Ylan Q Mui

The recession has changed the conversation in America.At play dates and happy hours, friends are swapping recipes instead of making restaurant reservations. Teenagers are skipping flashy block-long limos and showing up to prom in minivans. Coupons has become a more popular search term than Britney Spears on Google. Instead of feeling self-conscious about spending less, people are flaunting their frugality.

Maybe it was the lusty mannequins in its stores, the massage oil on its shelves or the overabundance of cleavage on the glittery runway of its annual TV fashion show. But Victoria’s Secret chief executive Sharen J. Turney has acknowledged that the chain has become “too sexy.”

Is such a thing even possible?

Even during these tough economic times, sales of beer remain strong. A look at the most stable of vice industries.

Dear Dad, You know I love you. I really do. But don’t expect much from me this Father’s Day.

You think you have it rough, dear shopper. But think about the plight of the lowly sales clerk. I persuaded Sam’s Club to let me spend one day last week working at its warehouse club in Laurel to see what life is like on the other side of the sales counter, one woman in an army of holiday help hired across the country each year.

Stores have long encouraged couples to show their devotion on Valentine’s Day by dropping bucks on chocolates, roses and a bottle of wine of impressive provenance. But now some retailers are targeting singles — and finding that many are willing to spend just as much as twosomes in indulging themselves this holiday.

Posted: Monday, August 10, 2009, Double X
Link: http://www.doublex.com/section/life/will-“extreme-saving”-improve-your-sex-life
AS many of us tighten our budgetary belts, some people are taking the concept to a new extreme by vowing not to spend any money at all. No movie rentals or drinks with friends. No parking the car at the garage, no newspaper for the subway ride. No groceries, [...]

Published on: Tuesday, 5/12/2009, The Washington Post, front page
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/11/AR2009051103607.html
THE nation’s retailers have begun to embrace the new cost-conscious consumer, developing products they can sell at lower prices without driving themselves out of business in the post-splurge era.
Starbucks dropped the price of a medium iced coffee last week to just under $2. American Eagle cut out the [...]

Published on: Friday, 7/10/2009, The Washington Post, front page
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/09/AR2009070903026.html
OPENING more stores wasn’t enough for retailers during boom times. They wanted to create new forms of life.
Specialty chains spun off new concepts that targeted different demographics. Teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch spawned Ruehl for postgrads, while rival chain American Eagle created Martin + Osa with casual clothes [...]

Published on: Saturday, 8/15/2009, The Washington Post, front page
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/14/AR2009081403463.html 
 
EVERY action must have an equal and opposite reaction, or so the laws of physics say. Push and pull. Proton and electron. Gravity and levity.
And now, Red Bull and Drank.
Drank falls in an emerging category of “relaxation beverages,” concocted to soothe the overextended, overbooked and overworked masses that [...]