Pursuits
Versace to Bottega Court Local Shoppers as Jet-Set Demand Cools
- Luxury-goods makers catering to New York, Hong Kong residents
- Spending by tourists has stagnated in wake of terror attacks
The Versace store on 5th Avenue in New York.
Photographer: Victor J. Blue/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
After years of feasting on tourists’ demand for hand-stitched leather satchels and diamond-encrusted watches, luxury-goods makers are now courting a group they’ve long overlooked: local shoppers.
Handbag-maker Bottega Veneta is relocating its Manhattan store from Fifth Avenue to nearby Madison Avenue, where more New Yorkers shop. Italian fashion house Gianni Versace plans to open a Hong Kong boutique that will cater to the island city’s residents, not the Chinese who have curbed spending there.