luxury retail

The Great Recession took lot of wealth out of baby boomer pockets, probably for good. That means luxury merchants will have to set their sights on a new demographic for growth in coming years. That group will most likely be the millennials, 25- to 34-year-olds.

Burberry reported 11% sales growth in its second quarter year-over-year Wednesday, but compared to the first quarter, that marked a slowdown for the luxury fashion powerhouse, and shares fell. Burberry also said it expects full-year pretax profit to be in the top half of market expectations.

Saks shares have spiked on takeover speculation. Reports say a private equity consortium with U.S. and U.K. players is interested in buying the retailer and could offer some $1.7 billion for it.

Take a stroll up Madison Avenue and one will see a number of vacant storefronts with "for lease" signs in the windows that are too numerous to count. But that isn't stopping Hermes, which will open its first store dedicated to men's ready-to-wear, accessories on Wednesday. $8,500 handcrafted baseball mitt, anyone?

Retail analysts say this recession has fundamentally changed consumers' approach toward spending. While predictions that retail will not return to 2007 levels before the year 2012 are fairly common, some analysts go further to say this economy will change consumer and retail forever, and that...

Saks Inc. (SKS) has long embodied the glitz of American luxury. With its iconic flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and his-and-hers stores across the street from each other on Chicago's swank Magnificent Mile, it's long been one of the landmarks of luxury retail. But since the recession...

Early this morning, Tiffany & Co. (TIF) released its first-quarter earnings results. The company managed to match the consensus estimate for the quarter, logging earnings of 20 cents per share. While the results were in line with expectations, the were sharply lower than a year ago. The same...

According to The Wall Street Journal, luxury clothier Barneys New York is planning to close two of its department stores. The Journal attributes this to a decline in upper-class spending, but the truth may be a little more complicated. Barneys, like many other high-end retailers that have become...

Anyone who wanted to understand the changes in American society over the past year need look no further than Williams Sonoma (WSM). The premium kitchenware company recently reported a 90 percent drop in fourth-quarter profits and, as revenues continue to fall, is severely adjusting its market...