If the fears of hyperinflation are realized, you'll look back with pride on your luxury purchases. All that money you've sunk into custom jewelry and top-of-the-line stones will make you look like an absolute genius. Well, that's the position of South African billionaire Johann Rupert, and I'd take the advice of a guy who can be described that way.

According to Bloomberg News, the told investors, "If we enter hyperinflation, you're going to be so glad that you bought that stuff two months or six months ago." He added, "If inflation picks up, you're going to see people running into your stores, buying high jewelry."

Will inflation cause a mob to form outside the Cartier store on Fifth Avenue? Well, I don't think I'd worry too much about the pushing and shoving, but being ready to throw an elbow probably isn't a bad idea.

Of course, Rupert has something to gain – his company, Richemont, is the world's second largest luxury goods maker (behind LVMH). In his talk with investors in the company controlled by his family, he forecasted "normal growth" with luxury sales showing signs of recovery this month and next.

Collectors are looking and thinking. They might take action, but it's still too soon to tell. The action at Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain (FIAC) in Paris is deliberate: nobody's rushing to put their cash on the table. However, there are signs that some pricey and prestigious pieces may sell.

Last week, a painting by Piet Mondrian was put on reserve, at a price between $30 million and $40 million. One of Pablo Picasso's works was reserved, as well, at $24 million. Back in the art boom, these pieces would have been snapped up already, but dealers are saying that it's taking longer to complete sales at FIAC this year than last year. Even billionaires need convincing in this market, it seems.

Also, there's a greater desire to stay under the radar. Whether it's to maintain some privacy or hide the fact that they have the means to spend more than they like, some owners and buyers are turning to private sales. Bargains, thus, won't make it into the public record – sparing sellers the embarrassment and preventing the other holdings of all collectors from sustaining a measurable decline in value. If premiums are paid, buyers won't have to reveal that they have the cash to pay more, preventing prices from increasing broadly.

A lavish new coffee table book from Rizzoli titled Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion and Architecture is a seductive anthology of the famed French fashion house's collaborations with an international group of elite artists, architects, designers, and photographers, including Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, David LaChapelle, Annie Leibovitz, Takashi Murakami (whose updated LV monogram is featured on the cover) Richard Prince and Stephen Sprouse. Beautiful images are interspersed with critical essays that examine and position Louis Vuitton's patronage, under the guidance of Artistic Director Marc Jacobs, during "one of the most fertile periods of contemporary art and design." The book is divided alphabetically so as to serve as a sort of encyclopedia of the many collaborations, commissions and sponsorships Vuitton, a cornerstone of the LVMH luxury goods empire, has engaged in over the years.

We've written about Louis Vuitton's close involvement with world-class sailing before - the long-running Louis Vuitton Cup followed more recently by the LV Pacific Series. Now the famed French luxury goods house, linchpin of the LVMH group, is sponsoring a new World Series of sailing, destined to be second only to the America's Cup. The Louis Vuitton World Series, undertaken in association with a new professional sailing group called the World Sailing Team Association (WSTA), will kick off with a regatta in Nice in November. Eight racing teams, including K-Challenge (France), BMW Oracle Racing (USA), Emirates Team New Zealand, Mascalzone Latino (Italy), Team Artemis (Sweden), Team Synergy (Russia), Joe Fly Italia (Italy) and Team French Spirit (France) will compete for starters, with others expected to sign up shortly. A series of international regattas will determine the ultimate winner.

[via JustLuxe]

LVMH-owned London shirtmakers and haberdashers Thomas Pink have updated the iPod Commuter Tie for their upcoming Autumn Winter 2009/2010 collection.

Described as "a sophisticated 100% silk woven tie and useful mp3 storage device in one," the natty neckwear features a small pocket on the reverse of the tie designed to perfectly fit the new iPod Nano as well as other smaller mp3 players.

The music player is placed in the tie pocket to avoid having expensive devices on display or damaging the line of one's suit, while an extra fabric loop keeps wires (including headphone wires) out of sight and close to the body, leaving the hands free.

The new Commuter tie is available in eight colors - gray, charcoal, purple, blue, green, orange, red and deep pink - and will be available from Thomas Pink stores from September 2009 or online at www.thomaspink.com, priced at $100.

A bit of shuffling has taken place in the wine world. French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton has made two large purchases picking up 50 percent stakes in two of France's most prestigious wineries. It has acquired half of the private company Cheval Blanc, which produces Chateau Cheval Blanc. LVMH has also bought half of La Tour du Pin, owner of the Chateau Quinault l'Enclos estate. The Wall Street Journal reports that both transactions were carried out with a subsidiary of Groupe Arnault, the holding company of LVMH Chief Executive Bernard Arnault. Both wineries were previously sold to Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH and his associate Belgian businessman Albert Frère, Cheval Blanc in 1998 and Chateau Quinault in 2008, creating a block of Saint-Émilion properties.

LVHM released their most recent numbers on Monday, a little ahead of schedule, showing that first-half net profit for the luxury good retailer fell 23 percent. LVMH products span a wide range in the luxury market and different groups within the company have had differing results. Watches and jewelry were particularly hard hit reporting that profit from recurring operations fell 73 percent. Better but still slumping was the wine and spirits division with a 41 percent slip. Fashion and leather goods were a bright spot with a seven percent increase in profit from recurring operations.

LVMH posted a net profit of 687 million euros in the six months through June, which is down from 891 million euros a year earlier. As you might expect the economy has been cited as a reason for the decline but the company also said that heavy destocking by its third-party distributors in the wine and spirits and jewelry and watches businesses played a role in the decline.

The company predicts that it will continue to gain market share even in a shrinking market. Businessweek has a quote from Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH, shown at right who said that the results were "particularly remarkable given the global economic crisis" and that LVMH is approaching the second half of the year "with confidence."

"Bleak times" at Zenith, LVMH frowns. First they lose some employees, then they lose their CEO Mr. Nataf, and now more employees out the door. 70 to be exactly. Recently, the people at Zenith were informed of the planned layoffs as part of a planned reorganization to assist the troubled watch maker maintain through "the crisis." Zenith of course is not alone during these difficult times where watch and jewelry sales for the entire LVMH group are down about 27% from last year. Zenith didn't provide specific figures for its own annual performance, but all evidence indicates things may be worse for them.

New CEO Jean-Frederic Dufour is expected to make some radical changes, including with the core line of watches - where Nataf's design decisions have been controversial to say the least. Zenith is a proud brand with a great history so I expect that any cleverness injected into a brand revitalization will focus on historical strength and creating a classic style focused line for next year when things should be better for the brand, and the watch market overall. The pictured watch is the Zenith Class Traveler Open El Primero Multicity Alarm.

Via WorldTempus (in French).

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com

As my colleague Jared Paul Stern recently pointed out rather brilliantly, there's a lot of awful Vuitton fakery out there. Recently Rick Ross appeared on XXL Magazine's May issue looking very cool in a pair of Louis Vuitton sunglasses. One problem,Louis Vuitton says they are not Vuitton shades. The XXL Magazine website displays a letter from the hardworking Vuitton legal team saying that the sunglasses feature counterfeit Louis Vuitton trademarks. The letter goes on to say that "Louis Vuitton did not grant permission to Mr. Ross or to whoever did make the sunglasses to use our trademarks" and that "no affiliation, sponsorship or association exists between Rick Ross or XXL and Louis Vuitton."

All Hip Hop reveals that the glasses were actually made by Jacob Bernstein, "the sunglasses pimp" who says the frames are authentic Louis Vuitton Millionaires and that his additions are no different than tricking out a Rolls Royce. Right. Sounds like someone at LVMH needs to fire up the Lawsuit-o-Matic 5000 and get to work.

[via MTV]

There are not a lot of corks popping around the world right now. One of the most popular brands of champagne is feeling a big hit. Decanter reports that Moët Hennessy Champagne sales were down 35 percent in the first three months of this year. The company owns many of the biggest brands in the category such as Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart, Mercier and Krug. Revenues from its Champagne and still wine business fell 22 percent in the first quarter.

Consumers are ordering less champagne and so retailers and restaurants are trimming their orders to meet demand. Official shipment figures from the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne show a 34 percent drop in volumes in the first two months of 2009 with shipments to other countries in the EU down 47 percent and exports to other countries outside the EU down 42 percent. Rumors continue to circulate about the possibility that LVMH may sell Moët Hennessy to Diageo.

These latest results are part of an overall champagne slowdown that has brought bad news for a variety of brands. France's wine industry has struggled over the past few years but champagne has remained high. Some are calling for a cut in production of the 2009 vintage in order to accommodate a market that has not reached its bottom yet and may not for some time to come.

Cognac sales may be slowing for some brands but Hennessy isn't letting that dissuade them from the launch of Hennessy Black in 10 markets throughout the US. In addition to having a dramatic black bottle designed by French design consultancy Curius it's also different inside. The Hennessy Black is a blend of 35 to 45 pale and gold colored eaux-de-vie selected for their floral characteristics and aged in French oak barrels previously used by Hennessy for at least five years. Although the name might lead you to expect a darker, richer cognac, the Hennessy Black is said to have a more gentle wood influence with floral notes and hints of citrus and honey. Suggested recipes include serving it with a dash of lemon juice and simple sugar, with coffee liqueur and cola, with fresh ginger, simple syrup and lemon juice or Royale style with champagne, a dash of lemon juice and simple syrup. The cognac also already has its own song, "When I Step Into the Club" from Swizz Beatz." which will be performed for the first time at a launch event on May 5.

News of a potential sale of the liquor division of LVMH has the luxury business world buzzing. A report in the Telegraph says that spirits giant Diageo has tendered a 12 billion euro offer for LVMH's two-thirds stake in Moet Hennessy and that Diageo has set about raising capital with bankers working behind the scenes for several weeks.

The Financial Times asserts that Diageo has not made an unsolicited offer for Moët Hennessy but might be willing to buy if both parties could agree on a price. So far the talks appear to be more theoretical than actual because LVMH hasn't decided that they are ready to sell. The potential deal brings up an interesting question, in a softening luxury market which is better to hold onto, fashion brands like Marc Jacobs, Fendi and Louis Vuitton or liquor brands like Glenmorangie whisky, Belevedere and Chopin vodka, and Veuve Clicquot?

Another week, another Louis Vuitton lawsuit. This time Louis Vuitton is taking on Google in the European Court of Justice. When a person googles a brand name they can see paid search results which can belong to companies selling similar bags or replica bags and counterfeits. Parent company LVMH says that Google shouldn't be allowed to sell those brand name search words to other advertisers and that they should belong only to the brand that licenses them.

Google has already appealed the case after a French court ruled that it had violated trademark rights which is why it has been kicked up to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. Google lawyer Alexandra Neri has said that Google only makes money when a person clicks on the ad and that: "The decision to click or not to click belongs to who -- clearly to the Internet user."

Certain words are blocked from being chosen as keywords in France and according to Bloomberg, when Google's French unit receives proof of a registered trademark it then adds it to the blocked list. In the U.S., Google blocks advertisements that include protected trademarks but LVMH has said Google didn't act quickly enough and only makes a move when it is told there is an infraction (this sounds a lot like LVMH's complaints with eBay over the policing of their site).

This case will take a while, the advocate general on the case is expected to give a non-binding opinion by June 4 but the final ruling may not come until the end of the year.

In a move that's sure to have the notoriously protective types at LVMH up in arms, a provocative New York-based artist has destroyed $12,000 worth of Louis Vuitton Alma handbags (above) for a new sculpture. Conceptual artist R. Lloyd Ming had an assistant purchase a dozen of the $1,000 bags at Louis Vuitton's Manhattan flagship over the holidays. He then cut them in half to make a sculpture for his new solo exhibit, "I Am Not Chinese." As the show's title suggests, the focus of the exhibit is China and what Ming calls the tenuous relationship between China and America, the artist's website notes. Ming's works addresses many controversial Chinese issues including censorship, capitalism under communist rule, trade imbalance and human rights.

"The work is called Vuitton Crucifix and it is a commentary on the new wealth and materialism that has been created in China," Ming says. "However it can also refer to America and many other societies. As a result of China's capitalist revolution the ranks of the rich and middle class are growing. However, capitalism often produces a culture of insecurity, were people can only find a sense of self worth or salvation through possessions and materialism. The Vuitton Crucifix sculpture is a reaction to this culture." Ming has previously used Dom Pérignon packaging in his sculptures, so he is no doubt already on LVMH's radar. He seems to be attempting to forestall any legal action by insisting that his assistant informed the Vuitton salespeople of his artistic intentions.

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."