Hasta La Ideas

What design firms are doing well in the downturn? Surprisingly, luxury goods designer Porsche Design Studio recently told the Moodie Report that their “travel retail business has surged by more than +170% over the past two years”–and this was even before the holiday season.

“If you analyze the function of an object,” says their recently re-designed website, “its form often becomes obvious.” What’s not obvious to us is where the heck that uptick in sales came from, given that they sell largely in airports, which is not exactly destination shopping.

In any case, they’ll be dumping some of their newfound profits into expansion: “The number of Porsche Design Stores and Shops is to increase from our current 84 to more than 100 worldwide,” says President & CEO Dr Juergen Gessler. “This offensive will create a further upturn.”

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