Demand for luxury is still high in Baltimore, according to industry experts who said high-end services allow customers who can afford it to cash in on saving time.
The region’s affluent are still enjoying life’s luxuries from cashmere to dog walking, according to business owners who said, so far, they remain unscathed by the economic downturn. Wednesday, personal chef Beth Andresini cooked a Thanksgiving feast inside a client’s home and said business hasn’t dropped off in the slightest.
“It’s time versus money,” said Andresini, owner of the Baltimore-based Thyme For You. “People value their time and they have to balance that out.”
Outlook measures for luxury spending are not optimistic. Consumer spending dropped 1 percent last month, the biggest reduction since the 2001 terrorism attacks, the federal Commerce Department said Wednesday. The “luxury consumption index” continues to drop, reaching a historic low since Pennsylvania-based Unity Marketing started tracking affluent consumer confidence in 2003.
But — at least anecdotally — luxury spending in Baltimore continues.
Eric Leader, owner Every Body’s Personal Trainer, an in-home personal training company, said many of his clients are wealthy business owners who just aren’t feeling the economic pinch.
“They are a bit above the curve,” Leader said. “We are trying to make it affordable for everyone with payment plans, to lessen the burden, but we haven’t experienced a huge drop-off.”
When General Growth Properties unveiled a new luxury wing at the Towson Town Mall last month, analysts were skeptical. But mall managers said business so far is booming at Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel and Burberry, where leather totes sell for upward of $2,600.
Louis Vuitton and apparel retailer Lacoste will open next summer at the mall, which is inside a 5-mile radius that includes 17 luxury car dealers and 18,000 households earning $1 million or more, said Lisa Bisenius, associate general manager.
“In the first couple of weeks since we opened everyone has been thrilled, and a bit surprised, that all met sales goals,” Bisenius said. “Most have almost doubled their sales goals. Every weekend we keep thinking the other shoe is going to fall, but we keep seeing increased sales.”
Lewis Schiff, who leads a team of private wealth experts at the Advanced Planning Group, said he expects luxury spending to survive the impending recession. A survey of what he calls “middle class millionaires” shows nearly half will take a vacation costing more than $10,000 this year, and more than half will continue to shell out for items like luxury cars and second homes.
“Somebody who cooks for you, who walks your dog, allows you to grab time back,” Schiff said. “They would rather put an extra hour in at the office creating wealth than go home and do a task. They are making a business decision.”
