eLUXURY Announces Retail Store Closure
eLUXURY, the first online retailer of high end goods is shutting its “doors” later this month on June 26th. Brick and mortar stores have been closing their doors for the past year, but eLUXURY is the first online retailer to shut down their e-commerce business.
When I heard the news I was a bit surprised. After all, online shops have a much lower overhead than physical retail stores. Furthermore, eLUXURY specializes in selling high-end products, most notably Louis Vuitton. Though the global economy is in crisis, the rich are still rich, and are still shopping…so what gives?
I think that luxury goods companies are feeling the effects of the recession - but, not only because of decreased purchases by their wealthy customers. Many purchasers of luxury goods are “aspirational” - like many M.I.S.S. readers - we save up our hard earned pennies for that It bag, to die for shoes, or {insert your coveted luxury item of the season here}. Not necessarily “wealthy,” these aspirational buyers are a bit younger, want to reward themselves for their hard work and are more likely to purchase online.
Aspirational buyers are heavily affected by the global recession: With layoffs and unemployment rising, people are re-thinking whether they really need that It bag when they are worried about paying the rent. Is luxury completely dead? No, I don’t think so. But for beginning on June 26th, eLUXURY will be nothing more than a memory.
