NEW YORK — With even super-affluent shoppers tightening their Gucci belts, luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group Inc. unveiled its Christmas Book on Tuesday with a nod to the new frugality.
New items include $75 plaid stockings, $235 Italian wool scarves, $100 Ugg slippers, $175 cases for iPhones and $250 Ralph Lauren rain boots.
Plenty of extravagant gifts remain. There are limited- edition $105,000 Jaguars, motorcycles for $73,000 and a $25,000 “Cupcake Car” custom-made of colorful fabric, wood and sheet metal and powered by a 24-volt electric motor. There’s an eco-friendly chandelier made of 366 plastic bottles rescued from the landfill. Yours for just $12,000.
The Dallas-based chain and its luxury competitors are being forced to adjust their inventory and prices as their well-heeled clients splurge less and stay focused on practical items. Luxury stores’ sales remain weak — and worse than at U.S. apparel stores overall.
Neiman Marcus reported last month that its fiscal fourth-quarter loss widened compared with a year earlier as revenue fell 26 percent.
