'No hot item' at Saks? Take cover!

In their lengthy interview with WWD, Saks Fifth Avenue chairman Stephen Sadove and president Ron Frasch put forth a lot of somber statements about corporate belt-tightening and customer disillusionment.

But nothing was more telling about the state of luxury than the article's parting shot: "For spring, no hot item is seen. 'I don't think we're going to have a pet rock this season,' Frasch noted."

OK -- now you can panic. Forget unemployment numbers, housing indicators and big-bank stress tests. When the top brass at one of the country's most iconic department stores can't point to a single this-minute successor to the Tory Burch flat or the Juicy Couture track suit, we're in big trouble.

If Frasch isn't willing to bet on even one upcoming product, you can bet his fiscal predictions for the next season are pretty dismal, too.