Upscale Stores Thriving Amid Booming Economy Discount Retailers May Be Suffering This Holiday Season, But The Rich Are Spending

Carol Schwartz has a holiday gift list fit for a king.

“My daughter wants a Gucci bag, my husband wants a fancy humidor for cigars,” said Schwartz, while strolling along Fifth Avenue. “I’m asking Santa for a Judith Leiber bag.”

And what does she plan to spend on these gifts? “Around $6,000, maybe even more,” she said with a smirk.

With this year’s booming economy and climbing stock market, big spenders are out in force this holiday season. Not since the 1980s, when shoppers fawned over fancy cars and pricey jewelry, has high-end merchandise been in such demand.

That’s pleasing upscale retailers that attract only the most affluent shoppers.

“There is a gold rush fever in this country,” said Alan Millstein, editor and publisher of the Fashion Network Report. “There’s a lust for luxury products that borders on the obscene.”

Cartier can’t stock enough of its Tank Francaise watches, which begin at $2,300 and go as high as $66,500. Neiman Marcus is selling lots of Daniel Hanson cashmere robes for $1,088 and David Yurman Silver Ice rings beginning at $750.

Anything with a Gucci, Prada or Chanel label is flying off shelves, especially handbags and other accessories.

“In the early 1990s, you hid your wealth,” Millstein said. “Now, everyone wants their friends and neighbors to know that they’ve hit the jackpot.”

Tony retailers began their comeback last year after a mostly quiet decade. The stock market collapse in 1987 and the recession that followed prompted shoppers to watch their spending.

Retailers report many shoppers are even more extravagant this year. They’ve been buoyed by the surging stock market, where the Dow Jones industrial average, despite several big setbacks, has risen more than 20 percent this year.

“There’s been an absolute pickup in our most premier products,” said Lew Frankfort, chairman and chief executive of Coach, the leather goods manufacturer.

Among the most popular Coach gifts is its Cabin Bag for $618 and the shearling men’s coat for $1,800, which Frankfort says they “can’t keep in stock.”

At the Aaron Faber Gallery on Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan, platinum, diamonds and fine watches are among the top sellers this Christmas.

One customer paid nearly $160,000 for the Petek Phillipe Reference 5004, a perpetual mechanical calendar.

Owner Edward Faber said his customers buy both gifts for others and for themselves, and most are looking for top quality, willing to spend more if they feel it will last.

“Many feel that they’ve made money in the market and this is their reward,” he said.

During a trip to Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, N.J., Teresa Smith spent most of her day shopping at Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom department stores.

“This year, I’m going over the top a bit,” Smith said. “But it’s been a very good year and that means we can afford some of the finer things in life.”