NEW YORK (Reuters) - Top retail and luxury executives are sacrificing watches, vacations and new cars in the economic downturn, but keep your hands off their newspapers, nonfat lattes and bicycles.
Executives at the Reuters Global Luxury and Retail Summits this week showed they were not only cutting company costs to compensate for thrifty shoppers.
As the disconnect between consumers and corporate heads has become starker and sparked anger in recent months, executives at companies from Saks Inc and Mattel Inc to Liz Claiborne's Juicy Couture and Christie's Europe say they are hunkering down personally too, much like their customers.
"Last year, we didn't go for a holiday vacation somewhere in the sun because I just thought it was not reasonable to spend so much money and to go somewhere," Juicy Couture's President Edgar Hubert said.
"We stayed here in New York over Christmas," he said, while he would have liked to go to Jamaica.
"I have given up my watches," said Saks Chief Executive Steve Sadove. "I used to treat myself to one nice watch a year and I have given up."
"My wife and my kids and I, we have cut back," he added, saying they were doing more "staycations" -- staying home as a family instead of taking a vacation.
New cars are being given a second thought, too.
"The lease has expired on my car and I'm thinking about which automobile I should buy next," Mattel CEO Robert Eckert said. "Today I'm not so motivated to buy a car."
"I wouldn't buy a new car any time soon, will wait and see on big purchases," said Joe Nahhas, regional director for Montblanc, which is owned by luxury group Richemont.
Expensive air travel is out for some.
"I have flown JetBlue more in the last six months than I did previously," said Estee Lauder Cos Inc CEO William Lauder.
"Quite honestly, an $89 ticket is pretty damn good against a $500 ticket."
Italian jewelry designer Roberto Coin said he was now flying economy.
Others are taking public transportation to work. Continued...
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