Save the Rich - only in Courchevel 1850...

Loyal Betaville readers might have noticed my blogging has been a bit less busy this week.

Don't worry! I have gone snowboarding for a couple of days in Courchevel 1850, a French ski resort in the Alps,  and will be back next week.

It's been a while since my last trip to this resort and I have been struck by how ludicrously upmarket the town has become. Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Dior now all have retail outlets in the ski village. There is even a high-end art gallery in the middle of the resort.

I suppose these luxury brands wouldn't set themselves up here with retail outlets if there wasn't the demand from Russian oligarchs, Gulf sheiks and French industrialists who frequent the resort during the winter.

Wandering about, I came across a shop called - I kid you not - "Save the Rich", right next to the main ski lifts (see the pictures below).

Quite apart from the undesirability of the proposition, it is hard to know from what the rich might need saving.   

A bit of snooping reveals that "Save the Rich" (described by the “private jet lifestyle magazine” Elite Traveller as an “oh-so-Courchevel brand") has been set up by a local entrepreneur and restauranteur.

I feel certain that he wasn’t being ironic, as that might require a better sense of humour than the French can usually muster. Indeed, if he were trying to be ironic I don't think a "Save the Rich" branded T-Shirt would cost 120 Euros a pop.  

Personally, I think this Frenchman - who owns the restaurants and real estate next door to a row of upmarket shops - has taken the opportunity to capitalise on his prime position to stick his thoroughly distasteful retail brand alongside the likes of Louis Vuitton. 

It's just a terrible shame that the "Save the Rich" clobber sells. Yes, I actually saw a middle-aged chap and a young, beautiful woman carrying a "Save the Rich" branded bag (presumably stuffed full of recently purchased "Save the Rich" clothes) while handing back my snowboard to the ski rental shop this afternoon. 

I suspect, though, that the "Save the Rich" brand won't prove to be as successful outside Courchevel 1850.   

Au revoir.