As you will see in our Special Feature in the June issue of Property Report, Louis Vuitton recently opened its — wait for it — fifth outlet in Singapore in a grand flagship store designed by Moshe Safdie and launched in the presence of celebrities such as Cate Blanchett and Chow Yun Fatt.
It’s a fabulous building, although perhaps a surprising addition given the continued global economic crisis. But then Singapore does boast the highest concentration of HNW households in the world at 16 per cent.
Some may argue that yet more luxury brands will create a homogenised, rather dull culture, that will turn the Lion State into the Dubai of Asia rather than the Monaco it wants to be, but demand is demand. Perhaps a more pertinent question is whether the less privileged classes in Singapore appreciate such expressions of wealth in a society that many feel is becoming one of haves and have nots.
The government’s latest initiatives to ensure everyone gets a slice of the property pie may go someway to redressing the balance, and perhaps then everyone will be able to afford Louis Vuitton.
Source: PropertyReport – 2012 May 22
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