Thursday, July 12, 2007
Call to 'talk to haredi pocketbooks' may be a stretch
Glatt kosher sushi, English lessons and health foods are some of the new haredi consumer trends identified by participants in a Ramat Gan conference Wednesday that was from start to finish an ode to haredi buying power.
But the call by haredi ad men and media people to "talk to the haredi's pocketbook" might have been more hype than concrete business advice, as long as haredi employment levels are low and haredi poverty is high.
"With more and more haredim joining the work force and a growing presence of haredim from abroad - especially France - settling in Israel, or at least owning a house here, the haredi consumer market has gone through a revolution in the past few years," said Shalhevet Hasdiel, editor-in-chief of Fine, a magazine devoted to haredi high fashion and consumer trends.
"The affluent haredi is no longer a rare specimen," added Hasdiel. "Rich ultra-Orthodox Jews are up on the latest dress styles - but only the modest ones. They want highline interior design - but they leave room for a large bookcase in the salon and two sinks, one for milk and one for meat, in the kitchen. They buy expensive cars - but they prefer vans that can transport all the children."
The conference, sponsored by Hamil (The Israel Center for Management) and called Gefilte with Sushi - Turning Haredi Consumer Potential Into Reality, was attended by Arkadi Gaydamak and Communications Minister Ariel Atias (Shas).
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1184168543473&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Glatt kosher sushi, English lessons and health foods are some of the new haredi consumer trends identified by participants in a Ramat Gan conference Wednesday that was from start to finish an ode to haredi buying power.
But the call by haredi ad men and media people to "talk to the haredi's pocketbook" might have been more hype than concrete business advice, as long as haredi employment levels are low and haredi poverty is high.
"With more and more haredim joining the work force and a growing presence of haredim from abroad - especially France - settling in Israel, or at least owning a house here, the haredi consumer market has gone through a revolution in the past few years," said Shalhevet Hasdiel, editor-in-chief of Fine, a magazine devoted to haredi high fashion and consumer trends.
"The affluent haredi is no longer a rare specimen," added Hasdiel. "Rich ultra-Orthodox Jews are up on the latest dress styles - but only the modest ones. They want highline interior design - but they leave room for a large bookcase in the salon and two sinks, one for milk and one for meat, in the kitchen. They buy expensive cars - but they prefer vans that can transport all the children."
The conference, sponsored by Hamil (The Israel Center for Management) and called Gefilte with Sushi - Turning Haredi Consumer Potential Into Reality, was attended by Arkadi Gaydamak and Communications Minister Ariel Atias (Shas).
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1184168543473&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
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