Luxury out of style?

Luxury out of style?
(01:38) Report Reuters Video

Feb. 12 - Luxury retailers are finding themselves out of vogue in the recession.
Half of all consumers who make more than $200,000 a year think luxury brands are becoming commodities. That mentality is wreaking havoc with luxury retailers who find themselves struggling to cope with the recession. Bobbi Rebell reports.
SOUNDBITE:
# Milton Pedraza, CEO, The Luxury Institute
# Howard Davidowitz, CEO, Davidowitz and Associates

Waterford Wedgwood Collapses

Waterford Wedgwood Collapses, Iconic British brand names in trouble

Waterford Wedgwood, which employs around 7,700 worldwide, is the latest in a burgeoning list of iconic British companies to succumb to the global economic slowdown and credit squeeze. Department store veteran Woolworths, the queen's tailor Hardy Amies, tea and coffee merchant Whittard of Chelsea and fellow ceramics stalwart Royal Worcester and Spode have all filed for bankruptcy protection in recent months.
Wedgwood has been an iconic name in British pottery for 250 years, after its founder Josiah Wedgwood opened the first factory in Stoke-on-Trent, central England, in 1759. It began making bone china in the 19th century.

Iceland After the Fall

Iceland After the Fall

How is this Viking descendant credit-hooked mini state coping with the economic crisis?

Slate Magazine's Nathan Heller visits Iceland, where a financial collapse has spawned deep-set unrest in the nation of 313,000. "Iceland is, for many of us, the waist of the hourglass: the narrowest point in the flow of culture and commerce that buoys modern life, a place where the First World is winnowed and exposed," Heller writes in the first entry. During a rally in the capital, Reykjavik, a "vandal in a cheap Santa suit and gremlin mask" dumps a sack of potatoes on the steps of the parliament house--a sign that the nation is now so poor that this is the main staple of your average Icelander's diet. In the second entry, Heller encounters a group of people throwing raw meat and cheese wedges at the prime minister's office. "This, I learn, is 'rat food,' left for Geir Haarde, the prime minister.

U.S. consumers have trouble paying their credit card debts.

Happy New Year? Not for credit card companies

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Credit card companies have little to celebrate as many analysts brace for 2009 to be one of the worst years on record for consumer credit.
Losses for the industry could top $70 billion, but it is hard to predict how bad the pain will be.
U.S. consumers have never before been so deeply in debt. There was nearly $1 trillion of credit and charge card debt outstanding as of October, up more than 25 percent since 2003, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve. That is in addition to $10.54 trillion in mortgage debt.
Unemployment, already at 15-year highs, is expected to rise to its highest levels since the early 1980s, when credit cards were not nearly as widespread.
In short, there's more debt than ever and fewer people are able to pay it.

The big trends for 2009 include comfort food, nostalgia, and..

The big trends for 2009 include comfort food, nostalgia, home baking, and..

Spotting trends in food is essential to understanding what food consumers are doing now and more importantly may be doing in the future. thefoodpeople split their food trend predictions into mega trends which are already apparent within the market and also emerging trends that are just starting to take hold.
In a time when we are all facing global economic slowdown, shifts in outputs and dwindling natural resources, what does all of this mean for trends in food?
“The big trends for 2009 include comfort food, nostalgia, scratch cooking and home baking as consumers want to save money as well as feel good about themselves and the food they consumer just like mum or grandma did. Also big in 2009 will be head to tail eating where more people will be eating those forgotten cuts of meat in a bid to make food go further. Despite credit crunch we expect to see sustainability remain high on the agenda whilst some of the nice to haves such as organic drop back. We expect domestic cuisines to big, people cooking and dining on food that is traditional and indigenous to their country of residence. In addition we also expect to see shifts in drinking habits with more in home drinking as well as a rise in the popularity of beer, cider and cocktails. As consumers get used to using the internet more for food purchases we also expect to see more business and food brands miniaturising and customising their food products to the specific needs of their consumers. Last but not least we expect to see health in food trends such as natural health choices, ultra low calorie, anti foods, more detox diets and tailored health food choices to be big in 2009”.