10 December 2007

Par affection - Les Métiers d'Art

CHANEL Paris-Londres 6 december 2007

Repositioning the ready-to-wear collection up a level and catering to a local clientele, Chanel's Karl-of-all-media, makes his trades work for him.

Style.com : As Lagerfeld explained it, "There's a new clientele now, Russian, Middle Eastern, Chinese, South American, and they're young and they're all tiny—size 36, 38. They have no problem fitting into standard sizes." And many of them (thanks to Gordon Brown's favorable tax laws) happen to be discreetly domiciled in the U.K. capital, perchance on the lookout for something just a little more gorgeous to wear on London's now extremely dressed-up social circuit.

Exclusivity and creativity are the essence of this PARIS-LONDRES pre-collection. Inspired by the men that marked her life (and loves) Arthur (Boy) Capel or the Duke of Westminster spiced up with a touch of blues (Amy Winehouse-esque) , a pinch grande dame glam and a great big whallop of rock, this is one of the most iconic collections to hang soon in Chanel stores.

After Paris, in 2002 and 2003, Tokyo in 2004, New York in 2005 and Monte-Carlo en 2006 the London 2007 version of his "métiers d'art" collection is a showcase for PARAFFECTION haute couture ateliers (staff of 300 and 35 M € turnover in 2006).

PARAFFECTION (liberally translated means "for the love of") is a company created in 2002 by Chanel SA to house independant "satelite" atéliers d'art. 7 master craftsmenshops all preserved under one CC tiled roof. Long established suppliers to Chanel and many other fashion houses, who due to their hyper-niche products, and global delocalisation were doomed to hang their hat one day.


Saving them only for the love of savoir-faire? These companies still bill ca. 60% of their turnover to CHANEL. Only 60%!


All these workshops have the duty to function independantly and so, also supply the competition. They are encouraged and guided to find their own clientèle form new craftsmen, dust off the made-to-measure articles cluttering atelier shelves and start creating younger collections under their own banner (eg artistic director Eric Charles Donatien at Maison Lemarié and Goossens).


By saving the heritage of these ateliers d'art, Chanel is creating a laboratory for the future of (it's) luxury business.

Master Artisans:
LESAGE - specialist embroidery since (acquired in 2002)
DESRUES costume jewelry and button maker (acquired in 2002)
GUILLET - maker of fabric flowers since 1896 (acquired in 2006)
MAISON MICHEL millnery since 1936 (acquired in 2002- a great website underway by supergazol and a great mini documentary HERE)
MAISON LEMARIE feather-maker since 1880 (acquired in 1997)
ROBERT GOOSSENS gold- and silversmithing since 1960 (acquired in 2005)
MASSARO boot-making since 1947 (acquired in 2005)

Some people you just can't buy - Mme Pouzieux is passementière and supplies the most intricate braidings available in haute couture - her art, by french legislation, only exists as a mechanised process for home furnishings. She has never been able to declare her craft and so her official trade is breeding horses.

For further reading:
ENTREPRISES DU PATRIMOINE VIVANT

Supreme Luxury 2007

Who else but fashion high-priestess Suzy Menkes to host this event. She is absolutely hypnotizing (-ed) as interviewer of Tom Ford and C°

SUPREME LUXURY 2007

Barclays Wealth Insight

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE "WOW" FACTOR

Barclays Wealth (in partnership with the Economist Intelligence Unit) explores the "true value of wealth and the choices wealthy individuals make in seeking to enjoy it".

A very interesting report which highlights the challenges faced by the luxury industry in redefining their products to cater more directly to demands of high net worth individuals.

Regarding consumer habits - quality and service seem to be the main issues. Exclusivity and time being the absolute of luxuries.

BARCLAYS WEALTH INSIGHT

06 December 2007

IPO or not to IPO?

Wall Street Journal :
MILAN -- Salvatore Ferragamo SpA and Prada SpA, two of the world's biggest fashion names, are sticking to plans for stock-market listings in Milan next year despite signs the luxury-goods sector is heading for turbulent times.
For each, the planned listing of a minority of its shares is perhaps the best shot for the family owners to raise the cash necessary to fund expansion around the world without sacrificing control. But the desire to go public against the increasingly difficult market backdrop shows how critical the need for financing has become for Europe's family-owned fashion labels.

By Stacy Meichtry and Christina Passariello.

Prada has postponed it's IPO several times (especially in september 2001), and rumours have been running wild for years. The Italian company may need the cash to expand aggressively into China, Brazil, and India, as well as to increase its presence in the United States (especially with it's brand MIU MIU) and in Japan. Based on its sale of 5% of the company to Intesa Sanpaolo last year, the company is worth at least $2.7 billion.

Meridian vs Bang & Olufsen

Surround sound Luxury

Investment consortium MUSE ( an investment consortium including Swiss luxury goods group Richemont's subsidiary, Columbus VC and the principals of Consolidated Media Holdings and Trian Fund Management ) to invest in High-end audio/ video home entertainment company MERIDIAN.

The partnership creates an industry precedent in closely aligning high-end technology with luxury for the first time in the history of the premium goods industry.

Polishing and marketing the company's already reputed equipments, MERIDIAN will be directly in competition with the likes of Bang & Olufsen.

Deeper Luxury by WWF

Deeper Luxury Report (full report available for free download)

68 pages explaining why and how the luxury industry should care.

Excellent suggestions that (I hope) will have to be implemented. Feasable propositions on how luxury should excel in all things.

Finally, isn't that what the luxury industry should convey - timeless beauty.

Luxe - by the book

Well, I guess I'll have to read this one - "Luxe" by Christian Blanckaert - big boss of Hermès.
Tales of all those people in the luxury industry, that capture our hearts and our imagination
Here an interview on FirstLuxe

Just a little reminder of just how well they are doing:

Hermès

05 December 2007

Rachat Lalique

Et de deux....Après Baccarat c'est au tour de Lalique.

(AFP) - Au printemps dernier, après plusieurs mois de bataille acharnée, le fonds Starwood a en effet remporté la partie qui l'opposait aux actionnaires minoritaires historiques de Baccarat. Les Fondations de Chambrun et Cognacq-Jay, toutes deux présidées par l'homme d'affaires Georges Renand, ont accepté de vendre à l'investisseur américain la minorité de blocage _ 34 % _ qu'elles détenaient ensemble. Starwood détenait déjà 52 % du capital depuis la reprise à la mi-2005 de la totalité de l'empire Taittinger, pour 2,6 milliards d'euros.

Aujourd'hui l'illustre maison LALIQUE risque de tomber dans les maison d'un autre fond d'investissement.
Le Groupe Pochet actionnaire depuis 30 ans (majoritaire depuis 1994) avec la famille du fondateur Réné Lalique va céder cette marque icône de la cristallerie française de luxe.

STRASBOURG (AFP) - L'homme d'affaires indien Ajay Khaitan, du fonds d'investissement britannique Emerisque, a annoncé mercredi qu'il était en "négociations exclusives" pour racheter la cristallerie de luxe Lalique au groupe Pochet, se voulant rassurant sur sa volonté de développer la société.

"Lalique est une marque française de luxe fabriquée en France", a-t-il assuré lors d'un point-presse à Strasbourg, affirmant qu'il investirait 15 millions d'euros dans son développement et qu'il n'y aurait pas de délocalisation de la cristallerie de Wingen-sur-Moder (Bas-Rhin), unique site de production Lalique dans le monde qui emploie 260 personnes.


De même, "l'équipe existante restera en place", même si le management de l'entreprise aura besoin de "ressources supplémentaires" pour faire face au défi qu'Ajay Khaitan entend relever : doubler d'ici cinq ans les ventes en rajeunissant la marque, développer de nouveaux produits (bijoux, accessoires de mode) et miser sur les marchés émergents que sont l'Inde, la Chine, la Russie et le Moyen-Orient.

(Devrait on s'attendre à l'annonce d'un nouveau directeur artistique comme chez Baccarat?)

La vente n'est pas encore actée, le comité central d'entreprise (CCE) de Lalique n'ayant toujours pas rendu son avis consultatif après avoir mandaté début novembre un expert pour une analyse des données économiques financières et sociales de l'entreprise.


Si la vente aboutit, Emerisque deviendra l'investisseur "opérationnel" minoritaire (chargé de définir la stratégie de l'entreprise), au côté d'un fonds d'investissement majoritaire, Fleming Ventures. Détenu par la famille Fabiani, une famille d'origine indienne basée en Espagne Fleming est spécialisé dans les investissements financiers, technologiques et immobiliers.

Ajay Khaitan reste flou tant sur le montant de la transaction que sur le pourcentage exact de la part minoritaire qu'il entend prendre dans le capital de Lalique.
Son fonds Emerisque, fondé en 2003, s'est spécialisé dans le rachat de marques en difficulté, comme le fabricant de jeans Lee Cooper
(Dont il a délocalisé la majeur parti de la production en Chine), Puma ou Ben Sherman.


Dans ces précédant rachats, Ajay Khaitan et ses équipes (fidèles) ont réussis à harmoniser le positionnement des marques sur tous les marchés en consolidant les différents channels de distribution, en renforçant l'image ("up-branding practises") et en réorganisant les sites de production.
Lee Cooper
A noter que Ajay Khaitan est aussi à la tête de AVATAR CAPITAL Ltd, société décrite par lui même comme :
"Avatar Capital - business turnaround and non-core company recovery specialists - the only Value Reincarnation company in the UK " - Une société qui souhaite inverser la tendance des flux de capitaux "ouest-est".

04 December 2007

Prada On the Net




















First steps to conquering the web? I was surprised to see Prada advertising on the site of Madame Figaro. Miuccia Prada and her husband Bertelli, always take their time to implement new concepts, but once the projects start, well, let's just say they will probably be pioneers in less than 6 months.

e-shop Prada available for gifts.

03 December 2007

Ungaro goes to Miami

Le jeune britannique âgé de 23 ans Esteban Cortazar vient d’être choisi pour succéder au Norvégien Peter Dundas et dessiner les futures collections femme chez Emanuel Ungaro.
Cette nouvelle recrue, très reconnue sur la scène mode new-yorkaise, propose ses propres collections sous sa marque éponyme depuis 2003.

ESTEBAN CORTAZAR or as reviewed by the NYT

Le portrait des Hauts Revenus

Un style unique, une histoire prestigieuse, des produits cultes, un savoir-faire : la combinaison gagnante pour une marque de luxe.
Luxe, consommation et médias au pays des riches. Résultats de la France des Hauts Revenus 2007-IPSOS.

Luxury - do it yourself at home




Adressing the opportunity to generate traffic (and sales) via the web in coherence with existing retail structures, Louis Vuitton and Boucheron have launched new programs for personalisation
of e-purchases.

Being a household name still counts - but being your household's brand is better.

Faced with less than euphoric previsions, mainstream luxury brands are countering the effect of recent years' fashion to flood the market with best-sellers by acknowledging individual tastes and providing clients with their unique vision of the brand.The idea isn't new. This industry has always been about providing and retailing the personally desired (service, product etc).What is new is the chanel.

After the wave of open poll sites ( such as ask500people.com ) brands are leaning in and taking the temperature thanks to croudsourced customer service sites such as RedesignMe and Satisafction. Concurrently, fashion sites such as StyleShake appeal to the customers creativity and push the idea of personalisation even further by letting clients design their own garment (taste is optional).

"YOUR OPINION COUNTS" seems to be the slogan on the 2.0 net. The majors in the luxury field, still a little shaky on how to forge their on-line image have heard the plea and have integrated this new fad - branding two birds with one stone.

By offering new high end services to potential cyber-shoppers, luxury houses will simoultaneously create traffic onsite (by proposing a novel internet experience) and introduce the brand's universe a little further into clients' personal space.