Last week, FW wrote about sinking investment-side bank profits and their implications for New York tax revenues.
Today comes another hint of bad news: as the Journal reports today (page B1), luxury retail sales have been falling again, down 3.9 percent in June when compared to the previous year. By contrast, the whole department-store category (including down-market and mid-market) saw an increase of 1.3 percent.
Before the June drop, Saks, Louis Vuitton, and other high-end merchants had been doing better for the past seven months, after having suffered double-digit declines in late 2008 and much of 2009.
Falling luxury sales are a sign that the rich and pretenders or visitors to the category are feeling uncertain again. The rich know about their income, and whether its rising, falling, or staying the same, before New York tax collectors will.
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