The world around us

Wal-Mart’s newest Supercenter that opened earlier this week in Orlando, is completely different from its other stores. Gone is the warehouse atmosphere and the bland construction and its new store has towers, a tile roof and is inspired by Tuscan architecture. It’s not just the architecture that has changed but also its merchandise selection, with lots of international foods available, including a section on British foods and one on Hispanic food as well.

There is also a theme park ticket kiosk in the store, perfect for all the visitors who might want to drop by. The store will also have an auto center equipped to handle recreational vehicles, which the traveling visitors are sure to love. Other changes include energy conservation with skylights, using an energy-efficient lighting system and efficient cooling and heating systems as well. Read more details about the new store at Walmartfacts.com.

Barneys New York which has long dressed the fashionable set of New York could be sold to Istithmar, a Dubai investment company, which is an investment arm of the Dubai government. The Jones Apparel Group which owns Barneys New York is said to be selling the retail company for $825 million. The company also owns other major brands such as Anne Klein, Jones New York and Nine West. Istithmar has bought other prominent properties in New York earlier, such as the Mandarin Oriental Hotel located in the Time Warner Center, but this will be its first retail investment.

Sales of luxury items are increasing at a fast pace, picking up dramatically over the past 6 years and the gap between the average American who is cutting back on grocery trips due to high gas prices and these rich consumers is growing ever wider. According to Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of Prudential Douglas Elliman’s retail division for leasing sales, the appetite for unbridled luxury is only rising. Sales of luxury products increased ot $150 billion in 2006, of which the US accounded for 30% of spending. Sales had declined after the terrorist acts of 2001 and are now back up to speed.

Another reason why luxury products have increased sales is that due to the declining dollar, high spending tourists from Asia and Russia are coming to the US and spending money on high priced luxury items. The gap between the rich and the poor has never been wider than in the Depression Era.

According to Carol Brodie, chief luxury officer at CurtCo Media, the publisher of the Robb Report, whose annual issue features the year’s best-of-the-best like a $330,000 Mikimoto golden pearl choker, the super rich don’t want just the expensive. What they are looking for is the rarest item, something that is custom-made and the best quality. Unlike the 1980s and 1990s, “it’s not about the logos,” she said. “It shouts quietly.”