DAILY LUXURY

Au Revoir Maître Saint Laurent

2008-06-02T22:17:00.004+02:00

The first time I was aware that some things are finer in life, was with Mum.

I must have been about 5 years old and fell IN LOVE with a purple georgette drapé evening gown.

"Yves Saint Laurent. He is a fashion designer. His designs are the absolute chic" Mum aproved of my taste - a rightly rare moment in my child/teen-hood.

- the bees knees, I thought. A man worshiped for drawing and making beautiful dresses. I realised this may be a career move.

13 years and a round trip Sydney/Paris later, after having dealt with the fact that I had absolutely NO talent in fashion design, I stood in front of the exact same store window.

The elegant black lacquered mannequins, the same breathtakingly simple style, the purple/green palette.

I remembered Mum's words.

And I was awed. With the stroke of a pen, one man could connect a starry eyed girl and her much more blasé mother. A feat that none had managed.

For that, and so so much more, thank you Maître Saint Laurent.

Wealth Management Quiz and other related Trivia

2008-04-10T12:42:00.007+02:00

A personal post for some of my financial friends

NorthStar Wealth Management Quiz

According to AEFeldman.com :

Exceptionally rich families around the world are creating increased demand for wealth management services, according to the FT. Although investors remain cautious in their outlook on the U.S. economy, a recent survey of ultra-wealthy investors conducted by PNC Wealth Management finds that respondents express increasing optimism about their investment portfolios in 2008. Executive search firm, A.E. Feldman, reports that the trend is creating opportunities for financial advisors. Firms are staffing up as they expand retail banking and wealth management operations.

The ultra-wealthy are likely to think longer term about their investment, according to a recent survey conducted by PNC Wealth Management. Thomas Melcher, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Hawthorn, the division of PNC Wealth Management that serves clients with $20 million or more in investable assets, says, “With a greater capital base, the ultra-wealthy are often in a better position to withstand market volatility. Markets rise and fall over time. But the act of investing is long-term by definition and we advise people to diversify in order to smooth out the bumps.”

Meanwhile, banks are working to provide more sophisticated wealth management services, according to the FT. The report states that UBS Wealth Management pegs this to the increase in wealthy families with complex arrangements. Demand is also increasing for consolidated reporting of international assets and investments. Lastly, the FT reports that philanthropy is another area where wealthy families are taking more advice. The FT quotes Darren Allaway, Managing Director of its UK family office group, as saying, “The two trends we’re seeing are volume - there are many more families of substantial wealth - and sophistication.”

EUROMONEY states:

Private banking assets under management are up 128% to 7.6 TrillionUSD

= the combined GDP of Germany, France and UK

= 200 million Ferrari 599s

= 441,000 Sunseeker 37 tri-deck yachts

= one and a half times the market capitalisation of all companies listed on the London Stock Exchange

Net income growth for the private banking industry is averaging 44% year-on-year globally with the fastest growth coming from China.

Baselworld 2008

2008-04-06T23:52:00.003+02:00

Here are a few images from the highly exclusive watch and jewllery trade fair (4th to 10th of April 2008)

LeTemps.ch

Fabergé

2008-03-29T17:20:00.000+01:00

Pallinghurst Ressources restructures and clarifies coloured stones business.

By buying the prestigiuous Fabergé name from Unilever, Fabergé will once again be synonymous with exceptional quality ( - and not awful aftershave).

In its quest to create a new industry business model and restructuring the coloured stone distribution channels, Pallinghurst has constituated a rather large gemstone mines portfolio and has proposed a reverse takeover bid in Gemfields (miner listed on AIM).

Fabergé Limited has agreed to grant Gemfields an option to acquire a worldwide and exclusive 15 year license to use the Fabergé brand name in respect of gemstones (excluding diamonds) mimicking De Beer's mine-to-market business approach and creating further value under the Fabergé name.

Using the De Beer's (again) led Kimberly Program as a model and in a bid to increase the stones' value, their origin will be disclosed and the mines will be subject to monitoring to ensure that the gems are produced "ethically".
"We will guarantee the provenance," CEO Pallinghurst Gilbertson said.

Fabergé Ltd has appointed Tatiana and Sarah Fabergé to its supervisory council. The two are great-great-granddaughters of the founder of House of Fabergé, Gustav Fabergé, and will oversee product development for the business.

The House of Fabergé, jewellry, tableware and iconic egg maker from Russia was nationalized by the Bolsheviks in 1918. Sam Rubin, an American unrelated to the family, founded Fabergé Inc. after World War II, sold it in 1964, and the company was eventually bought by Unilever, which only sold it to Pallinghurst in January of this year.

A "well done" must be uttered for the very simple and effective Fabergé web page.
Fabergé Ltd Press Release

Rachat Lalique - Fin

2008-02-14T18:23:00.000+01:00

Lalique sera "Art et Frangrance" et non "Emerisque"

PARIS (AFP) - La société suisse Art et Fragrance a annoncé jeudi le rachat de la cristallerie de luxe Lalique au groupe Pochet pour 44 millions d'euros, avec pour objectif un retour rapide aux bénéfices grâce à des investissements, sans suppressions d'emplois.

"Le rachat de Lalique S.A. par Art et Fragrance S.A a été réalisé aujourd'hui (jeudi, ndlr) par la signature d'un contrat définitif", a annoncé dans un communiqué le groupe de luxe suisse, spécialisé dans les parfums et les cosmétiques.

La cristallerie vosgienne créée en 1921 est restée "légèrement déficitaire" en 2007. Mais Art et Fragrance veut mettre en place un "plan de croissance" de "trois à cinq ans" pour lui permettre de revenir aux bénéfices dès 2009, a-t-elle expliqué.

A la clé: 12 millions d'euros d'investissements d'ici à 2012, et des mesures de "renforcement de la marque, d'augmentation des capacités de production et d'amélioration de l'efficacité de la distribution".

Le tout sans licencier un seul des 600 salariés employés dans le monde, a assuré à l'AFP Silvio Denz, le président d'Art et Fragrance, également nouveau PDG de Lalique.

"Nous n'avons pas l'intention de réduire les effectifs", a déclaré cet homme d'affaires qui se présente lui-même comme un collectionneur des oeuvres du fondateur de Lalique, le verrier René Lalique, depuis 20 ans.

"Nous avons besoin de produire pour avoir une croissance future, donc nous avons besoin des ouvriers", a-t-il ajouté, n'excluant pas, à terme, d'embaucher.

Les syndicats ont accueilli l'annonce du rachat par le suisse avec "soulagement", alors qu'un homme d'affaires indien, Ajay Khaitan, représentant le fonds d'investissement britannique Emerisque, a mené selon eux des "négociations exclusives" avec Pochet jusqu'au 31 janvier.

Entre les plans suisse et anglo-indien, "c'était le jour et la nuit", a estimé Pascal Grussi, secrétaire du comité central d'entreprise (CCE) et délégué syndical FO.

"Avec Emerisque, on allait tout droit vers la délocalisation", a-t-il ajouté, soulignant que les expertises commanditées dans le cadre du CCE avaient montré que le fonds n'entendait faire "aucun investissement en France".

Sur l'unique site de production de Lalique, à Wingen-sur-Moder (Bas-Rhin), qui emploie 260 salariés sur les 425 présents en France, Silvio Denz veut investir dans les "18 à 24 mois" dans un nouveau "four à bassin" qui permettra de faire croître la production globale de "20 à 30% supplémentaires par an".

En 2007, elle a progressé de 5%, dont +10% pour le seul cristal.

Le site de Wingen assure chaque année deux nouvelles collections, soit une production qui oscille entre 420.000 et 500.000 pièces.

Autre priorité: mener de front le développement des trois spécialités de Lalique (le cristal, les parfums et les bijoux) et le renforcement de sa présence sur les marchés clés de l'Asie.

Le rachat de Lalique intervient alors que la cristallerie française, et plus généralement la verrerie, traverse depuis le milieu des années 2000 une période de turbulences.

Déficitaire, le fleuron Baccarat, créé en 1720, est tombé dans l'escarcelle de Starwood Capital en 2005. Le fonds d'investissement américain a lancé en 2007 un ambitieux plan de relance prévoyant 25 millions d'euros d'investissements par an, sans suppressions de postes.

A l'inverse, Arc International a prévu de supprimer d'ici à fin 2010 la moitié des 12.000 postes qu'il comptait encore au début des années 2000. Le leader mondial des arts de la table a encore annoncé mercredi la suppression de 560 postes et l'arrêt de la production de son célèbre cristal d'Arques.

Pour Art et Fragrance, basé près de Zürich, le rachat de Lalique est aussi "une étape de croissance décisive", qui va lui permettre d'élargir ses activités et multiplier par quatre ses ventes annuelles, à 140 millions de francs suisses (87 millions d'euros).

Peter Dundas at Reveillon?

2008-01-18T15:25:00.000+01:00

according to WWD:

Sources in Paris said the furrier was considering the former Emanuel Ungaro designer to energize its collections. A spokesman for Revillon said the company was contemplating several names and that a decision had yet to be made. Designer Rick Owens left Revillon after Yves Salomon acquired it just over a year ago.

Oh Man!

2008-01-17T19:36:00.001+01:00

Yves Saint Laurent Homme Video

It's all go for another round of men's fashion shows (a little earlier than usual). 42 designers will be marching their styles down the parisian catwalks - and one is sitting out.

Yves Saint Laurent Homme will be seen in the form of a video installation, imagined by Stefano Pilati and in collaboration with Sarah Chatfield and Chris Sweeney of the london production house « Colonel Blimp ». UK actor Simon Woods will camp the role of the protagonist and model.

UPDATE:
here is the video (thx to YOUTUBE)

IPO Prada

2008-01-17T17:03:00.000+01:00

MILAN (Reuters) - La maison de couture Prada fait savoir qu'elle a enclenché la procédure de son introduction en Bourse et a choisi Banca IMI, UBM et Goldman Sachs comme chefs de file et teneurs de livres.
Prada, qui a reporté son projet d'IPO jusque là en raison de conditions de marché défavorables, a ajouté que l'introduction en Bourse devrait se faire en 2008 toujours "selon les conditions du marché".
Une source financière a dit à Reuters que Mediobanca serait conseiller financière de l'opération.

Prada avait déja ouvert son capital à la hauteur de 5% à Intesa Sanpaolo pour 100M€ sur un total de 2milliard€. En 2006, le CA a augmenter de 7.1% 1.43 milliard€ par rapport à 1.33 milliard€ en 2005.

Chaises musicales 2007/08

2008-01-16T17:15:00.001+01:00

Beaucoup de nouveautés cette année révolue chez les stylistes et dirigeants- petit résumé histoire de se remettre à niveau.
A vous de suivre:

Chanel
Un déménagement aux states et un remaniement totale management du au renouveau des générations.
Maureen Chiquet - Présidente du conseil de surveillance de Chanel SAS, en charge de la coordination des 5 grandes régions mondiales et des 3 pôles de dévéloppement international.
Bruno Pavlovsky - Président du pôle mode
Philippe Mougenot - Président du pôle horlogerie-joaillerie
Andréa d'Avack - Préseident du pôle parfums-cosmétiques
Peter Philips - Directeur international de la création maquillage en remplacement de Dominique Moncourtois (partie à la retraite)
Valérie Duport - Directrice des relations extérieures en remplacement de Marie-Louise de Clermont Tonnerre.
A venir : les nominations d'un directeur administratif, la nomination du président de l'europe et la nommination du directeur artistique ( suite au décès regretté de Jacques Helleu)
CHANEL est détenu par la famille Wertheimer depuis 1954.

Dior
Deuxième défilé en janvier 2008 de Kris van Assche pour Dior. Sa première collection, en juin, avait marqué un retour à une élégance plus classique, après les silhouettes rock de son prédécesseur Hedi Slimane.

Valentino:
Après le départ du maestro Garavani en septembre dernier Alessandra Facchinetti est nominée à la direction artistique des collections féminines avec Maria Grazia Chiuri et Pier Paolo Piccioli DAs accessoires.
Ferruccio Pozzoni est nominé à la création masculine. Le designer succède ainsi au fondateur de la marque. A 47 ans, il a signé les collections homme chez Prada entre 1998 et 2004, participé au développement de la ligne petite sœur Miu Miu, avant d'être nommé directeur de la création chez Brioni.
Valentino Fashion Group appartient depuis juin 2007 à Permira Private Equity.

Moncler Ligne Rouge
En s'envolant chez Valentino, Alessandra Facchetti à laissée sa place à Giambattista Valli.
Moncler est une filliale du groupe Procter&Gamble

Gianfranco Ferré
Après le dèces du monstre sacré, le Suédois Lars Nilsson vient de signer sa première collection homme pour les défilés milanais le 13 janvier. Il avait quitté la maison Nina Ricci en Aout 2006 cèdant sa place à Oliver Theyskens.
Rachetée à 90% en 2000 dans le groupe Tonino Perna, la maison Gianfranco Ferré Spa est rentrée en 2002 au sein du It Holding

Ferragamo
Graeme Black a laissé en août sa place à Cristina Ortiz après seulement quatre ans, afin de pouvoir se concentrer sur sa propre ligne.
Cristina Ortitz (ex Lanvin) etait au paravant chez Brioni.
Ferragamo est gérée par la veuve et les descendants du fondateur décédé en 1960. La société a prevue une introduction en bourse cette année.

Brioni
Donc deux en moins chez eux! Redoutant l'effet "Tom Ford" la maison a souhaitée miser sur des stylistes plus discrets.
Jason Basmajian reprendra la direction du style homme à partir de l'été 2008.

Vionnet
Marc Audibert, successeur de Sophia Kokosalaki à la relance de cette marque mythique, exaspéré par l'esprit système "D" de la maison Vionnet a claqué la porte après moins d'un an. Dommage, cette belle maison se trouve maintenant orphelin.
La maison Vionnet est détenu par la famille de Lummen

Cacharel
La Direction Artistique de sa ligne femme est confiée au tandem créatif Eley Kishimoto. La première collection signée par le couple sera celle de l’hiver 2008/2009.
Le duo remplace Estrella Archs qui a présenté sa propre collection lors des défilés de prêt-à-porter en octobre 2007 mais pas de collection pour Cacharel.
Elle avait pris le relais des stylistes Inacio Ribeiro et Suzanne Clements qui avaient mis fin en juin 2007, après sept ans, à leur collaboration avec Cacharel pour "se consacrer au redéploiement de leur marque".
Philippe Cardon a récemment été nommé à la direction de la marque.

Cerruti
La maison Cerruti a annoncé fin octobre 2007 la nomination du styliste belge Jean-Paul Knott au poste de directeur artistique de ses collections de prêt-à-porter Homme et Femme. Jean-Paul Knott remplace Nicolas Andreas Taralis, directeur artistique de Cerruti depuis 2006.
Jean-Paul Knott continuera également ses activités pour les propres marques qu'il développe.
Le fonds de capital-investissement américain MatlinPatterson a racheté le groupe de luxe Cerruti à la holding italienne Fin.part SpA en Aout 2006.

Guy Laroche
Le styliste franco-suédois a été nommé "directeur artistique consultant" de Guy Laroche en novembre 2007. Le créateur de 45 ans "créera non seulement la ligne de prêt-à-porter de luxe de Guy Laroche" mais "entouré de stylistes consultants, il supervisera par étapes toutes les créations des 80 licences de la marque".
Depuis 2006, le prêt-à-porter féminin était dessiné par le styliste Damian Lee, qui avait succédé à Hervé L. Leroux. Ce dernier avait quitté la griffe après deux ans de collaboration.
Plusieurs créateurs se sont succédé à la direction artistique de Guy Laroche depuis la mort de son fondateur en 1989 (Angelo Tarlazzi, Michel Klein, Alber Elbaz, Sophie Sitbon, Laetitia Hecht...).
Le groupe BIC a cèdé Guy Laroche à Rech International en 2001 qui lui même à cédé à YGM Trading (coté en bourse à HgKg) en 2004.

Ungaro
Esteban Cortazar (23 ans) est depuis fin novembre le nouveau designer des collections féminines de la maison Emanuel Ungaro.
Le jeune designer remplace le Norvégien Peter Dundas. Trois stylistes se sont succédé à la direction artistique du prêt-à-porter féminin depuis le départ d'Emanuel Ungaro en 2005.
Franck Boclet sera nommé chez Emanuel Ungaro pour développer une ligne homme, à l'issue de son dernier défilé Smalto, le 29 janvier (sous licence avec l'Anglais Marchpole).
La maison de couture, fondée en 1965, appartient au fonds d'investissement américain AIMZ.

Givenchy
Désormais, la collaboration d'Ozwald Boateng se limite à un rôle de consultant sur le produit. Plusieurs sources affirment que l'échéance de son contrat est en juillet 2007.
À terme, l'objectif est de confier la création de cette ligne masculine à un studio, sous la houlette de l'Italien Riccardo Tisci, qui assure avec brio la direction artistique du pendant féminin de Givenchy depuis quatre saisons.
Givenchy - un sattelite de LVMH

Dunhill
Giampiero Bodino, Directeur-création chez Dunhill
Bodino (ex-Cartier), l'un des importants designers du 21ème siècle, a injecté une énergie créative et une nouvelle perception du design dans la maison de luxe anglaise.
"J’ai ma conception de l’esprit britannique et elle est plus proche de celle d’Alfred Dunhill que peuvent le supposer les gens".

Fabergé
A noter la collaboration du groupe de private equity Pallinghurst Ressources et de Mark Dunhill, ancien président de Alfred Dunhill, pour transformer Fabergé en une marque de produits de luxe. Le fonds d'investissement a aussi l'ambition d'investir dans l'industrie de l'acier. Cette nouvelle stratégie permettra au label vieux de 165 ans de retrouver la gloire de ses origines synonymes d'excellence, de créativité, de design et d'artisanat.

Baccarat
Recruté en septembre 2007 et nommé jeudi DG en remplacement de Marc Leclerc, Hervé Martin (ex Vuitton, Cartier, Kenzo et Ferragamo) entend bien de former un duo de choc avec le nouveau directeur artistique Chafik Gasmi (créateur du loft en céramique présenté à Maison et Objet par Faiences de Sevres en septembre 2006).
Baccarat est americain depuis deux ans avec le rachat du groupe du Louvre (famille Taittinger) par Starwood Capital (86% du capital).

Scherrer
C'est le regard d'une jeune designer de 36 ans qui va donner son interprétation de la devise de Jean Louis Scherrer: Bouchra Jarrar.
Sous l'oeil veillante du nouveau Directeur Artistique Nicolas Ghesquière, Bouchra Jarrar sera directrice artistique pour ses collections de prêt-à-porter et d'accessoires.
La styliste française remplace Stéphane Rolland qui se consacrera désormais uniquement à la haute couture. Sa collection prét-à-porter été 2008 sera présentée en octobre 2007. La maison Jean-Louis Scherrer, fondée en 1962, appartient au groupe de luxe Alliance Designers dirigé par Alain Duménil.

Bonpoint
Eric Vallat a été nommé président directeur général.
Bonpoint a été racheté en mars par la holding EPI, contrôlée par la famille Descours, déjà propriétaire, notamment, de sociétés de chaussures de luxe (J.M. Weston, François Pinet) et de vêtements (Alain Figaret).

Montblanc
directeur général Michel Adé est nommé directeur général de Montblanc France. Il succède à Thomas Rix, promu directeur financier des filiales de production de Montblanc International au siège de Hambourg.

Hédiard's Kiwi

2008-01-16T01:14:00.000+01:00

New Zealander David Henderson-Stewart to be CEO of fine foods brand Hédiard

"La Tribune.fr -
10/01/08

Un nouveau PDG pour Hédiard
David Henderson-Steward a été nommé PDG de l'épicerie de luxe par ses nouveaux propriétaires russes. Il remplace Dominique Richard.
Chez Hédiard, c'est un passage de témoin attendu à la suite du rachat de l'épicerie de luxe par un groupe russe. David Henderson-Stewart a été nommé PDG d'Hédiard. Il était auparavant président de Luxadvor, propriétaire d'Hédiard depuis octobre 2007.
David Henderson-Stewart, 35 ans, est diplômé en droit. Il a été avocat au barreau de Paris. Puis, depuis 2006, il occupe le poste de directeur général du groupe d'investissement russe OPK. Ce fonds, comme Luxadvor, société d'investissement spécialisée dans les services haut de gamme, sont contrôlées par le magnat russe Sergueï Pougatchev.
David Henderson-Stewart remplace Dominique Richard, qui part après 5 ans passé à la direction d'Hédiard. Fondée en 1832 par Ferdinand Hédiard, l'enseigne réalise un chiffre d'affaires de 30 millions d'euros, dont le quart réalisé à l'étranger."

LuxAdvor a company that will probably snap up other luxury brands in the near future. According to the TIMES ONLINE, David Linley's home furnishing and furniture business may be the second next purchase.
The next investment is a 3.4MGBP of a total 4.2MGBP stake in shortly to list (21st of january -AIM market) in DesignCapital plc investment company.
MORE INFO

Current luxury related businesses (excluding real estate) currently held by Sergei Pougatchev include Luxe TV and Poljot watches.

Happy New Year

2008-01-09T18:40:00.000+01:00

New year - new trends?
Well, new for some - as the Luxury Institute says : service, service, service!

Luxury Institute Trends - 2008 and Beyond

1.) Old Guard of Luxury Passes the Baton to a New Generation. Are They Ready for a Flat World?

Throughout Luxurydom the founders, family members and their trusted lieutenants who built the grand luxury behemoths and boutiques alike have begun to retire, to sell, and consider family legacy and philanthropy. The new generation of leaders who will inherit these brands must not seek to merely replicate old business models.
Attend luxury conferences and you hear the same old messages, tired strategies and tactics, with lively debate on whether or not to sell to the masses, or on the Internet. Attend a Silicon Valley conference and you will understand that the luxury industry lives in another galaxy, detached from its consumers, who have already moved beyond Web 2.0 and into community. Either the new leaders are being reserved, or they do not yet fully understand how technology, globalization and commoditization are transforming their world. Either way, look for innovative luxury leaders to emerge from the chaos.

EG : Chanel's interactive web site
Boucheron's "create your own design" jewellry experience
Dior's Midnight Poison ad film parallel with IPhone launch

2.) Luxury Rediscovers Great Service as a Differentiator

As economic slowdown in the U. S impacts the luxury industry, particularly those who sell to the affluent masses, luxury firms will rediscover or perhaps discover, that mainstream millionaire consumers, not just celebrities and heirs, require great service to earn their loyalty.
With so many "luxury" categories inundated with brands vying for the attention of the same consumers, luxury CEOs will begin to allocate resources to continuously train their well-intentioned, but generally unskilled, salespeople and customer representatives who must prove competence and trustworthiness to discerning customers. Luxury Institute surveys show 29 % of wealthy consumers have had a problem with a luxury firm that required resolution in the past year. Ironically, getting luxury firms to admit to problems was one of the biggest problems. Seller beware.

EG : EDC (Ecole des cadres) launching a Sup de Luxe subsiduary - Sup de Retail

3.) The Luxury Access Revolution, Phase Three

A few years ago, the Luxury Institute was the first to predict the advent of the "Luxury Access Revolution," an accelerating phenomenon at every price point on the luxury-spend spectrum. Jets, yachts, vacation homes, autos, vineyards, golf clubs, even typically less pricey items such as handbags, jewelry, and watches, were embracing membership -- selling variety, convenience and utility, without the hassles of ownership.
We also predicted that brash entrepreneurs would drive the first phase of innovation to be eventually overrun by better-capitalized luxury brands. Right on cue, in 2007, we saw many entrepreneurial providers of these membership models merge, consolidate, or disappear.
Next, top luxury brands and original manufacturers will take over, leveraging their trusted brands, synergistic offerings, fixing flawed business models, providing direly-needed transparency, and using vast resources to legitimize these access models for the mainstream affluent and the wealthy. For all those savvy millionaires waiting on the sidelines, it may finally be time to become a member.

4.) Beyond Concierge Services

It seems that these days everyone provides concierge services, along with their product or service. From credit card companies to private banks, concierge services are the rage. Well, expect these commoditized, low-margin services to begin to morph into high-fee, high-value consulting services, worthy of the name.
Companies, such as Quincy Consulting Group, are reshaping the industry, applying a McKinsey-like model to serving the seamlessly personal and professional needs of the wealthy. While they will not manage your assets, they will handle many critical needs beyond the basic restaurant and theatre reservations call-center model. They will, for example, plan a wedding, charter a mega-yacht; find a trained nanny, a competent wealth manager, a trustworthy art dealer, etc. They will bring in specialists to help execute each task, and manage the project. Most importantly, they will do so in an objective, independent manner not been typical of most concierge firms, which have created conflicts of interest by steering clients to "preferred" suppliers. Concierge services will never be the same again.

5.) Philanthropy Industry Shakeout-Phase Two

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet's entry into big-league philanthropy did not just create the "alms race" we predicted. Their participation, and the trend they started, have brought with them great media attention, and a level of accountability, that has lifted the veil to expose the incompetence and, sometimes dishonesty, that plagues a large segment of this tax-sheltered industry. What these icons of efficiency have done is to bring upon charities a level of scrutiny and transparency that will force out bad apples and eliminate conflicts of interest. New transparent models of philanthropy, often web-based, will accelerate the trend so that the neediest can benefit from this generosity. It cannot happen soon enough.

6.) Luxury Brands Will Embrace Communities of Raving Fans

If any brands have truly devoted, emotionally invested fans, it is Luxury brands. However, luxury firms, many of which are trapped in traditional media, have failed to listen to, engage, and create a community dialogue among their most ardent fans (read: customers; current and future). Could it be because when you inspire fans to have a sincere dialogue online, and make it transparent and public, you lose control?
You have to earn the right to facilitate a community dialogue with good, old-fashioned trust. Giving up control to communicate honestly with the customer community is exactly what leading luxury brands will do. By creating a community of fans, and listening to the good, the bad, and the ugly, and then acting on it, the best luxury brands will begin to enhance the experiences of their customers in ways loyal customers want, and will begin to co-create products that their customers desire. That will be extremely hard for many luxury brands to do. Expect more than a few to wither into irrelevance.

Seems to me that this a very similar problemeatic as point 1.

7.) Luxury Discovers Mass Scalability is Hard When You Leave Out the Customer Service Experience

Oops. Looks like all those luxury brands racing to transform themselves into affordable luxury (a contradiction in terms) by making deals with mass retailers, forgot the business model is not just about stamping out more luxury widgets. Quality production (never mind the quality of raw materials, that's a detail) may be scalable when you serve the masses, but has anyone noticed that part of the experience of luxury is great, over-the-top, personalized service?
Just walk into any mass retailer and indulge yourself in the service levels they provide (you do get what you pay for, though). That may not be the service level you want your luxury brand name to be associated with because in a transparent world consumers will share and rate their experiences and define your brand for you. Look for some luxury brands to head back to Madison Avenue in a hurry, albeit not with reputations intact.

EG : In Paris most luxury retailers prefer to open their new stores in well known luxury areas or renovated existing flagship stores if they are well located - The days of thinking that the mountain will come Mohamet are of the past.

8.) Luxury Retailers Eliminate Marginal Brands

Top luxury retailers -- Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Barney's, Bergdorf's, and Saks -- have long prided themselves on being expert guides to luxury for their wealthy customers. But brands such as Vivre have created inroads by becoming curators, delivering connoisseurship, and a higher level of consistently unique and exclusive offerings. Now look for retailers to go up-market and start to eliminate marginally luxurious product lines as they embrace and experiment with unique, new designers who wish to remain bespoke. Luxury retailers will earn their curatorial stripes with their wealthy customers once again.

When times get iffy, rely on the basics - great products, fantastic service, transparent image and top location.

Par affection - Les Métiers d'Art

2007-12-10T22:12:00.000+01:00

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

2007-12-10T20:58:00.000+01:00

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

2007-12-10T14:29:00.000+01:00

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

IPO or not to IPO?

2007-12-06T15:52:00.000+01:00

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

2007-12-06T15:20:00.000+01:00

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

2007-12-06T01:47:00.000+01:00

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

2007-12-06T01:14:00.000+01:00

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

Rachat Lalique

2007-12-05T18:17:00.000+01:00

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".

Prada On the Net

2007-12-04T17:22:00.000+01:00

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.

Ungaro goes to Miami

2007-12-03T19:51:00.001+01:00

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

2007-12-03T15:09:00.000+01:00

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

2007-12-03T10:44:00.000+01:00

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.

Baby talks design

2007-11-27T15:23:00.000+01:00

Speaking of which... babies - what is it about equipping them with the latest designs? -We know perfectly well that they will grow out of them in about a second and a half.
Is it regression to want to have the funkiest stroller? Or is it again, about the experience?
In my case it was sharing the experience and love of beautiful things with my newborn. As we move kids out of a defined play area or nursery and into the rest of the home, their everyday objects have to equally appeal to big and small eyes. Today, there is absolutely no shame (and a great deal of business) in bathing bub in a trendy environment.

This past year I have spent a lot of energy on trying to find just the right high chair, pram or even baby lamp.
So why wouldn't I share these online treasures with futur baby design hunters.
Here goes:

THE LIST
Baby's room, déco and equipment:
BALOUGA
MODERN TOTS
FIRSTWHEELS

Baby's linen
OVALE
EMMA MOUTON
AIRDEJE
BALADE EN ROULOTTE

Baby's clothes
CALESTA
LILLIBULLE
NOT SO BIG
LITTLE FASHION GALLERY
PETIT LAB
MARIE LOUISE DE MONTEREY (for those perfect vintage white blouses and pinnafores)

So I went a little beserk, ok, but I also managed to wrangle a couple of great items on Ebay

Thank you

2007-11-27T14:47:00.001+01:00

Oh my!
It's been over a year.
I know I have abandoned this blog, but things have just been crazy. New relationship, new house, new baby. And all the while I have been researching ideas concerning the luxury industry. I may as well say that the MBA will have to wait a year or two.
Many people have contacted me and shared their views on mine :) - I just wish to thank you all, it's encouraging to know that I wasn't posting into outer space.
But now I am determined to get back up to speed.
Watch out for new posts and follow up's on old posts soon.

Type the rest of your post here.

Hermès Time

2006-10-21T01:10:00.000+02:00

Hermès annonce la signature d'un accord avec la Fondation de Famille Sandoz.
Le groupe prendra dans le cadre de cet accord une participation de 25% dans le capital de Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier. L'investissement porte sur un montant de 15,7 millions d'euros. Cette opérations est réalisées par le biais d'augmentations de capital. La société Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier est spécialisée dans la conception, la production et l'assemblage de mouvements mécaniques de haute horlogerie, notamment la production de l'échappement et du balancier-spiral, cœur stratégique des garde-temps. Elle fournit entre autres les marques Parmigiani, également en mains de la famille Sandoz, et Hermès. Cette prise de participation d'Hermès dans la société Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier permet de renforcer l'activité horlogerie dans le groupe. .

FIAC

2006-10-20T09:00:00.000+02:00

The Comité Colbert and the FIAC will be joining hands from the 26th - 30th of October in the Cour Carré du Louvre and other prestigious venues. This coming together of contempory art and luxury remind us of the inextricable bond between innovation, creation and luxury.

"Créer, exceller, émerveiller" - the motto of the Comité Colbert has been translated to the many events organised during this period in association with the FIAC. Not only will some Happy Few be able to visit cradles of creation such as the ateliers Haute Couture Dior, they will also be able to meet with visionnaries of the luxury industry.

Comité Colbert à la FIAC

Luxury and Discretion

2006-10-19T13:15:00.001+02:00

Bernard Arnault, owner of LVMH and Belgian billionaire Albert Frère announced today they would create a new joint investment venture with an equity financing capacity of one billion euros.
Groupe Arnault and Frere's NPM/CNP(Belgian) intend to invest mainly in European companies in both listed and unlisted (rumours are, they have their eye on Aston Martin). .
The very discreet Baron Albert Frère (80), keen huntsman (game and business) has prowling corporate Europe in a restless chase for a bargain, buying, selling and swapping pieces of some of the most prominent businesses in Germany, Italy, France and his native Belgium. Sometimes called the Warren Buffett of Europe, his diverse portfolio of investments and deals usually ignore national boundaries...

The most nagging question for Frère-watchers is what he will do with the more than €4 billion, or $5 billion, reaped from a private sale in July of the 25 percent stake in the German media company Bertelsmann owned by his holding company, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, known as GBL.
Ordinarily, Frère is a discreet investor who shuns the limelight, saving his high-energy charisma to cultivate a blue-chip network of chief executives, fellow business tycoons and aristocrats.
But lately he has been more voluble, leading to speculation that he is poised for The Next Big Deal.
Behind the scenes, as the largest individual shareholder in Suez, he is a player in the current efforts to merge that French power utility with Gaz de France, the nation's top natural gas supplier, to create Europe's largest utilities player, with a €75 billion market capitalization. Frère has also rapidly amassed the largest single stake in Lafarge, placing pressure on that French cement maker to deliver results. Through Compagnie Nationale à Portefeuille, another holding company, he recently paid Suez €120 million for a 5 percent stake in the French television channel M6. The market is still waiting for something more dramatic from Frère - because he has started talking to the news media again.

It has been a long way to come for Frère, a high school dropout at 18 and son of a nail merchant. His widowed mother took over the family scrap-iron business at age 40, while raising three children. From his mother, Frère recalled, he acquired his enduring thriftiness, a habit ingrained every time he switches off blazing lights. "A diploma is important at the beginning," he says, "but for the rest of a professional career, the tools of success are constant work, business instincts, pragmatism and charisma." In the 1950s, he parlayed money from the family nail-making business to buy a handful of steel makers. It was the beginning of a career based on an uncanny sense of timing.
He was one of the first industrialists to realize that the Korean War would spur demand for steel. He then made a fortune in 1979 when the Belgian government nationalized the country's steel companies before the industry slid into decline.
Frère forged what became a lifetime alliance with Paul Desmarais, a Canadian entrepreneur, and with the money from the state takeovers they bought GBL in 1982, leading to a cascade of investments.
With Desmarais acting as the strategist and Frère executing the deals, they bought and sold many of the crown jewels of the Belgian business world, which had gained in value as the European Union evolved into a single market.
Perhaps Frère is most famous for relentlessly driving consolidation of corporate Europe in industries like banking, insurance, energy and media. He sold Banque Bruxelles Lambert to the Dutch financial giant ING; shares of Petrofina to Total, the French oil behemoth; Royal Belge insurance to AXA in France; and RTL, the Luxembourg- based television broadcaster, to Bertelsmann, the German media company. Last year, GBL played a major role in the Suez decision to buy the remaining shares it did not already own in Electrabel, the biggest Belgian electric utility.
There was grumbling in Belgium that he was selling out his country. But Frère had already become part of the aristocracy, having been awarded the title of baron by King Albert II in 1994. Frère also has been awarded the French Legion of Honor.

Today Frère is one of Europe's richest men, with a net worth estimated by Forbes magazine at more than $3 billion. A collector of fine art that includes paintings by Renoir and Magritte, Frère divides his life largely between Brussels, Paris and a home in Gerpinnes, in the Belgian countryside. He also has a vacation home in Saint Tropez, France, where his neighbors include Arnault, his good friend.
Arnaud and Frère are already co-owners of the storied Château Cheval Blanc winery in Bordeaux, talk two to three times a week, and Frère's daughter was maid of honor at the wedding of Arnault's daughter. The relationship between the two men is one of many that Frère has cultivated as part of a network of friends and business colleagues who provide him with vital information that becomes part of his successful investing maxim: "As time passes, opportunities arise."
Alain Minc, an economic adviser and author who is a longtime friend of Frère's, has watched him navigate the Continent's boardrooms. He has also seen him in tough negotiations when they brokered a truce between two of the richest men in France- François Pinault, chairman of the PPR retailing empire, and Arnault - in a feud over the Italian fashion house Gucci.
"He's not a mere investor," Minc said. "He participates in the game because he enjoys human relations and he enjoys being friends. And he has a very skillful ability for networking by creating empathy. He enjoys life. He enjoys food and wine and laughter, and so people like him."
Arnault said it is Frère's convivial and warm personality that draws people into his circle and to dinner parties at his homes.
"He's somebody you like immediately," Arnault said. "And as long as he has a lot of relationships in Europe and outside Europe, it gives him a view of many, many opportunities and he has been able to seize on that."
To hammer out the deal with Bertelsmann for the sale of GBL's 25 percent stake in the company, Frère organized a dinner at his home in Belgium this year with his wife, Christine; his son, Gérald, 55, who is chairman of the board of Compagnie Nationale à Portefeuille; the chief executive of Bertelsmann, Gunther Thielen; and Liz Mohn, doyenne of the family that is the largest shareholder in Bertelsmann.
Frère's initial 2001 investment in Bertelsmann was one of his biggest coups and had a profound cultural impact on Bertelsmann. Ultimately, Bertelsmann bought back GBL's shares to avoid taking the family-controlled company public.
Thomas Middelhoff is a former chief executive of Bertelsmann who negotiated the sale of the stake to Frère in 2001 in exchange for a controlling interest in Frère's pan-European broadcaster, RTL. He said he tried to strike the best deal by imagining Frère's next move and countering his most lethal weapon.
"I tried to beat him with the same charm - tough and clear, with a firm position," Middelhoff said, noting that their business relationship evolved into friendship.
But Frère's moves often remain so cryptic to the market that analysts and rivals are forced to glean clues from his rare public utterances.
This month, Frère gave an interview to a French business publication, L'Expansion, which quoted him as saying that he would not rule out increasing his 8 percent stake in Suez following the company's merger with Gaz de France.
To the International Herald Tribune, he said of Suez that there was "no question at all that we intend to stay as a stable shareholder in the long run."
He also said his company, GBL, might increase its almost 11 percent stake in Lafarge, though he did not say whether he would seek a seat on the company's board. "It is not our intention, but we will see in due time," he said.
He offers few clues about how he will spend the proceeds from the Bertelsmann sale. "There are numerous opportunities in many sectors, including investments in quasi-industry or private equity," he said, noting that whether the industry is media or cement, the goal is the same: "a search for value."
But whatever the investment, he intends to be in the thick of the deal, maintaining his negotiating form with golf, hunting, telephone calls, and a daily 45- minute regimen on an exercise bicycle.
Succession, he said, is assured with a talented and loyal group of managers and his son, Gérald, waiting in the wings. His younger son, Charles-Albert, died in a car crash in 1999. Frère has created a Belgian foundation, Fonds Charles-Albert Frère, to help disabled people and victims of poverty.
Friends say he will pursue the next deal until his very last day and he has clearly negotiated his terms. "I have," he said, "simply erased the word 'retirement' from my vocabulary."

Ni-hao Versace

2006-10-18T19:38:00.001+02:00

According to the Shanghai Daily 18th of October 2006

Gianni Versace SpA, the Italian fashion house named after its late founder, will invest 10 million euros (US$13 million) to open nine stores in China next year, seeking growth in the world's fastest growing major economy.
The luxury retailer will also open 10 outlets of its VJC brand, which targets the youth market, Giancarlo Di Risio, Versace's managing director, said at a briefing in Beijing yesterday. About 40 percent of the Milan-based company's planned investments for next year would be made in China, he said...
China's luxury-goods market is growing as much as 60 percent a year and has been targeted by luxury retailers such as Prada Holding NV, Bulgari SpA and Valentino SpA. Versace, whose clothes are worn by celebrities, including Britney Spears, is expanding in the country to offset lagging sales in Europe, Bloomberg News reported.
"They haven't been very strong here - they've been low profile," said Paul French, the editorial director of Shanghai-based market research firm Access Asia Ltd. "Perhaps this move means they're starting to push in China."
Versace said in July it planned to open 12 stores in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan by the third quarter to help boost sales. The company had launched five outlets on the Chinese mainland alone as of yesterday, spokeswoman Deirdre McCready said, denying that branch openings were behind schedule.
An ACNielsen poll this year ranked Versace as the world's third-most-desired brand after Giorgio Armani and Gucci. More than a quarter of 21,000 online consumers in 42 countries said they would buy Versace goods if money weren't an issue. Actresses Uma Thurman and Jennifer Lopez wore the company's clothes at the Academy Awards in March.
The challenge for Versace in China, which opened its first store in the country 12 years ago in Beijing, is that its designs may be perceived as too "flashy for Chinese," market researcher French said. "Versace, which is all about exotic colors and extreme designs, may be too much of a risk to wear in China."
Donatella Versace, the company's vice president and creative director, said at yesterday's press briefing that she was confident the company's designs would suit the tastes of rich, modern Chinese.
The closely held clothier has sold unprofitable units, overhauled management and taken control of distribution in Japan to compete more effectively with Gucci Group and Giorgio Armani SpA. Di Risio also has slashed seven licenses to focus on two main apparel collections, sped up deliveries and boosted sales of higher-margin leather accessories.

Fly me to the Moon

2006-10-17T11:55:00.000+02:00

The ultimate luxury experience. Space travel. Initiated by Richard Branson, and with detail to design (logo by Ph. Starck) Virgin Galactic promises (for a mere 200,000 dollars), to change your take on the world.
Book your sub-orbital flight now... take off in 2008.

Pleats Please, Fujiwara

2006-10-17T09:36:00.002+02:00

Dai Fujiwara a été nommé directeur créatif des lignes Issey Miyake. Comme prévu, le remplaçant de Naoki Takizawa, qui a quitté le groupe pour fonder sa propre marque, est issu du sérail. Fujiwara a intégré le "Miyake Design Studio" en 1995. En 1998, il a été nommé codirecteur du projet A-POC, A Piece of Cloth. Ses créations lui ont valu en 2003 le prix du Mainichi Design Award. Dai Fujiwara et sa nouvelle équipe présenteront leurs premières collections pour les lignes Issey Miyake homme et femme à Paris en janvier et en mars prochains.

Diesel Turbo

2006-10-17T09:36:00.001+02:00

Renzo Rosso, the Richard Branson of fashion and owner of Diesel Denim Gallery (very good site), Maison Martin Margiela, DSquared2 and Vivienne Westwood, has taken his business to the next level. Yesterday he acquired control of Pier s.p.a. a major italian luxury apparel manufacturer adding a mojor asset to his luxury group babptised Only the Brave. Staff International, his branch which handled this operation, bought out 55% of the shares of Pier S.p.a. Pier, already manufactures for prestigious brands such as Dior Homme (LVMH), Azzedine Alaïa (Prada), Chloé (Richemont) and Dries Van Noten in a dynamic and technically innovative production unit. Mariza et Alessandro Narduzzi, the former owners will remain as management. This Operation will consolidate Rosso's group's position in the luxury arena.

2006-10-16T17:29:00.000+02:00

VIDEO Valentino S/S 2007
Fashion legend Valentino will celebrate 45 years in the business with a travelling exhibition starting next July.The exhibit will showcase the historic creations and highlights of his lengthy career, including some of his best-known designs. It will start in Paris, where the 74-year-old stylist has presented a number of collections in recent years. "We're looking at Paris because it has welcomed Valentino with such great spontaneity and enthusiasm," explained Giancarlo Giammetti, his business partner and lifelong companion . Unlike the celebrations for his last big anniversary five years ago, which centred around a single lavish party in Hollywood, the 2007 event will take in a number of major cities around the world

In 1998 Valentino sold his company for 300 million dollars to Holding di Partecipazioni Industriali which then sold it to another Italian luxury goods company, Marzotto . Two years ago Marzotto successfully listed the Valentino fashion house on the Milan stock exchange.
Today, a year after splitting from the Marzotto group, Valentino Fashion Group is looking to expand, and find partners... Michele Norsa, director with the company for 9 years left last july - he was credited with Valentino’s turnaround and the role he played in the Marzotto SpA spin-off of its fashion businesses into the Valentino Fashion Group. Antonio Favrin, current director ad interimdeclares that he would like to strike up an alliance with "somebody likely to help us face the international market" (II Sole 24 Ore)
It is also questioning how long designer Valention Garavani will remain with the fashion house he founded 44 years ago. According to WWD, sources close the company say that chief operating officer Matteo Marzotto of Valentino SpA has begun his search for a successor.

Valentino Fashion Group closed the first semester with a turnover of 926 million € (up 14%), and wishes to accelerate its progression, especially in emerging markets with strong economic growth. Valention Fashion Group manages Roman brand Valentino, as well as Hugo Boss, Missoni and Malboro Classics. M. Favrin also declared that the group "has a distribution channel that enables significant synergies with other brands", he does not rule out aqcuisitions.

Counterfeiting and the Microchip

2006-10-16T12:16:00.000+02:00

Software maker SAP and microchip maker Intel will work together to encourage companies to adopt RFID technology. When will the luxury industry adopt these new techs? The recent developments regarding the lawsuits filed by luxury giants against e-Bay, Walmart, Target and even the Silk Market in Beijing show how protective these brands are of their image - and rightly so...
Counterfeit items are not the only problem plaguing these companies. It is difficult to admit it, but one also has to recognize losses in the millions in stolen goods. It is surprising that read/write identification tags are not yet part and parcel of the luxury goods item.
Applications to this type of hardware are numerous and many companies such as Motorola, Cisco and SAP are stepping up their position in Radio Frequency Identification, attributing the technology's move from startup into growth. End to end solutions exist already.
Apart from the obvious applications of supply chain tracking, inventory management and loss prevention, the luxury industry could adapt this kind of technology to personalise luxury items (personalise id chip once item purchased) as well as keep a record of te items repair history. To wage war on counterfeit items, customs could be equiped with tag readers to identify the real from the fake (sometimes quite difficult with the naked eye).
Basically this chip could save time and hassel in law suits, and diplomacy.
What is frequently omitted in tech descriptives of these products however, is the store operations side of things. Customer service being of the highest importance in luxury stores, staff will not have to worry about the logistics. They would not have to perform as many inventories (as the chips permit instant identification over a given space, even for large numbers of items) and be able to handle customers instead of identifying shoplifters (security functions can be integrated).
So what do these chips cost? from 25 cents to 100€ depending on it's fonctions.

Existing examples: de Grisogono

Boxing in Contemporary Art

2006-10-16T10:07:00.000+02:00

It is out right war on the art scene between Pinault (PPR) and Arnault (LVMH).
Before writing this post I googled "arnault art -pinault" and "pinault art -arnault". 1 point to Pinault (332000 pages as opposed to 142000 for his opposant).
Let's just recapitulate: Obviously you have noticed the ping pong going on this year: Isle seguin (previous post : Fondation Pinault), Fondation Louis Vuitton (previous post : LVMH has found it's soul) now Pinault tops the charts in becoming this year's most influent person in the art world according to artreview (I might have omitted a couple of exhibitions).

I won't go into the fact that both have contributed in a very influential way in various art events and exhibits. I won't into the fact that Christie's was bought by Pinault in 1998, followed closely by Arnault's purchase of Jacques Tajan (and caressing the secret ambition of purchasing Sotheby's) either.

So what's all the fuss about? Contemporary art and luxury goods have been hand in hand since both acquired notoriety. This battle of the art just makes me say: "hey! there are other foundations too"...

Here are the other less publicised examples of luxury brand owned foundations (not all have prestigious venues):
Fondation Cartier
Fondation Prada
Fondation Pierre Bergé YSL (mainly fashion)
Fondation Audemars Piguet
La verrière Hermès

Armani Seeing RED

2006-10-14T13:03:00.000+02:00

Harnessing the power of some of the world's most iconic brands, Bono and Bobby Shriver announced today the U.S. launch of (RED), the groundbreaking initiative that marries the private sector with the buying power of the public in an effort to generate a sustainable flow of private sector funds towards the fight to eliminate AIDS in Africa. Giorgio Armani as well as Gap, Motorola, Converse, and Apple are the first five companies to partner with (RED)

In support of (PRODUCT) RED, Giorgio Armani unveiled his men's and women's Emporio Armani (PRODUCT) RED capsule collection on September 21 during London Fashion Week at a unique televised fashion and music event called (Emporio Armani) RED ONE NIGHT ONLY. The capsule collection is comprised of products that range from a jacket ($228), sweatshirt ($148) and jeans ($198) to accessories, including sunglasses ($170), a watch ($225), wallet ($148), mobile phone clip ($58) and belt ($198). In developing his collection, Giorgio Armani collaborated with Ghanaian contemporary artist Owusu-Ankomah, whose art is featured on clothing, accessories and packaging in the Emporio Armani (PRODUCT) RED collection. The range of products will be expanded further with the launch of a Emporio Armani (PRODUCT) RED women's and men's fragrance and jewellery in Spring 2007...

On November 16, Emporio Armani (PRODUCT) RED products will be available in all 124 Emporio Armani stores throughout the world, each featuring a (PRODUCT) RED-themed window and significant point-of-sale support. An online micro-site at http://www.emporioarmaniproductred.com/ and national print ads will also drive Armani's significant promotion.

Giorgio Armani is contributing an average of 40 percent of its gross profit margin from sales of all Emporio Armani (PRODUCT) RED products directly to The Global Fund.

2006-10-13T17:39:00.000+02:00

From Dexigner:

How will we live tomorrow? With what products? In what sort of houses? And what is design anyway?

ENTRY2006- "We understand design as an important driving force for economic development. There are a mass of reciprocal effects between the business world, architecture and design, which will be further deepened and built on at ENTRY2006 in many different ways. The old truism about trying to launch new products on the market is more valid nowadays than ever before: "Ugliness does not sell" (Christa Thoben, Minister for Business, Medium-Sized Firms and Power, from the Federal State of North-Rhine Westphalia)

Design und technological developments: Products for tomorrow's world Technological developments play a decisive role in design disciplines – architecture, landscape architecture, product design and communication design.
Here ENTRY2006 will also be providing answers: for example to the question of how marketable products for tomorrow's world arise from current research and experiments in business and further education establishments: in biotechnology, metallurgy, research into artificial materials and nanotechnology. The same goes for architecture, a branch in which new materials for future buildings are gradually increasing in importance...

Burgundy the new Bordeaux?

2006-10-12T22:31:00.000+02:00

According to an article in Bloomberg.com it seems that investment gurus do have a heart after all. Acquiring heritage, sponsoring struggling craftsmen, investing in legends..... it all comes down to wine -French wine. But where do these financial whizzes/moghuls invest? The choice seems to be either classic (bordeaux and regions) or ambitious (Burgundy).
Here is a list of recent buyers and acquisitions:

Bordeaux:
Bernard Arnault and Albert Frère. Château La Tour du Pin (grand cru Saint Emilion)
Bouygues brothers. Château Montrose (Saint Estèphe)

Burgundy:
Francois-Henri Pinault (already the owner of the Chateau Latour-Bordeaux). Domaine Engel -côte de Nuits parcels - located in Clos Vougeot, Echezeaux, Grand Echezeaux and Vosne-Romanee premier cru - six planted hectares but no buildings or equipment for 13M€ (30% above the normal price).

So Pinault in Pinot country? and at that price? There is concern within the industry that such an inflated price will not only drive up land prices but that Pinault will attempt to recoup his investment by charging inflated prices for Domaine Engel - forcing similar properties to follow suit. Good news for investments in the area, mainly American. For example, Robert Lyster, co-founder of hedge fund Lyster Watson Management Inc. has found a new investment for his hedge fund millions, the land rich, cash poor, winemaking lifestyle.

Diamonds are forever...

2006-10-12T01:13:00.001+02:00

Whether given by your man or by the earth, diamonds fascinate.

The "Lesotho Promise" (603 carats) one of the 15 largest uncut diamonds was sold for 12,36M dollars on the 9th of October in Antwerp to a branch of the South African Mining C° (owners of Graaf). The diamond will be cut into one heartshaped rock and smaller stones and should then fetch a price of 20M dollars...

The Lesotho diamond was found at the Letseng Diamond Mine high in the mountains of the tiny nation which is surrounded by South Africa, by a woman who was sorting through the rocks. "She started screaming and all the staff thought she had been electrocuted," said Clifford Elphick, head of Gem Diamond Mining, which owns 70 percent of the mine. Ironically, the Lesotho Promise may not be keeping one for those who live in the place where the diamond was found. The impoverished African nation is one of the poorest countries on earth.

Virtual Reality Retailing

2006-10-11T21:28:00.000+02:00

I've been reading a lot about brand luxury on the net (as opposed to multibrand retail sites such as net-a-porter ). As different companies cultivate images that don't necessarily comply to the "democratic" notion of the net, I see the difficulty in adopting strategies. The luxury industry expects things to be done on a grand scale, hence the reticence of brands to retail via the web. PPR respects each brand identity with separate sites. Although each brand is accessible from the PPR or Gucci Group portal, no sales can be made through any of these. PPR's mainstream distribution brands are readily available on fairly attractive sites (Fnac, Redcats brands). Luxury goods are not available on the LVMH luxury brand sites either (apart from Dior France for Fragrances and leather goods). LVMH has decided to create a seperate e-luxury site. Hermès assumes the fact that the net is more popular, and that the www. client will only purchase entry price point pieces. Prada has had domain names reserved for years, but has not decided what to do with them....

Although purchasing luxury items through the Internet seems to be quite acceptable in the states, this is not yet the case in Mainland Europe perhaps this is one of the factors leading to mediocre webdesign. It also seems that many factors are involved in the choice of web strategy - extensiveness and effectiveness of physical retail networks, supply chain efficiency, artistic control or IT platforms. Also, brand policy may decide whether the website should merely be a "vitrine" - showcasing the brand identity (eg:Viktor and Rolf), accompany points of sales (eg:Chanel), or be a cyber mega-store (eg:e-luxury). With tech trends moving even faster than fashion trends, how can the universe of a particular brand not be diminished by outdated IT without falling into the other extreme - gadgetising.

I visit retail and web stores regularly. It is difficult to translate physical store ambiance to a flat screen, but even with fancy flash integrated players, I feel that brand websites lack the energy found in a point of sale. These are some suggestions for a pretty perfect site:

Group Portal with access to different brands and/or collections (cross referenced by lifestyle). This general access could also redirect clients to wholesale/retail/ intracompany sites. Brand sites in perfect harmony with brand image- this image should change as regularly as visual merchandisers change the stores' looks. Some brands have pre-programmed international window displays. These could be used to unify the brand image. The site could also imitate a virtual concept store with 3D visits and mannequins.

Access to different brand sites would be subject to a short inscription (name, age, interests etc) with domain reconnaissance. This inscription should convey the concept of accessing a "club-like" environment. The identification and ensuing client accounts could be used by the brand for the following:

*Marketing and CRM-analysis and consolidation or augmentation of client base, analysis of viewed pages)

*Web<-> client interaction: Punctual or periodical information- (newsletter, company blog access, social, cultural or commercial events via courier, email or phone (courier and phone being more in keeping with the traditional luxury experience). Instant messenger sales staff onhand. Gift certificates. Chat sessions, video pod-casts of fashion shows and/or events, press releases mobile device information, downloads, (this to tag the younger or tech-happy clients and to establish credibility with hesitant web-clients) Interactive polls (eg: podium most wanted pieces).

*Retail network information - pages visited or purchases by clients consultable by sales force. Client fidelity to brands within the group. (perhaps upon creation of the site sales staff could be consulted about their needs - this could create a common project)

As the essence of the luxury industry is the product:

*The entire offer viewable on website (some brands limit their offer per geographic zone-collections should be viewable by customer's country location). Information about products should be as complete as possible, including the how's and why's of the creative process. Only selected items purchasable. These selected items should be renwed very regularly, this could even be based on best or slow sellers (with special offers on flat rotation stock). Special high tech items only available via website -limited series, or laboratory design. The pieces which are not available on the net should be able to be pinpointed by store location. Reservations can be made by web clients with a physical confirmation of sales force. Product suggestion or complementarity (this blouse goes with these pants) should be available. A perfect balance of website and store traffic should be established, complementarity being the key. According to the extent of the physical retail network, a certain reciprocity in traffic should exist. In store stock levels could be optimised.

Client to brand relationship:

*VIP access given to selected clients. This would uphold a certain exclusivity to very faithful retail clients - these clients could potentially become webclients as well. This access may confer certain privileges such as concierge like services, pre-orders, special orders, previews, billing, VIP invitations, priority on products, personal contact with key staff, appointments with sales assistants and suggestion boxes. One could also differentiate VIP retail and VIP web, giving VIP web clients access to instant messenger services to store managers.

Continuing the "one on one" relationship with retail clients through the web brings this experience into their personal space. Generating and chanelling store traffic through the webclients substantiates the virtual shopping spree.

Here is the list of the Y design awards (digital)

Nomination Chanel

2006-10-10T20:04:00.000+02:00

PARIS, 10 oct 2006 (AFP) - Chanel a annoncé mardi 10 octobre la nomination de Maureen Chiquet, actuelle présidente de la filiale américaine du groupe de luxe, au poste nouvellement créé de président mondial de Chanel, en charge de la coordination des activités du groupe au niveau mondial.
Cette nomination prendra effet au 1er janvier 2007, a précisé Chanel dans un communiqué.
"Compte tenu de l'expansion internationale de Chanel, il est devenu indispensable de créer un poste de coordination de l'ensemble des activités au niveau mondial afin d'assurer la cohérence de la marque et d'accompagner son développement", a indiqué Chanel pour expliquer la création de ce poste.
Diplômée de l'Université de Yale aux Etats-Unis, Maureen Chiquet a commencé sa carrière en 1985 chez L'Oréal, avant d'intégrer GAP puis Old Navy. Nommée présidente de Banana Republic en 2002, elle avait rejoint Chanel en 2003 avant de devenir présidente de Chanel Inc en octobre 2004.
Dans ses nouvelles fonctions, Maureen Chiquet, 43 ans, agira sous la responsabilité d'Alain Wertheimer, président du comité des présidents de Chanel.
Le recrutement d'un nouveau président pour Chanel Inc, filiale américaine du groupe, "est actuellement en cours", a précisé Chanel.

Quantity-Up, Quality-Maintained

2006-10-10T10:00:00.000+02:00

One of the unspoken rules of the luxury industry is that "quality needs time". Whether it be in training skills, developing products or production, it's a drawn out process.
True luxury clients understand this and will be patient.
Luxury consumers on the other hand follow trends, and trends move fast.
Once the decision of purchase made, being told to wait after having forked out large sums on the desired item, is a nuissance. Nothing about this enhances the luxury "experience".
To be able to stock points of sale with sufficient quantities of their consumables, luxury labels have been revising their supply chains.

The Wall Street Journal - PARIS

A year ago, it took 20 to 30 craftsmen to put together each Louis Vuitton "Reade" tote bag. Over the course of about eight days, separate workers would sew together leather panels, glue in linings and attach handles.

Then, inspired by car maker Toyota Motor Corp. and egged on by outside management consultants, the venerable French luxury-goods house discovered efficiency. Today, clusters of six to 12 workers, each of them performing several tasks, can assemble the $680 shiny, LV-logo bags in a single day.
The factory-floor changes are part of a sweeping effort by Louis Vuitton to serve customers better by keeping its boutiques fully stocked with popular merchandise -- to operate, in other words, more like a successful modern retailer. Its supply-chain overhaul includes changes to its distribution system and to the way salespeople serve customers in its tony stores.
For years, high-end fashion houses like Louis Vuitton -- best known for its expensive brown-and-gold logo bags -- paid far more attention to product design, craftsmanship and image than to the mechanics of keeping their stores stocked. When new designs caught on, they often sold out and the companies were often ill-prepared to speed up production and distribution.
Chic but less-expensive fashion labels such as Zara and H&M have thrived by spotting trends quickly and filling shelves with new products every fortnight. Their success has forced higher-end rivals to rethink how they do business. After decades of relying solely on their designers' instincts, for example, some luxury fashion houses, including Italy's Gucci Group, are now using focus groups to find out what consumers actually want.
Louis Vuitton, a unit of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world's largest luxury-goods company, is pursuing a more-fundamental overhaul. With help from management consultants at McKinsey & Co., Vuitton set out to make its manufacturing process more flexible, borrowing techniques pioneered by car makers and consumer-electronics companies. "Behind the creative magic of Louis Vuitton is an extremely efficient supply chain," boasted Yves Carcelle, the brand's chief executive officer, at a recent news conference.
Tampering with Vuitton's production poses a risk to the brand's image. Customers pay hundreds of dollars for its logo canvas bags, for example, partly because they have bought into the notion that skilled craftsmen make them the old-fashioned way. Although the company has been modernizing gradually for some time, that reputation is still vital to the company's success.
The public image of Louis Vuitton, which was founded in 1854, has been shaped by celebrity advertising, lavish fashion shows and the star-power of its top designer, Marc Jacobs. (Its spring collection was unveiled at a show Sunday in Paris.) Although it designs apparel, the bulk of its sales come from accessories such as handbags, wallets and suitcases. The company has long regarded limited-edition products as a way to bolster its cachet. As a result, customers often found themselves on waiting lists for popular merchandise.
That thinking is changing. "What do our clients want? Products that are always available in stores," said one company document outlining the changes.
The new factory format is called Pegase, after the mythological winged horse and a Vuitton rolling suitcase. Under the new system, it takes less time to assemble bags, in part because they no longer sit around on carts waiting to be moved from one workstation to another. That enables the company to ship fresh collections to its boutiques every six weeks -- more than twice as frequently as in the past, according to one Vuitton official.
"It's about finding the best ratio between quality and speed," says Patrick-Louis Vuitton, a fifth-generation member of the company's founding family, who is in charge of special orders.
Other luxury-goods companies are taking similar steps. Versace SpA recently hired a division of Computer Sciences Corp. and Giorgio Armani SpA hired Oracle Corp. to help make their supply chains more efficient. Burberry PLC, Cartier and Prada SpA have retained German software firm SAP AG for the same purpose.
Many high-end fashion houses "had the image, but they couldn't compete on execution," says Rick Chavie, SAP's senior vice-president for retail and wholesale. Adds Gladys Lau, Oracle's senior industry director for retail: "Like Zara, luxury brands are all about speed-to-market."
For years, luxury-goods makers have thought about supply and demand differently than do other consumer-goods companies. In most sectors, running out of a product when demand is strong is considered disastrous. But production is limited for some high-end fashion items. A waiting list for the Paddington bag made by French fashion brand Chloe created such an aura of desirability last year that it became a cult item -- and established Chloe as a hot brand.
The industry has begun to rethink that approach. French fashion house Hermes International has hired another 300 factory workers to reduce waiting lists for best sellers like its $7,000 Kelly bag, named after the late actress Grace Kelly. Hermes craftsmen still stitch most of its bags by hand, signing them when they finish.
To increase production, Gucci recently took on more suppliers near its Florence headquarters. Gucci and Prada are among the brands that rely on outside suppliers to produce much of their merchandise.
Louis Vuitton, which has annual sales of nearly $5 billion, hopes the supply-chain changes will help it meet a goal of at least 10 percent annual sales growth for the next several years. That's important to its publicly traded parent company, LVMH, which is dependent on the Vuitton brand for more than half of its profit. LVMH does not break out income from its various units. In the first half of this year, LVMH's net income climbed 46 percent to $1.03 billion on sales of $8.78 billion.
Louis Vuitton expanded internationally in 1978 when it opened stores in Tokyo and Osaka to sell its LV-logo trunks, suitcases and handbags. By the late 1970s, its sole factory in Asnieres, near Paris, where the Vuitton family began making trunks in 1860, wasn't big enough to sustain the growth.
"When the first electrical sewing machines arrived 30 years ago, people saw it as the devil," says Mr. Vuitton, who abandoned his veterinary studies to work at Asnieres in 1973.
The company started buying up factories, or ateliers, across France. Over the years, on average, it opened a new one every two years. Today, there are 13 factories producing accessories.
Thanks to a big marketing and store-opening push in the U.S. and Asia, annual sales rose to about $3.2 billion in 2000 from about $760 million in 1990.
In 1998, the fashion house moved into the ready-to-wear apparel business by hiring Mr. Jacobs, an American designer. Mr. Jacobs's production of a new Louis Vuitton clothing line each season prompted the company to reconsider its approach to accessories. In addition to classic designs such as the LV-logo shoulder bag, Vuitton began producing bags like the graffiti bag and the cherry-print bag, which were in stores one season and gone the next.
The Sept. 11 attacks, the SARS virus in Asia and the onset of war in Iraq together cast a three-year pall over the luxury-goods industry, in part by crimping global tourism. When the recovery began, Louis Vuitton launched an advertising campaign featuring celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez and Uma Thurman and opened stores on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue and elsewhere.
Vuitton was releasing a new handbag each season. But the factories, which were working on long-term schedules, remained out of step. If a seasonal bag became a hit, the company wasn't capable of ramping up production. When a denim monogram bag caught on last year, for example, customers cleaned out store shelves, and would-be buyers were turned away.
Vuitton executives grew intrigued with the lean production process developed by Japanese car makers, which enabled their factories to react quickly to changes in vehicle orders. The Japanese approach seemed to offer a way for Vuitton to shift production to the handbags that were selling best, senior Vuitton executives say. The "zero-defect policy" of the car makers -- all problems are supposed to be corrected before cars left the factory -- also seemed appealing.
But Vuitton's manufacturing procedures weren't conducive to such flexibility. Each factory had about 250 employees, and each worker specialized in one skill such as cutting leather and canvas; preparing, gluing and sewing it; making pockets and stitching the lining; and assembling the bag.
Specialists worked on one batch of bags at a time. Half-completed purses would sit on carts until someone wheeled them to the next section of the assembly line. Because craftsmen were specialized, it was nearly impossible for Vuitton to quickly switch workers from one type of handbag to another.
In early 2005, Vuitton hired consultants from McKinsey to help, according to people familiar with the matter. After visiting several factories and measuring lag times between production phases, the consultants arrived at a simple conclusion: there was too much wasted time.
The consultants helped Vuitton draft its Pegase plan, which the company began to roll out in factories in November 2005, these people say. The first step was to train workers to handle multiple parts of the assembly process. Gluing, stitching and finishing the edges of a pocket flap, for example, became the job of one worker, not three. To minimize wasted time, the production process for each product was divided so that each worker would need the same amount of time to complete his or her allotted tasks.
The factory floor was reorganized accordingly. Mimicking the small-team format used by Japanese electronics makers, Vuitton organized workers into groups of six to 12, depending on the complexity of the bags or wallets they are making, according to Vuitton officials and company documents. For maximum efficiency, Vuitton arranged the groups in clusters of U-shaped workstations that contain sewing machines on one side and assembly tables on the other. Workers simply pass their work around the cluster.
Because workers are less specialized now, they can make more types of bags, which gives Vuitton more production flexibility. Last month, for example, the company shifted more workers to its new $770 Lockit bag, which was selling faster than expected, to boost production.
The system also has enabled workers to detect flaws earlier. At one factory, under the old production system, one of every two $1,240 Tikal shoulder bags had frayed inside seams and needed to be repaired, according to a company document. Under the new production system, those flaws are recognized earlier and can be fixed more easily.
Stitching problems on the credit-card pocket of Vuitton's Viennois wallet used to mean that 4 percent of each batch of pockets had to be discarded, another document indicates. Under the new cluster format, that problem has been fixed.
At Vuitton's Issoudun and Conde plants near the Loire Valley, returns of faulty handbags and wallets fell by two-thirds last year, a company document indicates. The company's goal this year is to reduce returns by at least another 50 percent, according to the document.
The production changes left some workers concerned that efficiency improvements would eventually lead to job cuts, workers say. "Pegase has caused job insecurity," says one worker. "Already they are limiting hiring." Vuitton currently employs about 12,000 people world-wide, 4,000 of them in production. Mr. Carcelle, Vuitton's chief executive, has met with hundreds of factory team leaders to explain the company's efforts to improve efficiency and quality. Vuitton executives use the Japanese word kaizen, which means "continuous improvement," to describe their training of factory managers.
The reorganization extended beyond the factory floor. A distribution center in France used to send products directly to Vuitton's stores around the world. Now, the company is building a global distribution hub outside of Paris that will ship to six regional distribution centers: two in Japan, two elsewhere in Asia, one in the U.S. and one near Paris for European orders. Within a week of a product launch, stores around the world feed sales information to France and production is adjusted accordingly. Factories work on a daily schedule, compared to a weekly one before the reorganization.
The reorganization's final stage -- named Keepall after a Vuitton duffel bag from 1930 -- unfolded in the stores. In the past, salespeople advising customers would disappear into stockrooms when products weren't available on the shop floor. McKinsey consultants saw this as a waste of time.
"The boutiques could be twice as effective if instead of the salesperson disappearing to get a bag for a customer, you separate the task," says Concetta Lanciaux, executive vice president of synergies at LVMH.
Now, Vuitton assigns a few employees at each store to the stockroom. At a large new store on Paris's Champs-Elysees, items are sent via service elevator from a basement stockroom to the cash register. They arrive wrapped in tissue paper.
Early indications that the reorganization is working have prompted LVMH officials to consider extending the new factory format to other divisions.
"There are ways in which we can cross-fertilize," says LVMH Chief Executive Bernard Arnault. "One of the major advantages of the group is that everything we learn at Vuitton, we also use with the other brands."

Richemont acquires Wisdom

2006-10-09T18:56:00.000+02:00

Richemont, the Swiss based luxury goods group controlled by the Rupert family, has reinforced its presence in the jewellery watch segment.
The group announced on Monday that it had acquired Fabrique d'Horlogerie Minerva SA in a private transaction from GPP International SA, Luxembourg. No numbers were mentioned.

The well known watch brand Minerva was established by Charles Robert in 1858 and is based in Villeret, Switzerland.
Fabrique d'Horlogerie Minerva SA specialises in the development and manufacturing of high end mechanical movements as well as luxury time pieces.

In a terse announcement Richemont said the transaction would not have a material impact on the group's consolidated net assets and would not have any impact on profitability for the year to end-March 2007.
Richemont, which owns an array of luxury brands, already owns a handful of specialist watchmakers - including Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget, IWC, Baume & Mercier, Vacheron Constantin, Officine Panerai and A Lange & Sohne.
Other mainstay Richemont brands include Cartier, Montblanc, Montegrappa, Lancel, Alfred Dunhill and Van Cleef & Arpels.

The expansion of the luxury brands range should be welcomed by the market - especially investors who would prefer Richemont to lessen the influence of the tobacco business on the bottom line.
In addition to its luxury goods business, Richemont still holds an 18.6% stake in British American Tobacco (BAT).

Luxury Retail

2006-10-09T16:57:00.000+02:00

Luxury retail wooing local affluents instead of relying on shopping tourism.

According to The Wall Street Journal:

"affluent shoppers have boosted sales at the world’s leading players (In the luxury industry), by an average of 14 percent in the first six months of this year, according to Swiss bank Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch. Sales are expected to reach a record of nearly $200 billion by year end – higher than when sales of shoes, watches, dresses and other luxury items previously peaked five years ago, according to luxury consultancy Intercorporate.
To meet demand, fashion houses are aggressively opening shops again after a long hiatus. Louis Vuitton recently inaugurated a new boutique in Budapest, while Valentino and Ferragamo signed leases in India. French fashion house Hermes International is expanding its flagship Paris boutique so it will take up half a block.
“It makes people feel confident if there are more people getting rich and the rich are getting richer,” Gucci Group Chief Executive Robert Polet said in an interview. Sales at the group, which includes the core Gucci brand, Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint Laurent and others, increased 20 percent between January and June.
Behind the scenes, though, fashion houses are planning for the next, inevitable downturn. Their strategy: Make their business less dependent on tourism flows – a traditional driver of sales – by developing stronger local clienteles."

High Heels Away!

2006-10-09T14:44:00.000+02:00

After seeing models plummet from 14cm heels onto designer catwalks ending up nose to toe with the world's frontseat fashionistas (well known for their compassion) and definitely not wanting to emulate that trend, here are a couple of tips I have found browsing the web.

According to the Dr Scholl sounding "Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists" the key is the "G" factor - actually 4 of them - Glamour, Glide, Guide and Give.(?!)
Glamour- "head in the clouds" height, yes, but only on special occasions - especially if you can lean on your date. If not, keep him within falling distance.
Glide- NO RUNNING. Adopt the diva attitude, raise an eyebrow at all those people rushing about below (yes you are wearing your latest purchase-12cm of added height not counting the platform)
Guide- Let yourself be guided into buying the right size - even if it is not available in your favourite powder/lilac/gold shade. High Heels are an implulse buy, just like candy. Be strong enough to say no to a shoe that does not fit.
Give- your feet a little TLC before and after strutting.

Now that you have mastered that - Samba away ( I have always found better balance when listening to music on my i-pod I wish I could dance to)

Some more sites about looking devine:
Leg Work a work out video (yes, very Jane Fonda) for your stilettos
"Heels you can fly in" by Cole Haan's in association with Nike not really trendsetters but high heel "taxi to plane" designed.

chat

2006-10-09T14:15:00.001+02:00

After answering many mails concerning the luxury industry (which schools to attend, which people to meet, dates concerning fashion shows or evening marketing strategies) I have decided to succumb to the current trend of web 2.0 and its community spirit.
So here is your chat! - happy chatting!
(for luxury industry professionals and fans only!)

Musical Chairs - Chloe, Marni, Gucci

2006-10-09T13:19:00.000+02:00

Yvan Mispelaere's is said to be joining Gucci as design director, working under creative director Frida Giannini. Mispelaere was until a few days ago part of the Chloé design team that gained fame under Phoebe Philo and continued without the designer when she resigned in January. He designed the last collection S/S 2007 together with colleagues Blue Farrier and Adrian Appiolazza- then bade them farewell, leaving the city of light for the tuscan countryside (also know as Gucci epicenter).

Yvan Mispelaere will be replaced by Paolo Melin Anderson, one of Marni's hidden talents.
Chloé sales more than doubled last year, trending at 90% for the April period, under creative direction of Philo. Despite her departure, growth at the fashion house continued “beyond expectations,” said parent company Richemont. Mispelaere has previously worked for Prada in Milan and Valentino in Rome and was creative director of Louis Féraud.

Luxury for hire

2006-10-09T11:28:00.000+02:00

After renting your dream apartment why not push this idea a little further.... after all, our hand bag houses the rest of lives (the part we didn't leave in that rented loft).

Problem: the coveted bag is not always at hand/affordable. When fashion trends appear and vanish as fast as those gophers you have to hit on the head at amusement fairs, why not just rent the object of your desire?

Designer bags, apparel and jewlery etc.... all is to be had (for a limited period, anyhow).

Warning - luxury may be for rent, taste not so much.

New York Times 12th of September

Companies such as Bag Borrow or Steal (bags and jewlery), Borrowed Bling (jewlery) or Wardrobe NYC (designer clothes) provide this confidential service.

VIDEO - Paris S/S 2007

2006-10-09T00:31:00.000+02:00

Catwalks in Paris - Style.com

Christian Dior
Balenciaga - Nicolas Ghesquière

Miu Miu

Shall We dance? Let's make believe

2006-10-08T23:43:00.000+02:00

2nd October 2006
Viktor&Rolf put on one one of the best shows at the Carousel du Louvre this week (creatively as well as entertainment wise) with their ballroom dancing inspired défilé.
And why wouldn't it be? Viktor&Rolf's self derisional world (their website motto : "because we're worth it") takes the sombre out of expert and leaves the elegant in trendy. Their topsy-turvy upside down store reflects their joie de vivre and amusement of creativity. Proof is, you can be a star and still be star-struck.
The show had to be great! And it was. VIDEO - Viktor&Rolf

The excellent Rufus Wainwright played live. The magic was complete.
The event was also the occasion to launch the new ANTIDOTE (L'Oréal) first men's fragrance.

From a business point of view, for the moment Dutch duo Mr&Mr Horsting and Snoeren don't expect massive sales of their creations.
According to WWD (sept 13th) : "Diesel owner Renzo Rosso is said to have another quirky design house in his sights: Viktor & Rolf.The fashion maverick — who already owns Martin Margiela and produces the Dsquared line, as well as his denim giant Diesel — is in negotiations with Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren about a possible deal, which could involve buying all or part of their company, according to sources. Talks are said to be at an advanced stage, although a final price has yet to be agreed upon."

Yves Saint Laurent - Now and then

2006-10-08T22:20:00.000+02:00

October 5th 2006 S/S 2007 by Stefano Pilati
Collection inspired by violets, which to the Greeks symbolized modesty, humility, and virginity- violets that were trampled by runway models...
M.Pilati has a sense of humour.

M. Yves Saint Laurent
Career make or break collection 1962 (in french)

Betty Catroux talks about life with Yves Saint Laurent. Black leather, cocaine, sex, and poetry in the 1970s!.. la poésie du "louche". (interview in french)

Lara Croft's answer to skinny taciturn models

2006-10-08T22:13:00.000+02:00

Paris - Uninspired? No! Intellectual.

2006-10-08T22:00:00.000+02:00

Reuters 8th October 2006:

"This season the designers seemed to have sales in mind with a focus on accessories that create healthy profit margins.

At Chanel models were draped with belts, bangles and bags, while Lacroix's show targeted a new younger clientele with skimpy swimsuits and short hemlines. Designer Karl Lagerfeld has even brought out a CD of his favorite music.

Nearly every model sent out by American designer Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton -- the jewel in the crown of LVMH -- was carrying a handbag, the label's best known product.
LVMH president Bernard Arnault, who this week unveiled plans for a futuristic museum in Paris to promote the heritage of his label and celebrate creativity, said designers should be both creative and commercial.
"That's what we're trying to do and when a collection works well, it's because it's creative," he told Reuters.
His company also owns the Celine and Givenchy labels that showed in Paris this week. Net profits rose to 817 million euros in the first six months of the year and sales of leather goods rose 46 percent in July and August.

But several fashion critics found the week's shows provided little inspiration.
"I think we've seen the struggle of big houses ... when they don't have the right designer at the helm," said Hilary Alexander, fashion director at the Daily Telegraph. "You tend to get either a pile of boring merchandise just to sell handbags or ... collections which are totally incomprehensible."

Vanity Fair Fashion Director Michael Roberts said there were "Too many uninspiring clothes ... I think you can be commercial and still come out with something inspired."
"I think this is really a particularly off season for Paris. Hopefully next year it will be on again otherwise we'll have a problem," he added. "

Robert Burke, head of the luxury consulting firm Robert Burke Associates, said the minimalist trend required skillful presentation on the part of retailers.
"It's a more intellectual sale, as opposed to an impulsive sale. It's all in how it's displayed, how it's merchandised, how it's shown in the windows," he told the AP.
"It's always a balance of making sure that you don't have too much of a sea of black in your store, that you still have color and you still have some embellishment, because while the fashion world moves very fast, sometimes the consumer doesn't move as fast."

Aussie in Paris

2006-10-08T18:36:00.000+02:00

The french have their famous boisterous "cocorico"! , in Australia we have a more low key, yet meaningful "good-on-ya, mate"!

According to the Sydney Morning Herald:

In a schedule of shows groaning with French luxury labels led by a new generation of hired hands who are happy to take the big consulting money and run, the Paris-based Australian Martin Grant stood out yesterday.
Eighteen months after turning down the creative directorship of the French luxury label Celine, Grant showed on the official schedule for the first time.
The big turn-up for his show confirmed that Grant's star is on the rise. Impressive pieces included the sporty marled silk jersey sack and tent dresses and silk chiffon evening wear series in scarlet red and near fluorescent lime green with trompe l'oeil fused pleating effect.

See Fashionshow

Loris Azzaro

2006-10-06T21:17:00.000+02:00

According to Fashion United UK :

French fashion house Loris Azzaro has been acquired by Reig Capital Group. The Spanish private equity group, a family-owned Andorran business based in London and Barcelona , purchased the company from Compagnie Financiere Frey, which bought it in 2002. Reig is active in the luxury goods sector with its ownership of Spanish jewellery brand Vasari, Andorran multibrand luxury store Coco Bis and now Azzaro. Terms of the deal were not revealed, although sources have estimated it at less than €20 million.

“It's an iconic brand with a distinct style and timeless quality – and it as a lot of potential,” Sagra Maceira de Rosen, managing director of Reig's luxury and retail division and investment director of Reig Luxury Partners, the company's private equity fund, told WWD. “Luxury ready-to-wear will remain the core of the brand, but we'll continue to develop footwear and, eventually, possibly go into accessories. We're taking it step by step and really want to get a feel for the business.” Designer Vanessa Seward will remain with the house. She took over from Azzaro himself upon his death in 2003 and has won acclaim for her glamorous designs. Her fans include Hollywood luminaries like Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz.

Reig plans to expand Azzaro's ready to wear assortment to include more than the current offering of expensive occasion wear. Maceira de Rosen said that including retail stores in cities like Los Angeles , London , Moscow and Hong Kong , the company is will “also be pushing the wholesale strategy. As we open stores and increase distribution, the collection will widen and grow.” Contrary to typical private equity investments, Reig intends to keep Azzaro for a very long time. “It's an iconic brand that we love, and the Reig family wants to keep it.” Whether the company will acquire any other luxury brands is unclear. Reig executives could not be reached for comment.

Azzaro was founded in 1962 and became known for figure-hugging jersey-style gowns featuring cutouts. It also became famous for its fragrances, which are produced by former owner Clarins.

baby rolls

2006-10-06T18:52:00.000+02:00

Rolls-Royce has confirmed the long-standing rumors about a baby Roller, saying the smaller-than-Phantom car will be launched "within the next four years".
Secret design work has already started, both at the company's UK Goodwood plant and an undisclosed location in West Sussex. The new Rolls Royce should position itself at an entry level in the company's catalogue with a price estimated roughly between that of the BMW 760i and the Phantom, at ca. 250.000 - 380.000 €.
Some say that this new model may not be built in the UK but in Dingolfing, Germany, on the same line as the BMW 7 Series. This rumour may come from the fact that Xaver Franz (formerly BMW Dolfingen) joined Rolls-Royce Motor Cars as the new director of manufacturing as of the 1st of September.
The location remains uncertain however, as last month Rolls-Royce was granted planning permission for expansion at its UK headquarters and plant, including an extension of production hours.

As for the competition: there are persistent reports as well that DaimlerChrysler will counter, at about the same time (beginning of 2009), with a smaller Maybach based on the S-Class.

Luxury Brand Reports

2006-10-06T09:01:00.000+02:00

Numbers are up in the luxury industry and many try to predict future trends, spending habits, new markets, upcoming consumer groups etc:

Some reading:

Just-Style Global Luxury Apparel Forecast

Luxury Institute US Luxury Marketing (HNWI)

YBP&R Luxury Travel (US Market)

American Express Platinum Luxury Survey (US Market)

IPSOS Focus on Indian and Chinese Luxury Markets

In a nutshell : Consumer expectations are growing faster than ever - exclusivity has to be maintained. Luxury brands will have to focus more on ethnicity and global welldoing, as well as being at the height of technology. Most impotantly, luxury brands will imperitively have to enhance the luxury "Experience".

Arts in autumn

2006-10-05T10:31:00.000+02:00

What is luxury without culture?
I believe that without creative forces at hand the luxury industry runs the risk of going stale. This is why I regularly post cultural and design events happening in Paris.

Here we are, beginning of October and at the eve of the Nuit Blanche (night of the 7-8th October)- a night where the Paris streets are open to all contemporary arts. The city as backdrop to culture, all you really have to do is walk around... and you have the whole night to do this.
Some events can be discovered on the official website. Some neighbourhoods, like the marais, try to keep track of the more obscure happenings.

I will try not to miss the project Yves Klein never saw realised during his lifetime, at the obelisk of the concord - sposored by LVMH.
Another one on my list is "Boucle" a giant human mobile created by Xavier Veilhan on a skating rink with music by Sebastien Tellier.

So, if traipsing around in Paris by night is not your thing here are a couple of other ideas to keep up to date on the arts scene:

Major event of the season : the re-opening of the musée des arts décoratifs (15th of September)

101 years after its initial opening, and 10 years after its closing for renovation, this institution housed in the Marsan wing of the Louvre showcases thousands of objects on 6000 square metres.

ICONIC-At the Espace Louis Vuitton, nine designers celebrate the Vuitton bag.

(15th September-31 december 2006)

Don't worry - be :o)

2006-10-03T16:32:00.000+02:00

I'm glad I am not the only one that remembers those silly smiley patches. Although late teen flash-backs put aside, they really never have left us.

Wunderkind designer ora-ïto launched the vidéo of his feel good fragrance SMILEY at his galery yesterday. This Rubick's Cube inspired spot portrays himself and partner, actress Vahina Giocante. It was directed by - himself of course!

This late 80's flashback perfume is made up of (not entirely) psychostimulants -Theobromine and Phenylethylamine - barbaric names for things found in chocolate.
See "Smiley" VIDEO

I wonder when they are going to bring back "Simon Says"

Which Wine When?

2006-10-03T14:35:00.000+02:00

The age of devination, wondering, supposing is over... no more lingering in quaint wine stores, chatting with the owner about the merits of this region as opposed to the neighbouring one. Trying to remember if the 04 is better than the 05 (or was this vice versa?).

When in doubt.... SCAN! Just grab the bottle, zap the label and the touch sensitive screen will enumerate its many qualities.

According to CNNMoney.com:

"That's just the problem Kevin Dunleavy, 42, is trying to solve with Super Marketing Promotions.
The 20-year veteran of the food marketing industry had spent a whole career giving customers food and recipe information. But then he noticed the market beginning to change.
A 2005 Gallup poll showed wine overtaking beer in popularity with Americans. And according to British firm ISWR/DGR, the United States is expected to have the highest wine consumption in the world by 2008. At the same time, however, people are more confused than ever,
So Dunleavy created something called the Virtual Wine Selector and began testing the interactive kiosks in Meijer grocery stores this year, with a bigger rollout planned throughout the year.
Customers can scan in a bottle of wine they're interested in and receive not only the pertinent information about the wine itself - maker, flavors and so on - but also cheese and food pairings. "

Full article

Culture for sale

2006-10-03T13:28:00.000+02:00

Not so long after selling off Printemps (see : Rinascente in Spring) PPR is thinking of putting another one of its brands on the market. The Fnac. Goldman Sachs and UBS will be handling this transaction. Figures mentioned : 2 B€

The Fnac traditionally perveys the image of retailing culture (CDs DVDs books) - 40% of their turnover lies in this, the other 60% in techproducts.
Film and music buying habits have changed. They are now called downloads. Although the Fnac is France's leader on the music CD market with over 28% share, the future is not bright for this retail activity.

Other PPR brands and services already sold or on the market: Finaref, Rexel, and various participations in non stategic services.

This move confirms once again the PPR strategy :Scimming down on extras and focusing on high yielding, dynamic activities ie: luxury.

PPR entrerd the luxury brand arena in 1999/2000 with the acquisition of fashion houses of Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, now YSL.
Today : Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Bottega Veneta, Sergio Rossi, Boucheron, Bédat & Co, Saint Laurent Parfums and Roger et Gallet are all part of the PPR Gucci Group stable.
Tomorrow : New acquisitions are planned - names, anyone?

VIDEO - Best of Milan Fashion Summer 2007

2006-10-03T09:06:00.000+02:00

Vogue/ Style.com (english)

Alberta Ferretti

Prada

Burburry Prorsum

Bottega Veneta

Marni

Raf Simons for Jil Sander

LVMH has found its "Soul" - Le Mécénat

2006-10-02T22:06:00.000+02:00

Press Conference M. Arnault 2 October 2006
(VIDEO and PDF formats)

I would just like to take a breather and reality check amidst all this catwalk hoo-hah.

Has anybody noticed the headlines about Mr Arnault and his announcement of the "Louis Vuitton Fondation pour la Création"?
To sum things up, after much procrastination and following the press conference of today (see above for video coverage), it is official!
Concretely, this venture will result in a brand new venue for the contemporary art scene. The old bowling club of the Jardin D'Acclimatation will be replaced by a brand new edifice cretated by genius Frank Gehry ( see video below) and will house the private collections of Bernard Arnault as well as temporary exhibitions.
Also, according to some sources, the Foundation will be headed by Suzanne Pagé (current director of the Musée d'Art Moderne Paris).

Let's dig into my archives : Fondation Pinault
I had already mentioned a possible stand off on the ART terrain. One preferring Venice, the other well implanted in Paris (participation in the Force de L'Art exhibition) . At the time I was also was concerned by the fact that I would not have M. Pinault's collection at a couple of metro stops from my place... M. Arnault's will be even closer.

"Sketches of Frank Gehry" by Sidney Pollack - Festival de Cannes 2006

AP Interview: French Fashion House Ungaro Rings in Change With New Team

2006-09-29T20:08:00.000+02:00

PARIS (AP) -- Emanuel Ungaro is a label in transition, the new president of the French fashion house says, with a new owner, new designer and new management after the departure of its founder and closure of its loss-making haute couture business.

President and CEO Mounir Moufarrige has made a specialty out of reviving semi-dormant brands, and said he was treating his new role at the fashion house as business as usual.
"It's a phase that you go through," he told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday before Paris fashion week. "The main objective is to talk a different language to our target consumer, which we think can be younger."

The Lebanese-born businessman's achievements have been notable, including turning the Montblanc pen into a cult object and hiring then-unknown designer Stella McCartney at Chloe, which has since become the must-have label for the under-40 set.

Moufarrige hopes he can work the same magic at Ungaro, which was sold by Italy's Ferragamo Group last year to San Francisco-based high-tech entrepreneur Asim Abdullah.
One of the new owner's first moves was to dump designer Vincent Darre, who had been in place for just one year, and replace him with Peter Dundas, previously with Roberto Cavalli in Milan.
Famed for its bold prints and Grecian draping, Ungaro dresses Hollywood stars including Halle Berry and Cameron Diaz, but has had little impact on street styles.

"What happened to this house in my eyes is that it just slowly aged, and in slowly aging you lose part of the electricity that you had before," said Moufarrige, who joined Ungaro six months ago.
Dundas garnered generally positive reviews for his first catwalk show in March, but buyers are waiting for confirmation of his talent when the spring-summer ready-to-wear collection is unveiled in Paris next week.

Moufarrige, who half-jokingly described his target customer as "the mistress," said he wanted the clothes to sizzle.
"The ingredients which should not be there are the words elegant and sophisticated, those are passe words. The key word is humor," he said.
"In the luxury business, it's not by choice that you have to be elegant, sophisticated and modern. That is an obligation. It goes without saying that you have to be that, but that's not enough," he said.
The brand has only a short time to convince its audience, he said. "People lose interest, and you've got to finance it as well."
But while fashion is a risky venture, the rewards can be huge. The customer base for luxury goods is expanding as the developing world's new rich swell the ranks of potential clients, joined in the West by fashion-savvy baby boomers and teens.

Moufarrige said he saw plenty of potential for Ungaro to expand not only in Russia, China and India, but also in traditional markets.
"There's still a lot of expansion to be done in Europe, Japan and the U.S. for us because you only need to look at the sales records of luxury companies over the past five years and the growth rates they've been getting," he said.
Moufarrige said that, to stay ahead of the pack, his preferred market research consisted of eavesdropping on shoppers in the street. He dismissed research about consumer trends in 2007 and 2008 as "history."
"You've got to think about 2009, because what's going to happen in 2009 is already happening now, the undercurrent is already there," he said. "You have to reinvent yourself faster than the consumer is reinventing himself. That is the key."

Let the shows begin! - Paris SS 2007

2006-09-29T18:33:00.001+02:00

The trendies have arrived....
Autumn and spring their migration patterns remain constant. London, New York, Milan.... Paris.
(With a halt in Madrid for the well fed part of the flock)

So here is the roster for the shows - official and not so much - Paris 1st-8th of October 2006

The opening bell echos "statement" in the Carrousel du Louvre with Chinese fashion house Jefen - "made in China" is out, welcome to the "Création Chinoise"

The week will be clotured by Miuccia Prada's Miu Miu. The venue still remains a mystery for those without invitation. After toying with the idea of the locker rooms of the Stade de France, us common mortals will have to wait until the 8th to find out. Last season her show was showcased in the mythical, albeit slightly stuffy La Pérouse restaurant. As per usual Miuccia's panache turned this setting into an intimate, quircky and very sexy backdrop to her first Paris show.

Just for the fun of it, let's see what a show was 50 years ago...
(Jacques Fath Spring of 1956 collection)

Agape - Love or charity by Cartier

2006-09-29T09:12:00.000+02:00

The original chastity belt inspired LOVE Bracelet by designer Aldo Cipullo, whose early work for Cartier focused on modern interpretations of ancient designs and legends, was launched in 1969.
The old version, based on the concept of exclisivity... the wearer was locked into the bracelet by their lover by a screw and driver furnished with the purchase. With the cash cow days of the 80's and 90's the design was reproduced on earrings, rings and necklaces.

Love at Cartier seems to be more open hearted these days. Today was the official launch of the more "with the times" LOVE CHARITY Bracelet.

The bracelet is fashioned with a knotted silk band that displays a miniature, pink gold version a Love bracelet at its front.
In France CARTIER will donate 100 € from the sale of each LOVE bracelet (390€) to Voix de l'Enfant (Aide à l’Enfance Tibétaine, Sport Sans Frontières, Un Enfant Par La Main and Un Enfant Une Promesse)

In the US Cartier, with the help of Hollywood celebrities, will be donating to different causes according to the colour of the bracelet chosen.

Red: Rosario Dawson: Youth AIDS
White: Salma Hayek: The Salma Hayek Foundation
Baby Pink: Scarlett Johansson: USA Harvest
Purple: Spike Lee: Kanbar Institute of Film and Television
Green: Edward Norton: Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust
Blue: Sarah Jessica Parker: UNICEF
Black: Michael Stipe: Mercy Corps / Gulf Coast Recovery

Dark Pink: Liv Tyler: The Breast Cancer Research Foundation

Escada

2006-09-29T08:58:00.001+02:00

MUNICH, Germany (AFP) - Escada, the German maker of luxury ready-to-wear women's clothes, said it has appointed Damiano Biella, design director with the Italian fashion brand Valentino, as its new creative director.
Biella, 35, will be Escada's new creative head from October 1, the fashion house said in a statement.
He has been Valentino's design director since 2003 after serving as creative director at Carolina Herrera for five years. He has also worked for Celine and Gucci.
During his tenure at Valentino, Biella had been tipped by insiders as a potential successor to the Roman couturier.
He was credited with bringing strong merchandising skills to the fashion house and successfully expanding its diffusion lines.
At Escada, Biella will take over from Brian Rennie, 43, who was responsible for the development of collections since 1994.
"With Damiano Biella, we want to open a new era in the design of the Escada brand," said chief executive Frank Rheinboldt

Luxury Travel

2006-09-25T09:00:00.000+02:00

With an ever increasing emphasis on "the experience", luxury clients will spend a great deal more on travel. To cater to these golden flyers Forbes has launched a new website :

Forbes Traveler

VIDEO NY Fashion Week

2006-09-25T08:55:00.000+02:00

Vogue VIDEO NY Fashion week Highlights

HERMES : news, more news, more more news.

2006-09-18T09:46:00.001+02:00

News:
PARIS (AFX) - Luxury goods company Hermes International will invest around 140 mln eur next year, of which 100 mln will be to develop its retail network as it develops high-growth sectors like jewellery and gloves that are under-represented in its stores, chief executive Patrick Thomas said in an interview with the weekly newspaper Investir.

The total investment amount is similar to this year's and is up from 119 mln in 2005.

Thomas also said Hermes has already bought nearly 140 mln eur in shares under a 200-mln-eur buyback program occurring this year. He said further share purchases will be made until the 200 mln total is reached.

The company plans no major acquisitions at present, according to Thomas.

More news:

Véronique Gautier, président du directoire d’Hermès Parfums depuis 2001, a pris les fonctions de directeur général d’Hermès Maroquinerie-Sellerie. Auparavant directeur général international d’Helena Rubinstein, Catherine Fulconis rejoint la marque en qualité de Dg d’Hermès Parfums. Au sein d’Hermès Parfums, Hélène Dubrule, directrice du marketing International a pris la direction générale d’Hermès Soie. Elle est remplacée à ce poste par Barbara Albasio.
Enfin, Olivier Monteil, responsable des relations presse et publiques internationales voit ses fonctions élargies et devient directeur de la communication d’Hermès Parfums, notamment en charge de la publicité.

More more news: Avenue George V store ressucitated.

Hermès agrandit son magasin rue George-V La boutique Hermès rue George-V fête ce soir sa réouverture et son agrandissement. Elle s’étend désormais sur deux étages : l’espace soierie, le cuir, le prêt-à-porter homme et la chapellerie Motsch au rez-de-chaussée ; la joaillerie, l’art de vivre et le prêt-à-porter femme au premier et nouvel étage. L’agence d’architecture Renée Dumas qui s’est chargée des travaux a associé tradition de la maison et design moderne avec des matériaux tels que le verre et le merisier.
(14 septembre 2006)

Greek Goddess Flys Safe

2006-09-01T19:02:00.000+02:00

Eos Airlines Inc., founded by David J. Spurlock in 2003 has seen an unintended boost in business due to the global travel insecurity. The NY/London luxury service was created last october to cater to the affluent traveller.
M. Spurlock sees the retail industry as a model for what's happening in air travel. Different airlines fitting into various market segments.
Reservations at the purchase-based airline are up by a third over the next three weeks, he said, following last week's revelations of a new terror plot targeting commercial aviation between Europe and the United States.
One rotation per day (like the concord) with Boeing 757 jumbos that usually accommodate 220, refurbished to seat 48, create a safe and efficient travel environment.
Eos boasts no cancellations, an average delay of just 14 minutes, and not a single lost piece of luggage on any of its flights. One rotation per day (JFK International Airport to Stansted Airport, 30 miles north of central London) and it plans to expand to two round-trip flights starting Sept. 8. It aims to run 15 north Atlantic flights in 2010.
Eos is still required to follow the same security rules governing other, larger airlines.
Compared to regular carriers, Eos staff do not have to deal with a packed plane and are more available to care for the few passengers aboard.
M. Spurlock (formerly BA) obtained $187 million in venture capital to get it off the ground. The privately held airline hasn't disclosed whether it is profitable, but it did announce this year that it had reached an important break-even airline performance measurement.
Services included in most fare levels are : limousine service, with travelers greeted at curbside, and escorted to the ticket counter. The spacious suites include chairs that fold into beds extending 2 metres, coupled with cashmere blankets and down pillows.
Four-course gourmet meals and individual DVD players with Bose headphones are among the in-flight amenities.

Round-trip tickets range from $2,950 to $6,500.

Eos Airlines

Kenzo

2006-09-01T14:37:00.000+02:00

PARIS, 1 sept 2006 (AFP) - Le leader mondial du luxe Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) a annoncé vendredi la nomination d'Alberto Lavia comme président de sa marque de prêt-à-porter Kenzo Mode en remplacement de François Steiner qui occupait ce poste depuis novembre 2003.
Cette nomination prend effet immédiatement, précise LVMH dans un communiqué. Diplômé en marketing de l'université de Turin, l'Italien Alberto Lavia, âgé de 58 ans, a eu des responsabilités croissantes dans la mode, et notamment au sein de Polo Ralph Lauren Europe. Il était depuis 2004 PDG du groupe italien de lingerie et de prêt-à-porter La Perla.

"Bonjour - t'es où?"

2006-09-01T12:37:00.000+02:00

According to all, the high end mobile phone industry is booming. With phones up to 1 M € (120 carats of diamonds and 18 carat gold) from Swiss luxury personal communications brand Goldvish
Another such brand, Vertu does not call these "mobile's" anymore but "personal communications instruments".

Now the luxury apparel industry has appropriated this market and is branding these new accessories with their logos. Expectations of these products are high (as high as let's say other derivatory product sales eg sunglasses and watches)

Technology is moving fast. Fast in our culturally "impervious-to-new-tech" countries like France. At lightening speed in emerging luxury brand markets like India. Large luxury groups will have to be very reactive when it comes to developing these items, product credibility being an essetial criteria for luxury brands.
Unfortunately today's branded phones will be outdated quite rapidly. This fact being even more relevant in "tech-hungry" markets.
Skype has annonced that it will be encouraging hardware manufacturers to integrate their software into their mobile phones. Perhaps the next luxury/high-tech adventure will be more visionary.

Mobilemag

My Fair Millionaire

2006-09-01T10:44:00.000+02:00

-Knock, Knock!
-Who's there?
-Me
-Please, come in, lovely to see you , how are you going with your unlimited credit?

That's what my dream conversation with my banker would sound like.
And that's exactly what it would be, if I were to attend the Millionaire Fair today.

from the 1-3 September in Cannes. Enjoy the site.

Millionaire Fair

Bon points

2006-08-30T13:20:00.000+02:00

Big Big event for our little ones.

The opening of a parisian palace store for Bonpoint, rue de tournon in the 6th arrondissement. The 1000 square metres of the "Hotel Brancas", a mini chateaux near the jardin du luxembourg, complete with french gardens will house this mythical childrens brand. The different sales spaces dedicated to the various sub themes and ages of clients (including the YAM -y'en a marre - line for teens) showcase the perfectly designed collections. But that's not all. A tree and cubby house, flowers on ceilings, a pink caravan.... makes me regret my childhood.

Born from a hole-in-the-wall children's multi brand and own creation space called Bonbon, Marie France Cohen's brilliant idea to "dress children as children and not small grown up's" boomed when in 1974 she associated with her sister Dominique Swildens and husband Ben. Bonbon became Bonpoint. The next three decennies saw the brand expanding exponentially and globally.
In 2003 Edmond de Rothschild Capital Partners saw the potentiel and bought 70 % of the firm's capital all the while leaving complete freedom to the founding family.

So what's so special about Bonpoint? Is it it's retro-contemporary designs? The colours and prints do bring back memories of our favourite dresses and shoes from so long ago. Today, from an adult perspective they make sense now... they are not just pretty but also synonymous with quality and practicality. Clothes that are exactly what our inner child wants our actual child to wear, and styles that our actual child agrees to wear.

Bonpoint

L'air du temps

2006-08-30T12:25:00.000+02:00

Suedish designer Lars Nilsson resigned last tuesday from the Nina Ricci (Puig). M. Nilsson had turned the aging french fashion brand around, bring a sophisticated, elegant and optimistic vision to the youngest of the pre-WWII couture houses .

Founded in 1932 by Italian born Marie Adélaïde Ricci (née Nielli) and her son Robert, Nina Ricci couture house discreetly thrived and launched several perfumes including best seller "L'air du Temps".
The fashion house was bought from the Fuchs family, the de Kousmine family and Sanofi in 1998 by spanish cosmetics firm Puig Prestige Beauté.
Unfortunately Nina Ricci will be absent from the Paris spring/summer 07 fashion shows, but available at the showrooms. John Galliano's and Christian Lacroix's ex-assistant mentioned that his resignation was based on personal motifs and he would like to take some time off. He also confided that since 2003 Nina Ricci "has been a fabulous experience, but I would like to do something else".
His successor should be named in the next week. Perhaps Olivier Theyskens?

Nina Ricci

e-chanel

2006-08-13T18:56:00.000+02:00

Chanel will relaunch its Web site with the help of online services firm FatWire Software. This software gathers data at the e-commerce store and then personalizes content, product placement and promotional offerings that apply to the specific customer.

Chanel is also using the FatWire platform to gather customer information to tailor offers and content to online visitors, as well as better equip its regional sales forces. Visitor data can be based on demographics, preferences or purchase history. Local Chanel sales people have access to all the reporting and analytics to enhance their own marketing efforts.

Translating impeccable and personalised service into the netsphere Chanel is moving one step closer to creating a rich virtual luxury enviroment, complementing and not competing with it's retail locations.

Chanel

CANDY

2006-08-08T02:00:00.000+02:00

The Candy brothers plan on setting up a chain of retail outlets in cities such as New York, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong to sell the home furnishings and gadgets available in their yachts, aircraft and apartments.

Nick, 33, was working in advertising when he and Christian, 32, a former commodity trader, decided to go into business together after spotting a gap in the market for designing luxury play pads for high-rollers. They are extending their franchise into luxury jets, yachts, hotels and spas. The brothers have set up Candy & Candy Aviation, working with Bombardier to supply design and jet services for the ultra-wealthy. The new venture aims to transfer the design skills used on luxury apartments to create bespoke luxury aboard private jets for billionaire businessmen and royalty. Exclusivity being the key and the impossible being the "cahier des charges". They are looking at installing spas that work at 40,000ft.”
The brothers snapped up their own luxury vessel from John Hargreaves at the October boat show in Monaco in 2004, a 147ft (45m) Benetti called Candyscape. It has a dining room table that turns into a routlette wheel and a bathroom that is a copy of a Louis Vuitton trunk. Sir Tom Hunter, Paris Hilton and the Rolling Stones are among those to have hired the £12.5 million boat.
They are also considering lending their name to luxury hotel groups and spas. A new brand, Studio Candy, is also under development, selling smaller, cheaper apartments, boats and jet pods.
Brigitta Spinocchia, Nick’s girlfriend, is a design director at Candy & Candy.

Candyscape
Candy & Candy

Opening bell on wall street

2006-08-08T01:48:00.000+02:00

This article from CNBC illustrates the constant striving for perfect luxury location. No comments on my part are necessary.

By Julia Boorstin
CNBC

NEW YORK - It’s something businesses have always tried to follow. Go where the money is. But, Wall Street seemed to be an exception. Despite the billions in lower Manhattan, luxury retailers shied away. Until now. Wall Street just isn’t worker bees; it’s power brokers with money to burn and expensive tastes.
Luxury brand dealers are no longer expecting Wall Street to come uptown to them, they’re profiting from moving their Madison Avenue names down to Wall Street. Tiffany and French luxury house Hermes are some of the latest companies announcing new locations, both steps from the New York Stock Exchange. The financial capital’s pin stripes and narrow streets are drawing high-end names with one very important thing – money.
While some of the wealthiest people in the country work there, two out of three on Wall Street make $136,500 a year on average. They have nowhere close to spend that mad money. Luxury automaker BMW was among the first to move in and cash in, and to learn luxury spending goes beyond year-end bonuses.

Donald Deluxe

2006-08-08T01:35:00.000+02:00

Proof that house hold brands are trading up. Disney is reviewing it's product offer. The new MICKEY club kids will be wearing cashmere.

Reuters:
Walt Disney Co. said on Monday it will sell high-end cashmere, organic cotton and silk voile infant clothes and blankets at such retailers as Nordstrom Federated Department Stores and Bloomingdale's.
The Disney consumer products unit of Walt Disney Co. will first launch a Bambi Collection with baby blankets, block sets in tulle bags and burp cloths.
No financial terms were immediately available.

Exit ROCHAS

2006-08-06T18:36:00.000+02:00

Confusing scent strategies by Procter and Gamble.

ROCHAS fell into the hands of P&G following the takeover of German company Wella in 2003.
The gruelling announcement was made on the 19th of july 2006. They will be killing off the longstanding fashion house. A suitable buyer had not be found. By suitable buyer they meant one who would accept to only acquire the apparel side of the brand. P&G are not letting go of the lucrative Rochas Perfumes. The fabulous Pret à Porter collections reinterpreted by wonderchild Olivier Theyskens will no longer be. Bye Bye Rochas.

Holding onto Rochas perfumes on one hand, and on the other wishing to part with "4711". The world's oldest fragrance still on the market. In absorbing Wella, P&G also inherited the whole catalogue of Koln's Muelhens-Gruppe including "Tosca" another scent created in the 1920's. All is for sale. All but the manufacturing side of the business.
According to a P&G spokeswoman in germany Petra Popall, P&G is a "global brand and wishes to concentrate on brands with global potential".
Nicely said for a suds salesman. Although if you really think about it - "4711" is known even in the highlands of the Thai golden triangle (personal experience), whereas Rochas is a luxury brand -therefore more confidential - and high maintenance.
Why sell "4711" when it answers perfectly to their mainstream soap markets globally?
How is P&G going to be able to uphold the prestige of Rochas globally, without promoting it's image through high profile catwalk collections? Ok, they admit to not owning other luxury fashion brands and therefore have no desire to invest in a first experience without an existing infrastructure. So what is their brand strategy?
If anyone can explain this.... feel free.

As for Olivier Theyskens... I guess he still has a couple of surprises in store for us yet.

New York Times Oliver Theyskens

Luxury Brand Business News

2006-08-06T17:58:00.000+02:00

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Style.com - Fashion Shows

2006-08-06T13:12:00.000+02:00

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Define : "yummy"

2006-08-06T12:14:00.000+02:00

The french language is tricky. Even after 14 years in this country I still can't figure out some of it's nuances. The ironic part is that I tend to fling into my english conversations french expressions. Sometimes the french word is spot on. Sometimes its multitude of connotations make for subtle word games. The french language has become an artform in itself. Defining an art by another becomes surreal.
Let's take the case of the definition of "gastronomie" - The Office of "la langue francaise" (french language) describes it to be "the art of eating well". The Académie Française favours the definition of "an ensemble of rules which make up the art of hearty eating". Wikipédia encyclopedia says that "gastronomie" regroups everything that makes up for fine dining: style of cooking, the composition of the meal, the harmony of the dishes and the drinks.
"Gastronomie" is one of those french paradoxes. Is it an experience? is it an art? is it defined by rules or can you just wing it?
Personally, it's one of the reasons why I have stayed in this country. A way of savouring culture. For me it's an event. It can be contrived or spontaneous. Only in france do you discuss food whilst enjoying a meal - a happening within the happening. The better the meal, the more passionate the conversation about other dishes. It is a social event. It can be upscale or very basic. Any which way, it is generous.

Pierre Hermé
Alain Passard
Alain Ducasse
Top Restaurants in Paris Michelin Guide

New York Times

2006-08-05T20:27:00.000+02:00

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Up, up and away...

2006-08-05T20:08:00.000+02:00

According to an article in "Cyberpress", affluent travellers are starting to ask themselves this question:
"If I can spend 35 000€ on a luxury suite on the QE2 and have to mingle with people who spent 1200€ on a cabin, I can spend 10K€ more and rent a yacht".
Today renting a yacht or a private island is the privilege of only the outragiously rich, but luxury travel specialists are starting to review their offers. And they are trading them UP.

As luxury brands tend to cater more and more for the "happy masses" to finance ever growing businesses, so the "happy few" are fleeing the mainstream and taking refuge in elite havens.

Will this trend have to kick in soon in other luxury industries? Luxury tends to play on the sentiment of "aspiration". Apparently expectations are growing.

Le voyage de luxe menacé par la classe moyenne

Rinascente in Spring

2006-08-05T18:39:00.000+02:00

PPR will definitively conclude sale of Department stores Le Printemps to the Borletti family (30%) backed by RREEF (Deutsche Bank - 70%). Both parties mentioned that this transaction will only be final after European Comission approval (may take 5 weeks). The sales figure mentioned is of 1,075 billion Euros.

Maurizio Borletti, CEO of Rinascente department stores, announced that the printemps stores will be focusing on luxury as well as developping online sales.

Borletti also mentioned he would be investing 280 millions Euros in 5 years. Le Printemps department stores employs 5.287 in 17 stores.

GenXers - Y they shop.

2006-08-04T15:29:00.000+02:00

Once apon a time there were stores who had friendly, discreet and professional staff. Sales assistants that actually assisted you. Personnel that was proud to show you around. Shopping in luxury brand stores was a rounded experience. Clients were faithful to a brand.

Does this still exist?

I would like to react to a survey held by American Express on High Net Worth Individuals. Although it's not that recent, it underlines an important trend.

American Express GenX luxury survey

To sum up this survey, BabyBoomers have more time on their hands and have accumulated more "goods" during their lifetime and are therefore more inclined to invest in luxury experiences

The twist is that, even though GenXers don't have much time on their hands (active professionals), they will spend as high a percentage of their incomes on luxury experiences as Baby Boomers. Is this an education thing? Have they been brought up to favour "experiencing" over "having"?

In a market place that is saturated with household name luxury brands, how do you grab those GenX shoppers? After all they represent over 20% of clients. More importantly - how do you keep them coming?
What if shopping rebecomes an experience?

As the demand for luxury goods exploded in the late 90's so did the expansion of retail networks. This expansion was so rapid that some brands were not always keeping up with standards in high service. It didn't matter so much at the time. Business was booming. Numbers were up. Who cared? Nonchalence and aloofness became luxury retail staff trademarks. I guess it was their way of dealing with frantic boulemic shoppers.

After 2001 this all changed. As people started asking themselves "what is it all about?" so the luxury industry started concentrating on basics again. Product and clients. After having invested on sophisticated CRM programs,luxury brands are starting to invest in their staff with sales and product training.
That's all very well. Staff will be able to perform well and inform clients about the product and brand. But something is still missing to be able to call shopping "an experience".

Faith.
Faith in the task, faith in the team, faith in the brand. Just as GenXers believe in a luxury brand's inherent quality, store staff should believe in their product. Sharing their enthousiasm and therefore enhancing the emotional value of the product. Connecting with their clientele on this product level creates a positive experience - for both shopper and staff.

Tea, Coffee, Me?

2006-08-03T15:09:00.000+02:00

I would like to explain the creative process of this blog.
After checking out real time information on the luxury goods market, I try to vary my sources by going onto non industry sites and typing the search word "luxury/luxe". August being a pretty slow period newswise (today's N°1 info is that Condoleeza Rice is one of the world's best dressed women), I have plenty of time to view infos from other horizons.
I found this little jewel on YOUTUBE.
How people interpret the notion of luxury remains a headscratcher.

(ad for lynx deodorant)

Imelda Marcos is a Man

2006-08-03T11:08:00.000+02:00

What is it with men and footwear?
Since times gone by shoes have been a status symbol. Is this still true today? In roman times, for example the patricians wore red sandals as a symbol of their cast. Today a man will be perfectly comfortable in rags, as long as he has great shoes. Regardless of cast. He will unabashidly glance at his feet, admiring his purchase, congratulating himself on his taste. Even the least coquette man will take time to choose the perfect pair, the one that represents his personality. Once this perfect pair is found, it may be bought by the dozen- perhaps quantity reinforces character.
Men will also sneak a peak at other men's feet. Appreciating (or not) their style. Fathoming the wearer's social level or taste. This is permitted, as opposed to belts for example. Never have I noticed a man checking out another's belt. This would be totally inappropriate. So what is it with this particular accessory?
After asking a few of my friends to explain this conundrum, their immediate justification is "craftsmenship". Followed closely by "but, don't they look great?!". So why use technicity as an excuse? Why not just say : "I saw them, I loved them, I had to have them".
Could it be that shoes bring out the vulnerable side of the male gender? The irrational part of themselves? That checking out another guys feet means reassuring oneself that other men are vulnerable too? That this whole status symbol business is just a ploy to hide a deeper illogical desire? Sounds like there is more yin in the yang than they will admit.
On a more serious note, the 90's trend in casualization of the male wardrobe and it's effect in the workplace resulted in the complete reviewal of male behaviour towards "la mode". Whereas before "the great shoe" was exclusively purchased at bootmakers (quality and "savoir faire") today style is also taken into account. This has prompted luxury fashion brands to offer a wider selection of men's footwear collections, adapting their creations to todays many social situations. Driving shoes, weekend loafers, sporty lace ups. To every situation it's shoe. Even though clothes may not be of a particular brand, men will pay a good penny for a well-shod foot.
Guys just admit it : you feel pretty in those pumps.

THE BUZZ

2006-08-02T15:21:00.000+02:00

Shhhh, it's confidential!
Legrand 1894 : all I have been able to find on this company is an immense pedigree of a father to son successful, yet provincial tailoring business. A background filled with princes and duchesses and a so called piece of haute joaillerie called the "Wells Bells" (yes, as in the hawaiian flower) so confidential that it remains a mystery.
Apparently Legrand 1894 is continuing the tradition of trinkets and has put a 250k€ watch on the market the "Gala GLX" - the summum of haute joaillerie. A stunning event in Cannes this year marked it's release. I didn't attend - then again, I'm not in the watch business.
The press release did not mention anything about swiss craftsmanship, or double tourbillons. These marks of technicity generally take years to develop, with budgets of millions of euros. Communication strategies tend to be big, when a project is that pricey.
I'm not a jet setter either. Another reason of me not being invited. The baroness U v G was however. Obviously I couldn't get a background on her either. The tales told by attendees are related on blogs or public forums.
Clients or former employees of this company have commented in discussion groups (mainly in reaction to books about embroidery or a public tv show, which I couldn't find) but they all date from march-april 2006. Basically they all defend the values of this great "maison de couture". Funnily enough some of their phrases remind me of the press release ( "auguste maison").
So, the secret prevades.

Is this a tremendous marketing ploy? Has someone created "THE BUZZ"?

If so, bravo! It is working. I just spent 4 hours researching a 250K€ watch, that is so confidential even major publications haven't picked up on it.

AND I STILL WANT TO SEE IT FOR REAL!

Legrand 1894

Ziggy Stardust meets Cerruti

2006-08-02T12:26:00.000+02:00

Private equity fund Matlin Patterson Global Advisors announced it's buyout of Cerruti - all activities (Fin.Part) on the 1st of August 2006 (Agence France Presse - Paris). No figures where mentioned.
Names where dropped however. New PDG Philippe Cleach and Artistic Director Nicolas Andreas Taralis (x Heidi Slimane and Helmut Lang assistant).
I can't wait to see what this urban warrior inspired designer will do to the overly classic Cerruti image.

Nicolas Andreas Taralis

What's "holiday" to you?

2006-08-01T21:18:00.000+02:00

Did you know there is a Ritz-Carlton in Wolfsburg Germany ? (yes - the same place as VW biggest manufacturing plant)
According to WOWtravel this destination is the N°1 on their "7 sensations - macho" packages. You combine a B&O furnished presidential suite stay with the pick up (from a 20 storey high tower) of your brand new car.

WOW travel

Now, to me, this is a complete nightmare holiday.
1. I'm not a macho, so I really shouldn't be picking this package.
2. Sound is not vital when I picture my ideal time out. Bang&Olufsen should be left at home.
3. I'm scared of hights. 20 storeys of cars piled up freaks me out.
4. Travelling to pick up my new car seems pointless. I prefer having things delivered.

According to estimates by the International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) - the largest global trade event for the luxury travel market (next edition 4-7th of december 2006 in Cannes)
ILTM
- the top 3% of travellers in the world spend 20% of the total tourism expenditures. With baby boomers set to inherit $3 trillion each year over the next ten years, prospects for this travel sector are excellent.
In a time of consumer coddling the perfect holiday is not just about cushy *****+ hotels anymore. It's about dreams coming true. And dreams come in as many forms as there are topend globetrotters.
For some it's about pioneering. Heisting a 10kg backpack up some hill/mountain and having the distinct feeling of being the first tourist to have scuttled that stiff cliff.
Himalayan Kingdoms
For other's it's about exclusivity. Privacy in all things including the pool. In one deluxe hotel in Indonesia, the pool is private but the bathroom is outdoors (Amanjiwo resort Borobudur).
Aman Resorts
Responsibilty and ecology may be high up on the list for another category of travellers. Kayaking in asian rainforests, meeting "Bud" the Orang Utang.
Responsible Travel
Luxury travel can also be all about the cultural experience. Opera, private museum visits, elite dinners.
The Holiday Planner UK
Some prefer pampering. Spa's and ethnic massages served with hand picked fruit platters by smiling, caring staff.
Raffles Hotel Singapore

For me it's simplicity. Farniente, Food and Family.

What have you been dreaming of?

Vionnet - Ma madeleine à moi

2006-08-01T21:17:00.000+02:00

One of the first fashion houses I started working for in '93 was Jil Sander. It was a fabulous experience and probably the reason why I continued in this line of work.
Jil Sander's Avenue Montaigne store was located in the former "hotel particulier" of pioneer fashion designer Madeleine Vionnet (50, ave Montaigne). Jil Sander whispered that the location wasn't a coincidence, she shared Ms Vionnet's vision of elegance and cut. Just after inaugurating the store a very discreet grayhaired lady timidly entered and asked if she could visit. "I used to work here" she announced proudly, then she started to show us where the atelier had been, where the Hispano Suizas parked. She had been a "petite main" in Madeleine Vionnet's workshop. Sometimes whilst working in the upper storeys I could still feel the presence of this grande dame of couture.

The early 1900's symbolised the beginning of feminism. Women began to make it. In the fashion world there were Jeanne Lanvin (single mum and entrepeneur) and Madeleine Vionnet. Ms Vionnet created her fashion house in 1912, although success arrived after the first World War. Her simple elegant styles made all ornementation on garments previously favoured by contemporary Poiret, obsolete. Her invention of the "bias" (or cross) cut and the drapé reinvented couture completely. Her abolition of the corset liberated women. All in all she was a feisty lady, capable of leaving man and house to start over in another country. Well ahead of her times she had a deep social integrity ( her employees had advantages unheard of in those times - day care, health care and payed holidays). As a visionary business woman she quasi invented a system of copyright (her creations had serial numbers and were orned with her digital prints) and was one of the first to distribute Pret à Porter collections derived from haute couture.
Her last collection was in 1939. Her fashion house was up for sale at Druot in 1940. She spent the next and last 3 decades of her life on her other passions: nature and culture.
Of Madeleine Vionnet I will remember this quote:
"Il faut toujours se dépasser pour s'atteindre... Toujours lutter au fond, c'est passionnant"

The Vionnet trademark was bought in 1988 by the de Lummen family who have since been distributing it's frangrances (Madeleine Vionnet SA / Parfums Aubusson). Although there had been suggestions of bringing back the pret à porter in the 90's, my guess is that there hasn't been the oppertunity to enrole a designer who shared the same vision.

Now Vionnet is back on the fashion scene. Arnaud de Lummen, General Manager of the ressucitated fashion house announced this month (july 2006) the arrival of Sophia Kokosalaki as artistic director.

« Notre retour sur la scène de la mode ne sera pas une rétrospective du passé mais marquera notre volonté de perpétuer l’esprit visionnaire de Vionnet. Sophia, reconnue pour son travail sur la coupe et les matières, est sans doute l’unique créatrice contemporaine en parfaite symbiose avec l’héritage de la Maison et pleinement capable d’inventer son futur.»
(10 July 2006 Vogue)

Innovation and technical perfection are the main factors why there is a coherence between the artistic styles of these two women. I really am looking forward to Madeleine's revival. RdV spring/summer 2007 season.

Vionnet
Sophia Kokosalaki

Paris is a village

2006-08-01T19:13:00.000+02:00

Having worked for years in luxury stores, my opinion is based on "onhand experience".
Points of sale have gone through many phases in the recent decade but one factor has always remained the same

"location, location, location" - yes but which one - and how?

I won't be able to give you insider information on Paris real estate. It's Up's and Up's are still a mystery to me. Shop locations, however, are not.
As customer types vary, and the luxury industry has gone from "connoisseur clientèle", "luxury consumers" to "me generation" back to "easthetically aware", so have locations varied. To be able to offer complete sensory shopping experience, stores have moved or opened in various locations, creating rollercoaster trends in real estate (and spanning as many client types as possible).
In 1992 the Faubourg Saint Honoré was a narrow street with only Hermès and Lanvin as shopping highlights. The top location at that time was Ave Montaigne. Things have changed, although Ave Montaigne still is THE thoroughfare for luxury shopping (parking space "oblige"), Fbg St Honoré now looks like a quaint luxury disney village, Dolce, Prada and Chanel all hobbly topply one next to the other. The adjacent streets have scrubbed up and the whole area is now populated by logo bag carrying tourists.
Also, let's not forget the creation in the late 90's of a whole new luxury epicenter in Saint Germain- big uproar at the time. The low key french intelligencia inhabited this area and definitely did not want an Emporio Armani Megastore there.
There was a project to fashion another center on the Marché Saint Honoré (due to the creation of a passage from place Vendome) following the huge success of Colette. This project was abandoned after Sept 2001. This area now houses "createur" brands.

So, ok, luxury stores are to be found all around. The "triangle d'or" - golden triangle - which traditionally spanned the area from Ave George V to the Champs Elysées to Ave Montaigne, has now extended to 3 poles : Montaigne-Fbg-St Germain.
Some brands choose to be present in all locations (eg Prada).

Is uniformity in visual identity still relevant in a tentacular luxury distribution schema?

As my experience goes, local clients will not be very faithful to one point of sale within a same brand and city. Sympathy for a particular sales assistant aside, of course.
Marketing gurus have been too busy reenforcing international VI unity in points of sale to fathom the impact this may have on local clients. These are screaming to be identified. Generally this population lives in the same area as the store and has strong ties to it. If these upmarket neighbourhoods have a history, aura or particular ambiance (eg Saint Germain) why not take it into account? (generally, that's why the space is so expensive)
This may also work for out of town clients. Instead of seeing an exact replica of their home store, they may appreciate the diversity and creativity of a coherent yet different space.
In an age where luxury stores are competing for clients who are becoming increasingly needy of personal identification, does a brand need to impose heedlessly it's unique vision, or is the future

translating brand image to geography?

PRADA STORES

Interbranded

2006-08-01T18:52:00.000+02:00

With this year "BEST GLOBAL BRANDS 2006 edition" The french heist only nine into global top 100 ranking, 7 of which are of the luxury industry.
LVMH places 3 into ranking :Louis Vuitton 17th (17,6 billion dollars), Hennessy 83rd (3,57 billion dollars), Moet & Chandon 87th(3,25 billion dollars). PPR places Gucci - 46th .
L'Oreal is 5th in overall ranking, Chanel 61st, Hermes 81st and Cartier 86th. The other non-luxury brands are Nestlé - 63rd and Danone 67th.

INTERBRAND 2006 TOP100

Is Christie's going "E-bay"?

2006-08-01T17:58:00.000+02:00

Christie's is opening up to client lambda. No need to be in the know on auction house etiquette. Not only this but really, how many of us have seen sales catalogues and dreamt of attending a particular auction? Now we can comfortably participate from the privacy of our home (or offices).

Since mid July 2006 Christie's has opened a new era in auctioning. Online bidders to their mice!!! Watch and hear the auction online. Bid if the price is right.

I can't imagine that bidding for an NK€ painting whilst chewing on pizza, in your track pants behind the screen translates "glamour" (or if that watch you have had your eyes on for aaages seems that attractive through lcd).
The good news is that you can scratch your nose freely without being mistaken for a bidder.

RdV online on the 5th of december (remember that "little black dress on sale"?)

Christie's

Ces Monsieurs au Musée

2006-07-31T15:58:00.000+02:00

A couple of days off in summer? Why not zip around the corner or use these exhibitions as an excuse for a long week end.
Fashion, design and art, three disciplines which tickle our sense of créativity. Knowing our history helps us acquire the basics for the future. For those of you who are neophites, just enjoy the innovations of those times when one adressed designers as "Monsieur".

Paris, France

Exposition "Christian Dior et le Monde"
jusqu’au 24 septembre au Musée Christian Dior à Granville
lvmh
Musée Dior

Exposition “Balenciaga Paris” , du 6 juillet 2006 au 28 janvier 2007, Les Arts Décoratifs, Musée de la Mode et du Textile, 107, Rue de Rivoli, 75001 PARIS.
Balenciaga Exhibition

Lyon, France
Exposition "Leonard - Impressions de Mode", du 7 avril au 8 Octobre 2006 Musée des Tissus et des Arts Décoratifs de LYON.
Musee des tissus

Marseille, France
Exposition "Dress Code: Tenue de Cocktail", au musée de la mode de Marseille jusqu'au 10 septembre 2006
Mairie de Marseille

Anvers, Belgique
3ème épisode d’une série d’expositions consacrée au couturier japonais Yohji Yamamoto, jusqu'au 13 août 2006 au Musée de la Mode de la Province d’Anvers (MoMU)
MoMu

Brescia, Italie
Exposition ″Versace : Un Homme, Un Génie de la Mode et des Arts″, au Musée de la mode et du Costume Mazzucchelli de Ciliverghe de Mazzano, Brescia. Les relations proches entre Gianni Versace et l’art, jusqu'au 29 octobre 2006.
Musei Mazzucchelli

For more information on other happenings throughout europe:
Culture et loisirs France2

Collector Cars

2006-07-29T19:49:00.000+02:00

1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster Price: $3.6 million ($4 million adjusted for inflation)
Date of Sale: Jan. 18, 2002
15th most expensive car at auction (and my personal favourite).

Although this entry isn't exactly "news from paris" It made me think about this apparent market. Very exclusive. One often hears about paintings beeing sold for record prices, or even dresses (see previous entry). Cars very rarely get publicised. Too technical? Not more so than rare watches or fine wine.... If you can help me understand this problem please let me know.

FYI: Most expensive car at auction

Bugatti Royale - 1931 Bugatti Royale Kellner Coupe Price: $8.7 million ($17.6 million adjusted for inflation) Date of Sale: Nov. 17, 1987

Forbes Life

Fondation Pinault

2006-07-29T13:45:00.000+02:00

Unfortunately the commune of Boulogne Billancourt will not be hosting the Fondation Pinault on it's Ile Seguin.
Due to red tape issues and time line problems, Mr Pinault (PPR) has decided to open his fondation in VENICE in the Grazzi Palace (formerly FIAT). This really makes me wonder on how reactive the french government really is on cultural issues involving international yet french based corporations.
Could this be a deliberate move against PPR?

Not wanting to talk about politics on this blog, I felt the need to express my dismay of very selfishly not being able to easily access this fabulous collection (the initial museum planned would have been at 5 metro stops from my house).

Not only has France lost the oppertunity to host a great foundation, but the paris region has lost out on a cultural space that would have brought paris back to it's former artistic glory.
The other cultural projects planned on the Isle Seguin are compromised by this pull out.

This act is quite surprising considering the effort thas has been put into cotemporary art in Paris lately. The "FORCE DE L'ART" exposition showcased contemporary french and french based artists in the fabulously recently restored Grand Palais (with the helping hand of LVMH).

I thought to myself - yes- Paris is really happening again on the creative scene.
But now this set back.

Why an article on art on this blog?
Creativity one of the most important factors of the luxury industry. The product being the key, without creative influences on hand, french creations run the risk of becoming stale on an international market.

see also: Studiograph
Fondation Pinault