By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator
Dallas, TX – If the opening days of earning season are any indication of how the economy is moving, it might be time to write "recovery" with a capital "R." Another signal also aiming in that direction: the demand of luxury items. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Midday.
Now, this is just from today's top headlines of the Wall Street Journal Online: "Merrill Lynch's net rose 50 percent in third-quarter profit, notching its second-best quarterly earnings ever. Bank of America's profits jumped 31 percent. Johnson and Johnson posted a 20% jump. Dow Jones and Co. (owners of the Wall Street Journal) third-quarter net income more than tripled. And Delta Airlines posted a narrower-than-expected loss." This is all from the same time last year and all very encouraging.
But you know what's really in place for the recovery to turn the proverbial corner: the demand for Louis Vuitton bags. And not just Vuitton, but Christian Dior, and Chanel and Saint Laurent. Names you'll never find in my closet, but ones I can still appreciate. The New York Times, sitting at the end of a runway in Paris, described the excitement as even the models in bathing suits had a lovely Vuitton pocketbook.
For two long years, the $63 billion luxury goods industry has been patiently killing time and now even on the runway, competition is fierce. Who's going to capture the eye, the heart, the money of those who have been sitting on their hands, waiting, waiting to justify spending $800 plus for a handbag, $750 for a pair of shoes or $1200 for a men's "messenger bag?" And if I may quote a representative from Gucci: "Whoever gets the bag gets the fashion momentum." You get the idea.
And the department stores that sell these items are ones really basking in this renewal. September same-store sales from a year ago were all up for Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks. Maybe they can start hiring some people. For KERA Marketplace Midday, I'm Maxine Shapiro.
Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 p.m.
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