What is Actually Driving the Successful Revamp of Gucci? Dolce & Gabbana’s Local Retail Revolution. MILAN, Italy — Dolce & Gabbana is to embark on a global overhaul of its directly operated retail network, starting with the opening of a new experience space in Milan on September 24th.
The Italian fashion house’s announcement marks a growing trend for brands to create a localised destination for customers, shifting away from the standardisation strategy long favoured by large global retailers, which traditionally rolls out a uniform store format, merchandise mix and marketing strategy. Dolce & Gabbana said the move marks the end of the “concept store philosophy,” in favour of a new formula where “experience and storytelling,” is the focus. Cartier’s $600,000 Watch Shows Risks of Extending Luxury Brands. GENEVA, Switzerland – For over a century, Cartier has sold elegant, if simple, timepieces such as the Tank, which starts around $2,500 – affordable by Swiss watch standards, and never confused with the level of technical finesse from brands like Patek Philippe.
Then a decade ago, Cartier sought to prove its own prowess, investing millions to build one of Switzerland’s largest watch factories and bringing in an industry veteran to head a fine watchmaking unit. The jeweller delved into the segment for connoisseurs known as “complicated pieces,” which sport analog mechanisms such as calendars that adjust for leap years and require painstaking hand craftsmanship.
Luxury Makers’ Dubious Dividends Make Them Target for Shorts. PARIS, France — Higher dividends at a handful of struggling posh-product makers are a luxury they may not be able to afford.
So goes the bear case on companies such as Richemont and Tod’s SpA, both down more than 20 percent this year and both still squarely in the sights of short sellers. Lingering expectations that they will raise dividends even after reporting declining sales are attracting bearish traders. Here’s a sneak peek at the new Saint Laurent. Watch the first trailer for Tom Ford’s new film. A week after his New York Fashion Week show, American designer Tom Ford has released the trailer for his new film Nocturnal Animals.
The film is about an art gallery owner (played by Amy Adams) who is haunted by her ex-husband’s (played by Jake Gyllenhall) novel. Having not spoken to him in nearly 19 years, she receives a manuscript of this book in the post and it’s pretty violent – it follows the story of a band of outlaws who commit a gruesome crime against a family of three, so she interprets it as a threat. Of course, this isn’t Ford’s directorial debut – in 2009, he released A Single Man starring Julianne Moore and Colin Firth, which is a drama about an English professor trying to cope with life following the death of his boyfriend.
This film was extremely well-received so it’ll be interesting to see whether Nocturnal Animals garners a similar response. Forbes Welcome. Marc Jacobs’ cyberpunks close NYFW with a rave. Luxury Brands Focus On “Instagram Generation” Ultra Rich Customers. It’s a brave new world out there, though not the one Aldus Huxley envisioned.
Technology is all-pervading in more ways than we actually realize. Burberry becomes first luxury brand to personalise on Pinterest. Burberry has become the first luxury brand to offer customers a personalised experience on Pinterest, letting them create customised make-up boards to promote its new ‘Cat Lashes Mascara’ product.
The personalisation works by asking visitors three questions. Their answers, along with their initials will be combined to create the personal Pinterest board. The partnership allows Burberry to benefit from Pinterest’s features and data to cater its posts to individuals though personalised and monogrammed content. Pinterest is currently the largest beauty platform in the world, with 38.5 million unique viewers of its hair and beauty category. Content will include makeup preferences, inspirational images, ‘how to get the look’ guides, product tips and information. Burberry New London Fashion Week Home. Indigital BURBERRY is bidding farewell to its Kensington Gardens base for the forthcoming show on September 19, the brand has revealed this morning.
Raf Simons Starts at Calvin Klein, Marking Strategic Shift. NEW YORK, United States — It's official.
Raf Simons has been named the new chief creative officer of Calvin Klein, formalising the Belgian designer's next move after three years as women's creative director of Christian Dior Couture. The arrival of Simons at the helm of the iconic American brand comes soon after the news that Dior has hired Valentino co-creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri to design its women’s collections, replacing Simons, who resigned in October 2015 from the LVMH-controlled French luxury house.
Simons’ non-compete agreement is thought to have expired at the end of July, which explains why his appointment at the PVH Corp. -owned Calvin Klein, though widely anticipated in industry circles, was never confirmed by the company until today. The company took to social media — including Instagram, Twitter and Facebook — to communicate the news. The appointment appears to mark a distinct shift in the Calvin Klein playbook.
Gucci Among World’s Hottest Fashion Brands, While Prada Cools. LONDON, United Kingdom — Gucci has been named one of the “hottest” luxury brands, while Prada and Giorgio Armani are “cooling” fast, according to a new report by Exane BNP Paribas.
The financial services firm assessed the “brand temperature” of luxury companies, based on the ratio between the editorial coverage they receive in print magazines, and their print advertising spend. Brands are ranked as “hot” if magazines give them more editorial space than their advertising spend should warrant, meaning they have more editorial coverage than print magazine advertisements — reflecting a “hot” level of appeal and desirability — whereas brands that fall below this ratio are “cold.” Gucci’s editorial value was up more than 15 percent for the first six months of the year, compared to the same period last year.
Louis Vuitton and Chanel both also ranked as “hot,” but their editorial value grew at a lower rate of between 0 and 15 percent, despite a high print advertising spend.