Princess Yachts

The Latest Must-Have Luxury Item from LVMH: An $11 Million Yacht

Last summer my colleague Noah Joseph reported that LVMH planned to bring its recently-acquired Princess Yachts brand to the U.S. Now the luxury goods conglomerate, owner of blue-chip brands ranging from Louis Vuitton to Dom Pérignon, has unveiled its new M Class range of super-stylish superyachts that places Princess on a firm footing with the rest of the LVMH stable. First into production is the 105-ft. 32M (above), with a base price of about $11 million. LVMH brought in some of its other brands including Fendi, De Beers and Moet to help celebrate its debut at the London International Boat Show.

The UK-built 32M, a long range cruising yacht boasting a huge saloon among other amenities, is available with a choice of four or five cabins including a master suite with a split level bathroom, two or three double bedrooms and a twin room. Several lavish interior design schemes from the likes of fashion houses Fendi and Armani Casa are available. The finishing touches like carrara marble baths are worthy of any luxury hotel. Next up the company plans to launch a 132-ft. version in 2012 with luxe options like a matching set of Louis Vuitton luggage.

[via JamesList]

Gallery: Princess Yachts 32M from LVMH

Tags: Armani, Armani yacht, Fendi, Fendi yacht, London, Louis Vuitton, luxury goods, luxury yacht, luxury+item, luxuryitem, LVMH, LVMH yacht, Moet, Princess Yachts, Princess Yachts 32M, superyacht, superyachts, UK

Princess Yachts to Sail Under its Own Flag to North America

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing

What's in a name? Well, everything, if you listen to the branding and marketing gurus. Case in point: Princess Yachts. When the British shipyard came to the North American market several years ago, it was arrived at port under the Viking Sport Cruisers name, partnering with Viking Yachts to permeate the local market. However Princess has since been acquired by luxury giant LVMH, and is preparing to sail under its own power to this side of the Atlantic for the first time.

While the fleet will be largely the same and Viking will continue to manage sales and service for North American customers, the yachts will now be branded under the Princess name as they are overseas, where the brand has acquired considerable recognition.

[Source: Megayacht News]

Source

Tags: princess, princess yachts, viking, viking sport cruisers, viking yachts, yacht, yachts

Princess Yachts Cuts Jobs

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing

Yacht makers continue to feel the economic pinch. Today it was announced that luxury yacht firm, Princess Yachts will be cutting up to 450 jobs. The cuts represent almost a fifth of the workforce. The reason for the job loss is the economic climate and the company has said it is working with union and staff representatives to minimize the damage through reduced working hours and other adjustments. The company, which is based in Plymouth, England, was acquired last summer by an investment arm of LVMH, the luxury goods conglomerate. It was bought for an estimated sum of £200 million. A quote from an article by Robert Frank on LVMH's purchase of Royal van Lent shipyard last fall seems particularly prescient. Frank quoted Steve Schwarzman of the private-equity firm, Blackstone Group on the yacht business. Schwarzman said: "The trouble with yachts, is that when business is good, it's really good. But when it falls, it really crashes."

Tags: job cuts, JobCuts, lvmh, princess yachts, PrincessYachts, yachts