...And The Rich Go Shopping

Yes, while the poor and the lower middle class feel their pocket books shrinking, the rich are shopping away. Sales at high end stores are doing fine while stores catering to the unwashed (us, don't you know) are slumping.

Per the LA Times,

"On Wednesday, Williams-Sonoma Inc. reported a better-than-expected 55% jump in its fiscal second-quarter profit, fueled by sales of furniture and other household goods at its Pottery Barn chain.It was the latest sign that retailers marketing to higher-end consumers are prospering while major discount stores and mainstream apparel chains struggle. In recent weeks, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Gap Inc. have reported soft sales apparently because a sharp rise in gasoline prices squeezed lower-income Americans....

"But Coach Inc., which sells high-fashion handbags and accessories, reported a 113% jump in profit in its latest quarter while jeweler Tiffany & Co. reported an 11% increase in U.S. sales. Sales at Pottery Barn stores open at least a year climbed 10.2% in the second quarter. 'It appears that the higher-end retailers like Pottery Barn, Tiffany and Coach are all doing well,' Claire Gallacher, a retail analyst who noted that Pottery Barn targets consumers with a $75,000 annual income level and above. Added Kurt Barnard, head of Barnard's Retail Consulting Group: 'The upscale consumers can pay more for gas and not blink an eyelash.'"

And the poor people? Let them eat cake. Oh, wait. They can't afford cake.