Louis Vuitton likely to replace retailer Express
After 17 years on the ground floor of Charleston Place Hotel, fashion retailer Express is closing its doors and making way for luxury brand Louis Vuitton.
The Paris-based retailer had its eye on the Holy City as early as November, when it put in a request to the city to appeal a staff denial for storefront alterations and signage at Charleston Place.
Taubman Co. LLC, based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., handles leasing for Charleston Place and would neither confirm nor deny whether Louis Vuitton would be raising its flag at 203 King St. A Louis Vuitton spokesperson did not return a phone call.
The last day of operation for Express will be March 22, according to a store manager.
News of Louis Vuitton's expansion to Charleston comes despite a downturn in the spending of affluent shoppers, the top 25 percent of U.S. households.
According to Stevens, Pa.-based Unity Marketing's Luxury Consumption Index, which measures luxury consumer confidence, affluent shoppers are spending more soberly than in past years.
Luxury consumers' confidence slipped 23.8 points to 63.6 in December, according to the survey, the greatest decline since January 2004, when Unity began its quarterly tracking study. This month last year, luxury consumer confidence was at 100.2 points.
The increased frugality of luxury consumers can no doubt be credited to a lack of confidence in government, decreasing home values, rising oil prices and the weak dollar.
High-end U.S. retailers in New York and Los Angeles actually are benefiting from the dollar's decreased value, as tourists, especially Europeans, flock to the major shopping hubs to take advantage of cheaper merchandise, according to the National Retail Federation.
On the other hand, foreign luxury brands with operations in the States like Louis Vuitton and Gucci have raised prices to counteract the shrinking dollar.
Louis Vuitton recently announced it was increasing prices in U.S. stores by 5 percent, according to the NRF.
Regardless, the world's largest luxury-goods maker reported an 8 percent increase in profit last year, with net income climbing to 2.30 billion euros ($3.4 billion) from 1.88 billion euros ($2.5 billion) in 2006. Sales gained 7.8 percent to 16.5 billion euros ($24.3 billion).
According to its Web site, Louis Vuitton operates 300 stores in 44 countries and 14 production and development units. The company, established in 1854, employs nearly 9,700 workers.
Reach Abi Nicholas at 937-5524 or anicholas@postandcourier.com.
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