Buying a Mercedes—not a Bentley
How do you know the economy has truly gone into a tailspin? When even Calgary’s über-rich have to start cutting back. Canada’s most conspicuous consumers appear to be embracing frugality—well, as much as they can, anyway. They’re buying Mercedes instead Bentley, spending $50 on a bottle of wine instead of $150, and wearing a $350 blazer to occasions that once called for a $3,500 jacket. Even Brett Wilson, the co-founder of First energy Capital and one of the city’s wealthiest residents says he doesn’t have the “the same wallet flexibility I once did.” Still, that won’t stop luxury boutiques from opening up in Cowtown, even if they have to go a bit more downmarket than they had planned. “[Shopping] feeds our soul in a way, especially when we’re not feeling so good,” says the owner of a “lifestyle concept store” that’s about to open in February.