The personalized sales of the golden mile, between 'Luisvis', matcha tea and the first Yves by Carmen Lomana: "Latin Americans only buy accessories"

Carmen Lomana has never gone on sales. “Crowds? Is it still happening?” she asks herself. On January 7, he does not go to any clothing store. In fact, he answers by phone while he waits for his turn on Antena 3. "Buying is a pleasure. I don't buy because I don't need anything. If there is a piece that I like, then I go. But both to Dior and to the limited editions of Zara. I love likes to mix Zara with haute couture".

There are no sale signs on the city's so-called Golden Mile. It's a secret. The discounts are loyalty injections that the Mount Rushmore brands of Serrano and Ortega y Gasset administer to some customers. "It's not going on sales," Lomana clarifies. "The last time I bought at a discount was a Miumiu coat. It was discounted by 40%. They notified me and they compensated me."

The line outside Chanel, at noon, is not to get a discount. Three customers, an American couple and a Puerto Rican woman, wait for the guy in charge of security to let them through. "It's because of the covid," says Ana.

Aziz is behind. "We are in Madrid for business and shopping", he replies in English. He does not know if there are sales or not, if in Spain it is a special day to go shopping. "No idea. We want to go in and we'll see. The only idea we have is to buy a bag at Hermès. Chanel caught us on the way."

A family from Murcia leaves the tent as if they were getting some air after their freediving. "Discounts? If every day is more expensive," jokes Pepa, the mother. "We love Madrid. We are fans of Madrid. We enjoy its streets, gastronomy, fashion" but they leave the boutique empty-handed.

Carmen Lomana tries to explain it: "They only buy Asians and Latin Americans. They come to Madrid a lot to buy. Although they only take accessories. It is normal to see them leave these stores with four pairs of shoes or bags."

-Why don't you buy clothes?

-I guess it doesn't suit them.

There are no more young people who do what she did. "I bought my first brand with the money my grandparents gave me for a trip. I was 20 years old. I spent it on Yves Saint Laurent. No 20-something can afford a brand-name blazer if her mom doesn't pay for it."

What sales?

At Loewe, a guy dressed in the brand's clothes opens the door. The style is reminiscent, in a premium version, of the outfits by Adolfo Domínguez that Luis Merlo wore in Aquí no hay quien viva. Two or three boys offer matcha tea and cookies.

The Loewe press department disavows the statements by Gregory, the store's director, about the discounts available in the brand for a selection of customers, who are notified when a garment from another season has not been sold and is out on sale with a discount that can reach 50%.

One of the Dior sales associates, with a thick Eastern European accent, prefers his name not to appear. He is ordering bags. "We have a 40% discount on four, five, sometimes ten products." In the case of Dior, the customer can also buy them if they ask in the store.

In Luis Vuitton there is a line to pay. Dora makes arrangements at another counter. Turco accompanies her, a two-month-old dog, according to her, Galician. "I look like a typical Luis Vuitton client, right? I don't know how to deal with the dog, I live in Alcalá de Henares, I am a dentist and I have come to the store to change the bag that we gave my daughter for her 18th birthday."

The Luisvi was claimed by the teenager. "Things are not ready to indulge in these whims at her age. She has to understand. In the end I bought it for her grandmother."