Excuse me.
I'm a reporter for the Financial Times.
It's a Wednesday afternoon in Midtown Manhattan.
I'm standing outside the entrance to the luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue.
And I'm looking to talk to some shoppers.
I'm working on a podcast about Saks Fifth Avenue.
Were you just inside the store?
Yes.
The flagship Saks store on Fifth Avenue is massive.
It actually stretches across the whole block.
And inside are all kinds of luxury brands.
Chanel, Dior, Fendi, you name it.
And it's been there for decades.
Inside everything looks fancy and wealthy.
It's just like a bright spot where you look at, you will find something attractive to the eyes.
I talked to several people leaving the store.
some longtime shoppers.
Actually, I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
and Saks was like the one nice store if you needed a nice pair of jeans.
It was the only thing there where you could go and get like sevens or, you know, nice skin care.