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Check Out Line: Luxury chains facing dilemmas

Check out the challenges before the luxury sector: Many fancy European companies like Valentino have widened their entry-level offerings to lure more shoppers, given how edgy the global economy remains.  This could be shortsighted, experts said this week at the Reuters Global Luxury Summit in Paris, New York, Dubai and London. For instance, Valentino’s 300 euro T-shirts are dubbed “Couture T-shirts” a term some in the industry view as an oxymoron and could harm the cachet so essential to luxury’s appeal. But to be fair, how much choice do these purveyors of expensive watches, suits, cocktail dresses really have?   There will always be mega-millionaires to boost the luxury industry and buy $50,000 diamond necklaces at Tiffany.

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Nike, the albatross, and sustainable design

A dead baby albatross is a tough act to follow. Nike's Lorrie Vogel took the stage at Poptech this week to talk about the company's sustainable product design efforts.

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