Decline of Aspirational Everything
I wrote about this first back in September, but a (negative) investment theme I've liked for more than a year now has been the "decline of aspirational everything". To my mind, companies like P.F. Chang's, Cheesecake Factory, Whole Foods and even Starbuck's have grown by charging premium prices to middle-class consumers newly monied by HELOCs and the real estate bubble. That game is (largely) over, at least temporarily.
Any other names come to mind?
