Within a single section of today’s WSJ, there are stories lamenting the steep declines of sales in the luxury wine and luxury car markets, and another piece noting that haute couture label Christian Lacroix recently filed for bankruptcy protection.
What it comes down to is that if people think a product is worth the money, they’ll buy it. As consumers look closer at the combo of cost and quality, the goods that are worth the money will sell—and those with jacked-up prices “just because” won’t. Today, it’s tougher than ever to convince someone that a $90 bottle of wine or a $60,000 sedan are all that superior to a perfectly good $15 bottle or $20,000 car.