[单项选择]Can this be the right time to invest in luxury goods Miuccia Prada was obviously biting her nails. The granddaughter of the founder of the Italian fashion group has just opened spectacular new stores in quick succession in New York and London. With its magic mirrors, silver displays and computer-controlled changing rooms, Prada’s two-month-old shop in Manhattan cost a staggering $ 40m, sits just a mile from Ground Zero, and sells practically nothing.
The luxury-goods business has been in despair in hasty succession against a background of a weakening global economy, an enduring slump in Japanese spending, and the September 11th terrorist attacks. The Japanese, who used to buy a third of the world’s luxury goods, cut their foreign travel in half after the attacks and tightened their Louis Vuitton purse-strings. At the same time, wealthy Americans stopped flying, which has a dramatic effect on the luxury-goods purveyors of London, Paris and Rome.
At home too, Americans’
A. estimated assets of new stores.
B. operating profits in luxury business.
C. paper wealth in stock market.
D. funding raised from new acquisitions.