phones
Nokia Wins Big on Luxe Phones
Dec 24, 2007 4:25 PM CST

Nokia Wins Big on Luxe Phones

Decked-out cell phones seen as status symbol for mega-rich

(Newser) - Nokia is enjoying increasing success with its Vertu subsidiary, a maker of luxury cellphones, as a super expensive phone becomes a status symbol for the mega-rich. Der Spiegel reports that Vertu phones, which come diamond- or gold-encrusted, make the iPhone look absolutely pedestrian with a price range from $6,500...

Online Buyers Want Blenders, Not Diamonds

Luxury takes a backseat to the practical this season

(Newser) - With a shaky economy causing consumers angst this holiday season, online e-tailers say shoppers are opting for functional over frivolous. E-sales of furniture and appliances have spiked more than 70%, while sales of jewelry, watches, and flowers have dropped, reports the New York Times. “It’s certainly counter to...

Campbell's Sells Godiva
Campbell's Sells Godiva
Dec 21, 2007 11:59 AM CST

Campbell's Sells Godiva

Soup maker gets $850M, will focus on core businesses

(Newser) - To ensure that its bottom line stays “M'm! M'm! Good,” the Campbell Soup Company sold its upscale Godiva chocolate brand yesterday for $850 million. Yildiz Holding of Turkey beat out Starbucks and Hershey’s to nab the Belgian chocolatier, which racks up $500 million in annual sales, the...

Stocks Rise as Traders Find Signs for Optimism

Spending, productivity outpace estimates

(Newser) - US stocks rose today, Bloomberg reports, boosted by news that back-to-school and luxury shopping outpaced forecasts, along with a spike in worker productivity and a slowdown in labor costs. The Dow climbed 57.88 to 13,363.35. The Nasdaq gained 8.37 to finish at 2,614.32, and...

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