Depreciated British Pound lures Oscar de la Renta to London

I have been following on-line the Reuters Global Luxury Summit and at the event currently held in New York, I find it interesting that the US-based fashion house, Oscar de la Renta, best known for ultra-luxurious cocktail dresses and evening gowns, and high-end women's sportswear, is choosing London over Paris to open a new store in the British capital.  According to chief executive Alex Bolen, Oscar de la Renta is actively looking into opening a store in London, as the depreciation of the British pound has made doing business here more affordable. He said, Oscar de la Renta would like to have a greater presence in Paris as the U.S.-based fashion house seeks to boost its overseas sales, but high rents preclude it from opening a store there for now. I think Mr. Bolen will find his brand will be in good company.  He just needs to look at Bond Street, Regent Street and Westfield shopping centre in London.  Besides, London also has got high-end prestigious department stores for luxury brands like Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges, that compete well with the likes of Le Printemps, Galeries Lafayette and Le Bon Marche.  He is right that the weak Pound is luring tourists by the bucket loads to the UK although the Euro has depreciated as well lately. 
"Paris makes tremendous sense for us as a fashion capital, visibility-wise, but rents in Paris are really still very tough," he said, adding that Europe 's current debt crisis and the uncertainty in global stock markets was also giving him pause about the impact on luxury spending.  Expansion abroad should help Oscar de la Renta increase the ratio of sales from international markets. In the medium term, Bolen said he would like to see overseas sales account for about half of total sales, up from roughly a third now.
Other top executives at the Reuters Luxury Summit also held in Paris this week warned that the luxury industry's recent recovery is likely to be short-lived in Europe if governments' new austerity measures prompt consumers to rein in spending. Bulgari Chief Executive Francesco Trapani said he expected higher taxes and budget belt-tightening to really start biting next year.  As a result, European shoppers, traditionally big consumers of luxury goods, were likely to become increasingly thrifty.  
Europe is the biggest manufacturer of luxury goods in the world and makes up about a quarter of worldwide luxury sales, with a significant part coming from visitors.  The recent Greek debt crisis and fears of contagion have precipitated talks of spending cuts and pension reforms throughout Europe and raised fears of a double-dip recession.  German data earlier this week showed consumer sentiment was likely to fall in June, as the euro zone crisis weighed on households' view of the economy and income expectations.  Meanwhile, French consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in a year in May, as households worried about their future finances and living standards.  But until now, the somber mood has not affected the luxury industry.

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Depreciated British Pound lures Oscar de la Renta to London

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