people will start buying it.

When Tolaram's Reid Street shop had a makeover earlier this year, it was given a new name and a new image. And as prices on the products the shop stocked went up, so too did profits.

12 Reid is one of a few boutiques in Bermuda catering to the fashion-conscious consumer who is prepared to spend real money. The store's eclectic mix of accessories and housewares has produced results for the retailer that, it seems, few others have been able to emulate: Mr. Tolaram sells products people buy, and pay a lot for.

The shop currently showcases Kate Spade bags -- which, for things that look like they're made of straw, canvas or nylon, are expensive at $200 plus a pop.

For the moment, they're also super-trendy.

When people think of shopping in Bermuda, haute couture names do not usually come to mind. But as other shops complain about spiralling sales and struggle to keep their heads above water, luxury boutiques -- yes, the most expensive shops -- have become bright beacons of success.

And 12 Reid isn't even the creme de la creme of Tolaram's retail holdings. The group also operates the Louis Vuitton boutique at Butterfield Place on Front Street, a store where, if the merchandise suits your taste, it's very easy to part with (a lot of) money. A small jewellery case goes for as much as $3,500 here, and even the cheapest piece of Vuitton -- a keyring -- is dear at $70.

The store does, like its local counterparts, does not even bring in the most expensive merchandise available, which easily runs into tens of thousands of dollars.

Nevertheless, Bermudians buy this stuff, and regardless of their income bracket, it seems. Even those with more modest budgets can afford a little bit of haute couture on layaway.

The store stocks primarily leather goods -- luggage, wallets, belts -- along with scarves and watches. The store's manager, Marie-France Thompson said she hoped to expand the store's offerings to include ready-to-wear.

Since opening in 1997, Louis Vuitton's sales figures have doubled year over year.

"I guess Bermudians like to spend,'' Mrs. Thompson said.

"It's been healthy company business. We need to know that the market is out there before we open another store.'' So the question is whether Bermudians are willing to spend several hundred or even thousand dollars on what could just be a fancy pair of boots -- Mrs.

Thompson and others seem to think so. The shop's existing stock has already proven its market appeal.

Visitors, too, are interested in the store's merchandise. When they ask salespeople where to find other high-end brands, Mrs. Thompson can only name a few stores.

Gucci, whose boutique is located within Crisson Jewellers, is inevitably one of the names she mentions.

Unlike the Louis Vuitton store, this shop sells mostly to tourists and also unlike Vuitton, there are currently no plans to expand.

But Peter Crisson, president of H.S. & J.E. Crisson Ltd., said that sales are strong.

"We're happy with it as it is and selling what we're selling,'' he said.

"We would like to grow the business within the current space but we currently have no plans to expand it.'' Like its big-city counterparts, the store must conform to strict minimalist design requirements. Tourists like it because the Gucci merchandise is sold at duty-free prices, a savings of 15 percent off US retail. Still, some loafers are priced at more than $300 and a pair of sunglasses can go for just as much.

Handbags fetch up to $700, which is moderate, if not cheap, by Gucci standards.

It is the appeal to tourists which most interests former Premier Sir John Swan. Exit polls say shopping is the second most popular of all tourist activities, and Sir John sees revitalising the retail industry as an integral part of tourism's recovery.

"We need more people in hotels and fewer on cruise ships, and Bermuda needs to adjust itself so that it can cater to the high-end market,'' he said.

Sir John said he suggested high-quality merchants a long time ago, but he said his ideas fell on deaf ears.

But Ian Smith, chairman of the visitor retail division of the Chamber of Commerce, is enthused by Sir John's suggestion.

"Of course we want the best brands here,'' he said. Mr. Smith manages Astwood Dickinson, which has recently expanded its Cartier offerings.

"Cartier will expand within a store before they open their own boutique,'' he said. Astwood Dickinson is also home to the pale turquoise boxes bearing the name of Tiffany & Co.

But marketing major specialty brands within another store is, according to some, part of the problem in Bermuda.

Mrs. Thompson of Vuitton believes that much greater success could be achieved with individual stores for separate brands.

"You have to be an exceptional person to be really up-to-date with all the changes of a specific item or product,'' she said. "With one store for one line, a salesperson can know that particular brand really well.'' Mrs. Thompson said that the Gucci store a few doors down from hers would double its business if it had more exposure with its own shop window. And she thinks there is room for similar stores.

"There is definitely a market for more stores of our type in Bermuda,'' she said. "I'm sure they would work.'' Her store sells an average of 15 items a day because, for whatever reason, certain Bermudians think nothing of dropping a week's pay on a handbag which, though admittedly "fashionable,'' is most distinguished by its price tag. In a brand-obsessed culture, it is a business model that seems to have worked.

Sign of the times: The Gucci boutique within Crisson Jewellers currently has no plans to expand, despite strong sales.

Ultra chic: Louis Vuitton at Butterfield Place, where some leather goods cost a week's pay.