Mannequins That Watch Shoppers 97
A reader writes with news of a creepy mannequin that watches you as you shop. From the article: "Benetton Group SpA is among fashion brands deploying mannequins equipped with technology used to identify criminals at airports to watch over shoppers in their stores. Retailers are introducing the EyeSee ... The 4,000-euro ($5,072) device has spurred shops to adjust window displays, store layouts and promotions to keep consumers walking in the door and spending. The EyeSee looks ordinary enough on the outside ... Inside, it's no dummy. A camera embedded in one eye feeds data into facial-recognition software like that used by police. It logs the age, gender, and race of passers-by. Demand for the device shows how retailers are turning to technology to help personalize their offers as growth slows in the $245 billion luxury goods industry. Bain & Co. predicts the luxury market will expand 5 percent in 2012, less than half last year's rate. 'It's a changing landscape but we're always going to be sensitive about respecting the customer's boundaries,' said spokesman Colin Johnson. ... Since the EyeSee doesn't store any images, retailers can use it as long as they have a closed-circuit television license."
Re:maybe they should improve the products (Score:2, Interesting)
i have clothes from Wal Mart that have outlasted some of the snobby store shit i've bought for 10 times the price
most of this luxury crap is crappy quality wrapped up in a snobby store experience
i used to buy $350 Mephisto shoes until they started to fall apart on me after 6 months. I can buy $150 shoes that last longer
There's "luxury" brands that get sold to the bourgois, that's you, that are of mediocre quality, not much better than the cheap stuff, but sometimes slightly better. Usually you get a better warranty and customer service from the company. Gucci and stuff of that calibre fall into this category. You never see "real" wealthy people using this shit. It's typically easy to spot because the label is huge.
Then there's "luxury" brands that get sold to poor people. These are almost always shoddy quality, they're expensive. They are primarily a label, which will be highly visible somehow (like red label on the fly of the blue jeans). These will fall apart just as quickly as cheap shit.
Finally there's actual quality goods. These will last for a long ass time, the company will typically provide superior customer service, etc. The label will be hard to spot, if it exists at all. In clothing look for hand sewn button holes, real pockets (not false), etc. Shoes won't have a mark that you can see during normal use. If you know what hand sticthing looks like, look for that.
The price for the last category is typically justified even for the bourgeois as the goods really will last a lot longer. The trick is knowing which goods fall into that category, these companies tend to not advertise much, the advertisers are the shit brands and the brands like Gucci.
I can already see the anecdotes of Nike running shoes lasting forever below here, lol, yeah sure. Not if you use them for running they won't at least not in a condition that won't screw up your feet or knees. I suspect some people are happy to wear worn out shit, hell, I've done it myself.
Just remember, when you see a wealthy person wearing clothes that "look like yours", they aren't like yours, those t-shirts are tailored to fit them, that's why they look so good. Those jeans are as well. None of that stuff is "off the rack". There's whole books on simply how to select a quality men's suit, and frankly, with all there is to know, yep, it's a bit justified.
You may not care, fine, but there is a difference in real, high quality goods.