Sales of Prada handbags and Armani suits are booming. The number of millionaires in America is now at a record level. This week, one of the country’s oldest upscale retailers, Neiman Marcus, was sold for the healthy sum of $5.1 billion.
The ability of Neiman’s to thrive while mid-scale retailers from Sears, to Macy’s flounder, raises interesting questions about just who is driving America’s growing appetite for luxury.
Is it the truly rich who can afford to spend $1,500 for a pair of Jimmy Choo sandals, or is it those lower down the income ladder who are trying to buy their way up one Chanel handbag at a time. And just what is this appetite for extravagance doing to the financial fortunes of already over-spent Americans?
Guests:
Robert Frank, Professor of Economics and Management at Cornell University;James Dimonekas, Vice President and Publisher of the Robb Report