[Ed Bighi]

Remember Fila? Heck, even Hilfiger. Hip hop is good for business. But only for the short term. Once hip hop culture gets ahold of whatever you are selling, you better milk every penny out of it since after a while your product will be stigmatized. You make hordes of money for a few years. Then none. I guess the chairman of Crystal might as well keep his mouth shut since not only can he do nothing about it, but they should make the most of it while they can before their product becomes "rapper champagne." Actually, it already is.

I bet that right at this moment whoever runs Lacoste is secretly hoping that the rappers don't start wearing their shirts. The last thing they want is to go through a cheapening of their brand all over again after spending years re-cultivating it.

While the politically correct might cringe at the mere mention of this, there is a certain "poverty/ghetto/I-am-rich-now-so-kiss-my-ass" stigma that comes with hip hop. This has a tendency to alienate a substantial number of people don't really care for spending a lot of money on premium products bought by folks who feel a need to advertise their newfound wealth. They don't talk about it, but they don't buy either. Keep in mind that high end champagne isn't exactly a middle class product. And the established upper class is a very fickle market. Just ask anybody in the watch business.

Frederic Rouzaud should just keep quiet and milk every penny in anticipation of the inevitable tough times.