Italy: land of the rich Russian
The following article by Silvia Marchetti first appeared in GlobalPost.
ROME, Italy — Ischia and Capri, two tiny islands in the Gulf of Naples, are fighting over big money. That is, Russian money.
Ischia, a thermal baths and spa destination, complains that its Russian clients prefer shopping on the neighboring isle because it has a wider choice of luxury boutiques. On both islands, nearly all hotels and restaurants have menus written in Cyrillic and employ waiters whose mother tongue is Russian, while shops display price-tags in both euros and dollars.
It’s indeed worth the trouble. Luring tourists from Russia is a lucrative pursuit in Italy. Many of the most breathtaking and expensive locations have been virtually colonized by them.
They’re the former Soviet Union’s new nobility — billionaire businessmen, bankers and investors who travel across the peninsula in limousines, yachts and helicopters (for 2,000 euros an hour), picking the most romantic scenery for the purchase of dreamlike castles and sea manors.
from UK News:
The death knell for bling?
In these hard times, those whose job it is to part us from our money in the shops are beginning to describe the retailing experience as a family activity, a way of relaxing -- absolutely nothing to do with conspicuous consumption, you understand.
The word "luxury", we are told, sends the wrong message nowadays and is being quietly phased out of promotional material. Bling is over.
Rory Sutherland of advertising agency Ogilvy even predicts there will be a trend towards the modest lifestyles reputedly favoured by Lutherans and Swedes.
What do you think? Do you believe the credit crisis will have any lasting impact on people's attitudes when it comes to the relentless pursuit of material gain?
Or will we be back melting plastic in the shops as soon as the "all clear" siren is sounded?
Seems to me that ‘bling’ is about looking rich rather than being rich. Drinking a bottle of Champagne, putting on classy perfume or buying a gold chain are still not ‘big ticket’ items relative to rent, mortgage repayments etc. It’s the true luxury that will suffer, like buying a second home, flying first class (when you’re paying) or buying 1+ carat diamonds for your cat/dog.
I think that luxury brands that send the right message, i.e. we make your look rich, will do fine, but those that actually cost real bucks will suffer.
Italy is happy to take ANYBODY’S money