New kids on the block

The fashionistas will have to wait. Well-known upmarket department stores are not planning an expansion in the region anytime soon. There is, however, also some good newsMladen Petrov Rachel, the popular character from US sitcom ‘Friends’, loves to go on shopping sprees at Bloomingdale’s in New York. While Carrie Bradshaw, the main character in ‘Sex and the city’, firmly believes in the power of shopping therapy at Barneys. And Karen Walker, the New York City socialite in ‘Will and Grace’, has a soft spot for Bergdorf Goodman. All in all, every woman, and every fashion-conscious man, has his or her favourite high-end department store – not only in the sitcoms, but in real life too.The Lehman effectAt the beginning of the recession, department store owners believed that they were well positioned to weather the storm. After all, they had everything to make