Stories related to: luxury goods

New online shops are hooking up high-end customers with discount flash sales on luxury goods such as designer bags and shoes. Alerting members via text message, the members-only sites sell items in private sales that often begin immediately and can last just hours. The created frenzy works: Customers of one site buy on average within just 45 seconds of logging on, reports the Wall Street Journal . More »

You don't have to give up the high life to be green. Forbes finds 10 luxurious ways to reduce your carbon footprint: Wear cashmere at home so you can turn down the thermostat. Buy carbon offsets for your private jet. Drive a hybrid Cadillac Escalade SUV. Use occasional perfumed candles instead of lights. More »

As the global economy falters, many people are fighting to make ends meet. And then there’s the Chinese billionaire who spent $500,000 for 27 bottles of wine today. The sale set a record for a single lot. “I don’t think he has bought this as an investment,” said an executive from the selling company. “He has bought it to drink.” More »

As many Americans batten down the hatches, the über-rich are still living it up, the New York Times reports. Already this year, 71 New York apartments have sold for more than $10 million—compared to just 17 in 2007. The good times were so good, many say, they haven’t had to cut back on impulse purchases like yachts, Bentleys and dream celebrations. More »

The subprime crisis has hit Goldy Anthony hard; she can’t even afford her bi-monthly trips to the plastic surgeon anymore. “I would rather have Botox than go out to dinner, but it’s just gotten so bad,” says Anthony, who works in Los Angeles' slumping mortgage business. Woes like hers are hurting Beverly Hills plastic surgeons, who are losing would-be face-lift-ees. More »

The economic downturn has fueled a surge in leased luxury goods, Portfolio reports. A small membership fee or monthly payment enables designer addicts to rent It-bags and other high-end accessories at businesses like From Bags to Riches. "Instead of owning an asset you can just buy the experience," explains a CEO who thinks luxury-goods makers will move into the sector themselves. More »

A made-for-women vodka touted as the perfect salad accompaniment has sobered Russian doctors, who fear high-end spirits like "Ladies" will only worsen already-high rates of alcoholism, Reuters reports. Estimates peg 10 percent of Russia's 142 million citizens as alcoholics, and the chief of one rehab center says 60% of his clients are women. More »

Today's slow economy has sparked more retailers to thank shoppers with bouquets and personal notes, Portfolio reports. Common for big spenders, such thank-yous are now mailed to regular shoppers too—like one reporter who bought two shirts and a jacket at Nordstrom. "Our salespeople build relationships with their customers by calling them and sending out thank-you notes," a Nordstrom rep said. More »

A cup of coffee brewed with 16 ounces of water at 203 degrees for 44 seconds? Coming right up. The brouhaha over the $11,000 Clover 1s—the ultra-high-tech machine that brews one cup at a time—makes sense, Paul Adams writes in Slate. After two hours test-driving the built-to-order machine, which regulates temperature, water, and brew time with staggering precision, he considers himself “a Clover addict.” More »

After spending thousands of dollars on a handbag, you might not be able to afford anything to put inside it—so choose wisely. Forbes outlines the best in "it" bags: Hermes Kelly Bag, $5,000 and up: Embrace your inner Grace Kelly with the original "it" bag, made famous by the actress in 1956. More »

If a shot of Georgi isn’t your style, Russian vodka makers are rushing to sell a new wave of premium bottles, the Los Angeles Times reports. Vodkas from France, Finland, and the US have gained popularity stateside over the past few years, but buyers couldn't find anything Russian other than Stoli on the shelves until recently. More »

Middle-class millionaires are carving out a luxe lifestyle to define their 16.5-million strong group, Forbes reports. And while the $1 million to $10 million stashed in the bank doesn’t make them all that rich, that doesn't put much of a dent in lavish spending habits: Mega-home improvements, to the tune of $150,000 yoga rooms. Haute couture jewelry, complete with 11-carat diamonds. More »

Florence's Santa Maria Novella church has an intriguing sideline: It's home to one of the world's oldest pharmacies, which today churns out tonics and perfumes made according to medieval recipes. Smithsonian profiles the church, where Dominican monks began concocting herbal remedies and rose water, used to clean plague-touched homes, more than 600 years ago; today their wares are sold from New York to Tokyo. More »

For consumers of luxury goods, the "Made in Italy" designation remains so prestigious that it can add 300% to an item's price. But the days of artisans plying their trade in little workshops are largely over, the Los Angeles Times reports, replaced by thousands of Tuscan factories employing Chinese workers at low wages and in deplorable conditions. For many, the labor is little more than indentured servitude. More »

Investors are uncorking a new area of speculation these days: fine wine. Thanks to the Internet, which has turned an elite hobby into a worldwide auction, prices are overflowing. Buyers can even throw money at vino investment funds and an electronic trading exchange based in London, which is up 39% this year, and behind oil by only seven points, the Washington Post reports. More »

Nokia is enjoying increasing success with its Vertu subsidiary, a maker of luxury cellphones, as a super expensive phone becomes a status symbol for the mega-rich . Der Spiegel reports that Vertu phones, which come diamond- or gold-encrusted, make the iPhone look absolutely pedestrian with a price range from $6,500 to $72,500. Sales of the deluxe handsets are up 120% this year. More »

With a shaky economy causing consumers angst this holiday season, online e-tailers say shoppers are opting for functional over frivolous. E-sales of furniture and appliances have spiked more than 70%, while sales of jewelry, watches, and flowers have dropped, reports the New York Times . “It’s certainly counter to our expectations,” said the CEO of Furniture.com. More »

To ensure that its bottom line stays “M'm! M'm! Good,” the Campbell Soup Company sold its upscale Godiva chocolate brand yesterday for $850 million. Yildiz Holding of Turkey beat out Starbucks and Hershey’s to nab the Belgian chocolatier, which racks up $500 million in annual sales, the New York Times reports. The sale will help Campbell’s recover from a 7.2% drop in its first-quarter net. More »

US stocks rose today, Bloomberg reports, boosted by news that back-to-school and luxury shopping outpaced forecasts, along with a spike in worker productivity and a slowdown in labor costs. The Dow climbed 57.88 to 13,363.35. The Nasdaq gained 8.37 to finish at 2,614.32, and the S&P rose 6.26 to 1,478.55. More »