With the rise in the spending power of the wealthy, demand for a wide array of luxury products has climbed over the past few years. Waiting lists are long and some manufacturers are having trouble keeping up with demand. It seems the quest for über-luxury has never been as intense as it is now.

Even the maker of Ferrari sports cars — which can range up to US$1 million — is feeling the pressure. The company announced last year that it is increasing the number of cars it produces each year to alleviate the two-year waiting list, a move it has long resisted.

So, what else are the wealthy — or those who like to appear wealthy — buying this year? The list ranges from hyper-expensive fashions to alarmingly expensive foods.

Take handbags. A Hermes Kelly bag, at slightly more than US$6,000, is positively economical compared to the handbags with five-digit price-tags that are now de rigueur for those flaunting their money. Last year’s “it” bag, from Chanel, cost $25,000-$55,000. According to Christina McDowell, image consultant and national spokesperson for Holt Renfrew & Co. Ltd. in Toronto, there were more than 30 people on the waiting list for the Chanel handbag at Holt Renfrew’s Bloor Street store.

Chanel also has broken the six-figure price point on handbags, with the launch of an exclusive bag made of white alligator and encrusted with diamonds set in gold. The cost? A mere US$260,000.

Patronage by the wealthy can also provoke copycat behaviour in the non-wealthy when it comes to smaller items. Crème de la Mer’s face cream boasts a price point, depending on size, of $500-$1,000. There are often waiting lists for it, says McDowell, thanks to media reports that certain Hollywood stars apparently use it.

There are even special services to ease the inconvenience of waiting lists. Holt Renfrew’s second-floor suites, complete with a private elevator, target the rich and famous who prefer to shop in comfort and privacy. And if they’re hungry, they can nibble on sandwiches made from bread flown in fresh three times a week from the famous Poilane bakery in Paris.

Travel is another big draw for the ultra-rich. Cynthia Pickering, founder of Time is Money Exec-utive Concierge Inc. in Calgary, is often asked to arrange excursions on private jets — to enjoy a round of golf in Kelowna, B.C., or some nightlife in Las Vegas, for instance. Last year, one of Pickering’s clients planned an outing on a private yacht in Italy with four of her closest friends, each of whom would have her own on-board porter. Pickering also helped the client shop for appropriate cruisewear.

For a nation of long-haul drivers, however, Canadians are relatively modest when it comes to cars. The vast majority of high net-worth individuals in Canada buy premium cars — Acura, BMW 3-Series — rather than high-end luxury vehicles, says Dennis DesRosiers, auto industry analyst at DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. in Richmond Hill, Ont. Only about 5% of the marketplace bother with the true luxury cars, he adds.

Wealthy Canadians may be out of step with high net-worth people in other countries in this regard. Ferrari sold 61 cars in Canada in 2007, but sold 1,700 in the U.S. And, for the truly wealthy, a Ferrari off the showroom floor might not do. In a move that had car enthusiasts salivating in 2006, hedge fund manager Jim Glickenhaus of New York took his Ferrari Enzo (a US$1-million car) to Italy to have it remodelled by the Italian carmaker into a one-off model — still bearing that important Ferrari symbol — which reportedly cost US$4 million.

Every year, Forbes magazine publishes the “cost of living extremely well index,” and the latest one proves that those Americans with luxury tastes have to deal with inflation rates that are higher than those for other goods.

The 2007 CLEWI, based on a basket of 40, mostly American luxury items, climbed 6%, twice as much as the U.S. consumer price index. A few of the items — caviar, facelifts and private helicopters — rose by a solid 10% or higher.

Meanwhile, Toronto might boast $300 steaks and $50 hamburgers (thank the exclusivity of Japanese Kobe beef), but it was white truffles — which, this past fall, cost $3,000-$4,000 a pound, double that of last year — that had wealthy foodies signing on to waiting lists around the country. Some upscale restaurants had to remove the item altogether from their menus.

@page_break@The truffle shortage also has led to an interesting example of conspicuous consumption in New York City, the $1,000 bagel. The Westin Hotel in Times Square offers the edible status symbol, topped with white-truffle cream cheese, for those with the wherewithal to order it 24 hours in advance. IE