From food to handbags, high-cost items are suffering
(NEWSER) - Hundred-dollar melons and pricey designer handbags used to sell so well in Japan that companies considered luxury goods a mass-market sector. But while the Japanese kept on shopping through previous recessions, this one has produced a sea change. The luxury industry has been hard hit, and the change may be permanent, the New York Times reports. The local version of Wal-Mart, in the red for seven years, is finally on track to turn a profit this year. More»
