Lorre White, The Guru of Luxury

Luxury Brand Social Commerce Site Gains Momentum in China

Buykee Explodes on the Chinese Social Shopping Stage

Luxury Brand Social Commerce Site Gains Momentum

As e-Commerce is solidified as a major outlet for retailers in China, users turn to Buykee to post and discover interesting new fashion content. Recently launched out of beta form, the social commerce site appears very much like a social networking site, but with a distinct bend toward higher-end fashions. The shopping-oriented pin board has been compared to Mogujie, covered here by FashInvest. The same team first began a social IT community site under the same name in 2005. However, when that project failed, the team went back to the drawing board and emerged with Buykee innovations.

The Buykee official blog stands firmly when it says, “online shopping portal platform will be the next big thing.” If trends continue as they have been with the progress of the launches of Mogujie, Renren Plaza and Wantu, the sector will only grow from here.

In the Chinese economy, minimum wage is going up 15% a year over the next five-year period. Other salaries will also increase during this period due to a shift in the auto, production and e-commerce industries. This gives Chinese consumers lots of spending power and strengthens the prediction of China being likely to replace the United States as the biggest market in the world.

Predictions as such gives social commerce sites such as Buykee a great start and a positive outlook on the future. While Buykee should consider cleaning up the website’s aesthetic for targeting high-end fashion, the content is generally good and usage is growing. Essentially, social commerce sites solidify users’ relationships with brands as the brands themselves become personified as “friends” in one’s social network.

By Natalia Ignaczak

/www.fashinvest.com

Nokia to sell its troubled luxury brand Vertu to Permira

Vertu smartphone - Concierge Service

 

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Nokia is likely to sell its luxury arm Vertu, based in the U.K. to  venture capital firm Permira for the equivalent of US$ 265 million, which is on the low end of the initial Vertu valuation we heard about in December. That is about a year worth of Vertu revenue, according to most estimates, coming from gold-plated phones with sapphire keys, and other luxury adornments. There is a booming market for such handsets in up and coming regions like Asia, so the buyer would probably do fine with Vertu, while Nokia would get a nice cash injection in these restructuring times. Permira owns other luxury brands such as Valentino and Hugo Boss.

 

www.Cpp-Luxury.com

PPR Group's luxury division reports 29 percent growth with YSL reporting spectacular results

 

 

 

PPR Group, whose luxury division includes brands such as Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Boucheron reportsrevenue growth from continuing operations at 15 percent reaching a total of 3.3 billion euros, which was fuelled by the fast paced growth of the Group’s business in emerging countries which now represent around 37 per cent of revenue for the Luxury and Sport & Lifestyle divisions. Revenue for the Luxury Division surged 29.1 percent, with double-digit growth in all geographic areas. The Sport & Lifestyle Division (Puma, Volcom and Fnac)  also continued to advance, reporting a 14.6 per cent increase in revenue on a reported basis. Sales were up by 18 per cent in the Luxury Division on a comparable basis, though the pace of growth slowed down from 22 per cent in the previous three months. Gucci’s sales were up 12 percent, with directly operated stores advancing 13 percent in the first quarter of 2012, while online sales grew by 30 per cent. Western Europe and North America showed strong growth, but still Asia Pacific remains the highest growing region Bottega Veneta sales were up by 33 per cent overall, with the Asia-Pacific recording an increase of 45 per cent. Western Europe was up by 28 per cent, whilst North America was up by 36 per cent. Yves Saint Laurent delivered the strongest area of growth for PPR with sales up by 40 per cent on the back of the successful Autumn/Winter collections. The Asia-Pacific region continued to thrive for the brand with sales up by 63 per cent and sales were turned around in Japan and up by 53 per cent. “PPR delivered a highly satisfactory performance overall in the first quarter of 2012. Our Luxury brands once again reported strong growth in all geographic areas, while our Sport & Lifestyle brands continued to move ahead. I would also like to highlight Fnac’s significant market share gains. These performances bear witness to the Group’s momentum, its successful multi-brand strategy, the remarkable geographic spread of its business and the strength of its business model. This reinforces our confidence in PPR’s ability to deliver another year of brisk revenue growth, combined with gains in operating and financial performance, in 2012.” Francois-Henri Pinault, PPR Chairman and CEO said. By 2020, PPR are aiming to reach revenues of 24 billion euro, 10 billion euros of which in Asia as the company continues to focus on the luxury goods and the sports & lifestyle brands in its varied portfolio.

 

 

 

 

www.Cpp-Luxury.com

When business takes you to Monaco try these top 5 restaurants.

 ADAGIO



Casalinga ligure - or home-made cooking from Liguria - is the speciality at this newcomer to the Monaco eating scene, Italian salamis and cheeses, soups and spezzatino, and mouth-watering apple, pear and chocolate cakes, all served in an inviting and convivial atmosphere. After this, you won’t ever want to go home again!

1 Rue Biovès; Quartier Plati; tel: +377 97 98 15 56

YOSHI at the Métropole Hotel *



From the moment you sit down to your sakizuke (appetisers) there is an inescapable blend of the Mediterranean and oriental: tempura dishes created with local fish and vegetables, langoustines, and scallops accompanied by a traditional green tea mousse. A la carte dishes include ebi no soup
(langoustine with kombu consommé), and zeitaku wakame. Yoshi won Joël Robuchon his 26th Michelin star in March 2010

4, Avenue de la Madone; Quartier Monte-Carlo; tel: +377 93 15 13 13 43.7407894|7.4268803||4 Avenue de la Madone, 98000 Monaco

LE VISTAMAR



Recently transformed by renowned interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, Le Vistamar's clean white interior gives commanding views over the harbour - making it the perfect location for all lovers of gourmet fish. The Michelin-starred  kitchen of top chef Joël Garault offers a superb range of well-priced menus for lunch (daily from noon till 2pm) and dinner (from 7pm). And to make the meal truly memorable, you can select Grand Vins by the glass.

Square Beaumarchais; Quartier Monte-Carlo; tel: +377 98 06 98 9843.7393115|7.4273282||Place du Casino, 98000 Monaco 43.7388952|7.4257702||Square Beaumarchais, 98000 Monaco

MAYA BAY



For a taste of the orient, the Maya Bay is the perfect place to dine: sushi, sashimi, maki and other specialties are prepared with a real flair and love of tradition by Japanese chef Ryuji Kakizaki. But what makes the Maya experience really special is the terrace, designed to reflect the look and serene tranquillity of a Japanese temple. At the Maya Bay, oriental inspiration goes much further than simply what’s on your plate.

24 Avenue Princesse Grace; Quartier Larvotto; tel: +377 97 70 74 67

VIRAGE



With its unpretentious minimalist styling, Virage is a waterfront restaurant whose location is everything. This state-of-the-art harbourside bar serves up smart cocktails (try the Virage Martini or a cool strawberry mojito) with wide panoramic views of Port Hercule.  And for motor racing fans, it’s the perfect vantage point from which to enjoy the Monaco Grand Prix while enjoying  the special lunch menu and a chilled rosé or beer.

1 Quai Albert Ier, Port Hercule; La Condamine; Tel + 377 93 50 77 21 

 

 

www.cityoutmonaco.com

Qatar led group takes control of UAE

 

 

Qatar's Mannai Corp and Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes have taken control of Dubai's Damas after their consortium's US$ 445 million offer was accepted by more than 75 percent of the jeweler's shareholders. The bidders have received acceptances representing 78.37 percent of Damas's share capital for their US$0.45 per share offer, according to a statement on the Nasdaq Dubai bourse on Thursday. "This effectively means the consortium has now acquired control," the statement said. The firm's shares have nearly doubled in value this year to US$ 0.435, surging after its major shareholders the Abdullah brothers - Tawfique Abdullah, Tawhid Abdullah and Tamjid Abdullah - in early January said they were looking to sell some of their holdings. Mannai, whose operations span the oil and gas, automotive, travel and logistics sectors, will become the majority owner of Damas, and will delist the jeweler from Mannai would hold a 66-percent stake in Damas and EFG Hermes 19 percent, with the remaining 15 percent retained by the Abdullah brothers. The brothers have been sidelined from the jeweler they helped found and which has been forced to restructure US$872 million in debt. For Mannai, the deal would be its second buy in the UAE after it snapped up a 35-percent stake in Axiom Telecom in 2011.

www.Cpp-luxury.com

 

How China Can Build an International Brand

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Last month, at the fourth annual Prestige Brands Forum at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai, participants discussed the difficulties China faces in branding.

“We have nothing close to Sony or Apple or Mercedes,” says Elliott Yuen, a former chief executive of the clothing brand Shanghai Tang. “We still don’t have a decent international Chinese brand.” Founded in Hong Kong in 1994 and boasting a following with its traditional designs, Shanghai Tang might be the closest thing the country currently has to a prestige clothing brand. The bigbest factor in its success has been its ability to demonstrate the value of Chinese culture in building a luxury brand.

“If Chinese companies are to go global, we must have Chinese elements and international elements,” says Francis Chen, the founder of Franz Collection, a Taiwanese-based company that makes most of its upmarket porcelain in China and sells it through more than 6,000 stores worldwide. “In China, we can build very strong and powerful [brands]. A strong brand must have its roots in its culture. If Americans didn’t drink Coca-Cola, would you? If Americans didn’t watch Hollywood movies, would you?”

Step two: add craftsmanship, or so says Edward Lu, the president of Lezare International and Montblanc’s former China managing director. “Do Chinese companies have the best materials, the best techniques? If they do, I believe in the future there will be many global brands with Chinese ingredients,” he insists.

Michel Gutsatz, a program director at Euromed Management, a business school based in Marseille, and an adviser to The Scriptorium Company, a brand-strategy agency, phrases China’s struggles another way: “Number one is different business cultures … The other is different creative cultures.”

Gutsatz describes the European luxury brands’ opinion of creative directors as godlike, for the many tasks they juggle daily. “They manage quality, they manage public relations, they manage relationships with VIP customers, overall brand consistency … They have a power over the brand that’s very difficult to understand in Chinese culture,” he says. “We have designers [in China], people that create, that draw, but they’re like the people in the studio are in Europe, because we have different creative cultures.”

The best way to overcome differences in creative culture, it seems, is through capital. Most analysts agree China has two options if it want to develop a national brand: buy international brands and transfer the management and creative cultures or hire European brand consultancies.

“You need to build in luxury brand competencies. That can only be done by buying expensive expertise. Everyone tells me how entrepreneurs don’t like to buy expertise. But you need to buy it and pay for it. You must hire talent,” says Gutsatz.


[the national]  via red-luxury.com
photo credit: shanghai tang

Louis Vuitton and Saks Fifth Avenue open in Kazakhstan

 

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This August will see the opening of the mall as part of Esentai Park, a grand mix-used development of approximately 8.7 ha in Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan. Esentai Park includes seven buildings: the Esentai Tower and Ballroom, three Residential Towers, a Fitness Center and a Shopping Mall, all together, reaching up to a construction area of 368,000 sqm. The Tower building, with its height of 162 m and a construction area of 87,000 sqm is the tallest building in Almaty, incorporating several functions such as parking, A Class offices, a 215 room five star hotel managed by JW Marriott (scheduled April 2013), a luxury SPA and executive service apartments (managed by Mariott), all automated by a unique smart building system. Esentai Park also includes a 34,900-square-meter Shopping Mall.  Like the other buildings in Esentai Park the Shopping Mall establishes a new standard for facilities of this type in the historic city. Spread over 4 floors, Esentai Park Mall will feature a Saks Fifth Avenue department store operated in franchising by local watches and jewellery company Viled Fashion, the largest retailer of luxury jewelry and watches in Kazakhstan. The Saks Fifth Avenue Department store in Almaty will cover a total surface of 90.000 sqf and will feature shop in shops and corner of major international luxury brands. Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic, is the ninth largest country in the world, owing most of its wealthy to oil and industry. The country has not been proof from the international economic crisis and the economy has slowed down in the past 4 years and so did the buying power of the wealthy. According to CPP, the potential of Kazakhstan's luxury market remains limited which does not justify the oversized surfaces which some brands opted for. The high level of corruption and authoritarian presidential regime have been keeping away direct international investments in the country. Several grand projects such as the ''Las Vegas'' of Kazakhstan have been put on hold. Among the major international luxury brands to open mono-brand stores are Louis Vuitton (700 sqm), Christian Dior (300 sqm) and Gucci (300 sqm). Despite market rumours Prada and Chanel have not confirmed their presence with mono-brand stores. 

www.Cpp-Luxury.com

IWC Schaffhausen opens first US flagship store in New York

 

 

 

Swiss luxury watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen (owned by Richemont Group) officially opened its first US flagship store this Wednesday, at 535 Madison Avenue, New York. The luxury boutique is spread over two floors and boasts over 3,000 square feet of retail space.

To coincide with the opening of its new boutique, the brand also launched its new re-working of its classic 1940 Big Pilot’s Watch – the Big Pilot’s Watch Edition Muhammad Ali, dedicated to the legendary boxer. A limited edition of 250 pieces only available in the US, part of the proceeds from its sale will go towards Ali’s charitable causes.

Also on display in the luxury boutique were photographs of Ali by his friend and photographer, Howard Bingham. The opening of the boutique held special significance for IWC, marking a return to its “American heritage” – Florentine Ariosto Jones who founded the brand in 1868 was from America.

Lorre White, The UHNW Luxury Market Expert & The Only International Luxury Media Personality

Most people know Lorre White as “The Luxury Guru”, the media icon.  Lorre is on TV, Radio and Magazines with educational /entertainment information about the luxury sector.  Lorre White is to the wealthy, what Martha Stewart is to the middle class. While Martha teaches housewives how to live well beyond there means by making it themselves, Lorre shows her wealthy followers where buy the best of the best, no matter the price, in all luxury categories.  Lorre's popularity has grown organically from the US to Europe, where she is frequently the celebrity featured in magazines and she contributes to large European Luxury and Fashion magazines with her own column. 

This  interest in Lorre's work has started to spread globally.The power of the personality is seen when Oprah, a multimedia icon for social awareness, mentions some obscure book and the next day it is on the top sellers list.  A trusted media personality is what creates the invitation to return, the trust that you can believe what is being presented and gives power to the channel. Lorre is the only luxury media personality and has a long success record of working in the luxury field.  She offers a trusted insider’s perspective on luxury.

Half of the world’s wealth is controlled by the top 2% of the population.  92 % of the world’s UHNW (Ultra High Net Worth) is new money, and 80% of them have had it only 10 years or less.  This means that the ones controlling most of the wealth globally are not brand aware. Lorre is the trusted insider that they rely on learn about luxury brands, new products, jet set events, and all things relative to this small elite group.  “Luxury brands that use to just be able to ride on their reputation, must now aggressively educate these individuals about their brand.  “These individual did not grow up with the old luxury brands.  I educate them on being able to distinguish the differences through a format that protects their ego. The UHNW has the lowest response rate to traditional ads and they respond best to the influence of peers; my shows are affective in reaching this group” said Lorre.  She also has a popular luxury blog www.LuxGuru.Typepad.com with a wealthy following.

Ms White’s years of experience in private aviation from SeaGate Travel (the 10^th largest travel company in the US with a private charter division), one of the creators of the NBA airline (used by the White House staff & reporters off season), head of global marketing for NetJets/Marquis Jets BBJ program and as a luxury marketing consultant to many luxury brands including several private jet companies, has resulted in her having a large private wealthy aviation following. 

                                                                             

Billionaire Buffett, "The Wizard of Omaha" and "The Luxury Guru", Lorre White at his club for a private aviation event.



When it comes to the ‘luxury sector’, Lorre White “The Luxury Guru” is untouchable; she’s also the CEO of White Light Consulting an international luxury marketing consulting company helping their clients reach and maintain the wealthiest 2% globally. “White Light means integrity, and we work with luxury brands to maintain their luxury brand integrity”, said MS White when asked about the meaning behind her company’s name. Most marketing people I have met do not even know what class marketing is; they cannot even distinguished the difference between blue chip companies and luxury brands. I was one of the first to study the specific motivations of the wealthy back when I was in university and this became my unique niche focus. This group responds very differently than the other 98%.  You have to toss out most of what you learned in regular mass marketing. Today, top Universities offer Luxury MBA programs. The UHNW is a very large group when measured in dollar terms, and a very small group when measured by individuals.  These are the taste makers & trend setters and they need a riffled approached instead of a mass market shot gun approach to marketing.  “People with unlimited financial resources are unaffected by traditional approaches to luxury; they must be reached emotionally,... in holistic ways” stated MS White. Lorre is in the unique situation that not only luxury brands listen to Lorre about how to reach this demographic, but the actual UHNW listen to her too!  
There are 2 types of Luxury Consumers: The aspirational and the UHNW or as she calls them “the already arrived”.  The aspirational market is much larger in terms of number of people and has multiple demographic break downs with in the aspirational sector. The fashion, perfume and cosmetic industries depend on the first category for up to 80% of their sales.  This is why the fashion industry was hit so much harder in the global recession than the private jet companies which have exclusively UHNW.

(repost)
 If you know of Martha (Stewart) you are probably part of the 98%....if you know of Lorre (White), you are most likely part of the top 2% financially.

www.LuxGuru.Typepad.com
Twitter: "Lorre" for Luxury

Posted by LUX VIP at 04:51

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HK’s THE SWANK Expands to Second and Third Tier Cities * 26 April 2012 * Brands & Retail * 0 Comment 1 inShare Hong Kong’s luxury retailer THE SWANK — which is owned by ENM Group and operates multiple fashion brands in Hong Kong and B

 

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Hong Kong’s luxury retailer THE SWANK — which is owned by ENM Group and operates multiple fashion brands in Hong Kong and Beijing, including Brioni, Sonia Rykiel, and Roberto Cavalli – is planning expansion to second- and third-tier cities.

“In 2012, THE SWANK will open its first stores in Xi’an and Hangzhou,” said Tony Lam, the retailer’s general manager, “And in the next five years, we will open at least five stores in the mainland.” The motivation for such bold plans? Sales at the company’s Beijing store have grown by 25 percent annually since it opened in 2009.

Frost & Sullivan Inc, a US market consultancy, reports that China’s luxury consumption in 2010 reached nearly $35 billion and has a compound annual growth of 26 percent.

Frost & Sullivan said that the number of Chinese people willing to spend money on luxury goods will grow over the next five years from 40 million to 160 million, mainly in second- and third-tier cities.

In 2010, 21.7 million Chinese had an annual disposable income of more than 100,000 yuan. By 2015, it is conjectured that 54 million people will.  By that time, China is also expected to overtake Japan as the world’s second-largest consumer of luxury goods, and luxury consumption will reach 570 billion yuan.


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photo credit: landmark  Via red-luxury.com