Bad day for Tokyo fashionistas, Louis Vuitton scraps giant emporium
Updated
If you needed further proof that the global economic crisis was beginning to affect the posh end of town, the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton has cancelled plans to open its largest store in the world.
The planned 12-floor emporium in Tokyo's glamorous Ginza district has fallen victim to a massive slump in luxury spending in the world's second largest economy. It's just the latest sign that Japan could be heading for its worst recession since the second world war.
Presenter: Mark Willacy
Speakers: Japanese shoppers; Toshiba spokesman
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(Sound of Japanese news)
MARK WILLACY: Every evening in Japan the news opens with more tales of economic doom and financial gloom.
And the latest big name to fall victim to the global slump comes from the top end of town.
(Japanese woman speaking)
"I have a lot of Louis Vuitton bags" says this woman.
"They suit women of every age" she says.
(Japanese woman 2 speaking)
"I always wanted to own a Louis Vuitton handbag" says another woman, "so I came today to purchase one."
But a lot of Japanese are no longer buying luxury goods like Louis Vuitton.
So the French brand has scrapped plans to open a 12-floor, 12,000 square metre shopping emporium in Tokyo's ritzy Ginza district.
Japan is considered Louis Vuitton's most lucrative market, with a third of young Japanese women believed to own the retailers' handbags or apparel.
(Sound of protest)
These young Japanese certainly can't afford to drip with the delights of Louis Vuitton.
They are contract workers, and thousands of them have been sacked as Japan's recession bites deeper. Many have even been thrown out of their company accommodation.
Electronics giant, Toshiba, is the latest to cut staff, Japan's biggest chip-maker is slashing production of memory cards by 30 per cent, and is shutting some of its factories for up to 25 days.
(Toshiba representative speaking)
"We have dropped revenue and profit" says this Toshiba spokesman, "all we are doing at the moment is posting deficits".
Other global Japanese brands have already slashed people and production, among them Toyota, Nissan, Sony, and Canon, all blaming a surging Japanese yen and falling world demand.
Some analysts believe that the world's second largest economy could be staring at its deepest recession since World War II; meaning no more fancy handbags for the rich and a lot more free hand-outs for the poor.
