lvmh

The Classicist: Celebrating TAG Heuer's 150th Anniversary

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Books, The Classicist

Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer celebrates its 150th anniversary making horological history this year, marked by the publication of a brilliant new book by Nick Foulkes from Assouline. TAG Heuer begins in the middle years of the 19th century when a Swiss shoemaker's son called Edouard Heuer made the decision to "turn his life over to the conquest and calibration of the passing hours, minutes, seconds and fractions of seconds; marking their passage with the tiny incremental movements of the blued steel hand of a chronograph against the crisp white enamel dial of the pocket watch." From childhood Edouard was "dazzled by the dream of conquering time and imprisoning it in ever more precise and advanced mechanical timepieces," Foulkes writes. In 1882 Heuer introduced his first chronograph, setting a benchmark for extreme accuracy that continues today, and by the early 20th century he had moved the chronograph from the pocket onto the wrist.

TAG Heuer was the first watchmaker to master chronographs with an unsurpassed precision of 1/10th, 1/100th and 1/1,000th of a second. From the Olympic Games in the 1920s to its role as official timekeeper for the legendary Indy 500 and involvement in actor Steve McQueen's racing film Le Mans, to its quarter-century partnership with Formula 1 team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, it has a long established connection to the world of sports. However, Foulkes notes, the brand's identity has also "always been influenced by the biggest names in architecture, art, and avant garde design of each generation." Organized by year, each page of the book offers a stunning view of a TAG Heuer timepiece and its historic counterpart interspersed with vintage photographs of the founding and making of the famed brand.

Gallery: 150 Years of TAG Heuer

Tags: Assouline, chronograph, Formula 1, LVMH, motor racing, Nick Foulkes, Switzerland, TAG Heuer, watches, watchmaker

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eLuxury Rebrands As Nowness

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Last June, when I mentioned the closing of eLuxury, the online retailer owned by LVMH, I mentioned that it would become an editorial site. What I didn't know is that it would lose its name too. The site has been transformed into a magazine called Nowness. Nowness doesn't just focus on fashion, it also covers art, design, music, travel, food and other aspects of culture. The site's mission statement is to showcase daily content from the best creative minds. The site will officially launch soon but as a run up to the launch, Nowness is offering one story each day featuring not just words but also videos, music and photo galleries.

The site will be interactive. Stories already carry love and don't love buttons which allow you to register your opinion on a story. The site will eventually be able to learn your tastes as you engage with the site, providing content that matches your interests. So far there doesn't seem to be any advertising on the site. The Nowness FAQ stresses that while it is part of LVMH the content will be editorially independent.

Tags: eluxury, lvmh, nowness

EXCLUSIVE: Cognac King Maurice Hennessy's Ten Essential Luxuries

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits, 10 Luxuries

Click above to see Maurice Hennessy's 10 Luxuries

Maurice-Richard Hennessy spent his childhood years in France's famed Cognac region. A direct descendant of the founder of the Hennessy company, he belongs to the eighth generation of the prestigious family that came to France from Ireland in 1765. The cognac gene is firmly established in his DNA, along with his love for the Charente countryside, vine-growing and fine gastronomy. He joined the family firm, now a cornerstone of the LVMH luxury goods empire, in 1975 and was given an in-depth training in all the Hennessy professions, from distillation to bottling, as well as commercial and marketing activities.

He began by traveling for Hennessy and then in 1979 settled in London for five years to work on the promotion of the brand in England and Ireland. At that time he also travelled regularly to the United States and Canada. So it is natural that Monsieur Hennessy, with his famous name, became the incarnation of the brand and its global ambassador. As familiar with the history of the company as he is with cognac, he owns vineyards himself, distilling and selling his eaux-de-vie to the Hennessy firm, and is an expert on all facets of cognac production. In the gallery, Hennessy reveals his 10 essential luxuries and explains what makes them a must.

Gallery: Cognac King Maurice Hennessy's 10 Luxuries

A seat at Bayreuth Festspielhaus for the Wagner Festival

Proper ice cubes made of non-chlorinated water

Tags: Christian Dior, ChristianDior, Cognac, France, Hennessy, LVMH, Ruinart

Stock up on Jewelry: Hyperinflation on the Way

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Lux Tips

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.

Tags: billionaire, billionaires, cartier, Fifth Avenue, FifthAvenue, hyperinflation, inflation, luxury goods, LuxuryGoods, lvmh, LvmhMoetHennessyLouisVuitton, Richemont, wealthy

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Art Collectors Watching, Waiting (and maybe Buying) at FIAC

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

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.

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Tags: art, art fair, art market, ArtFair, artist, artists, ArtMarket, artwork, bernard arnault, BernardArnault, billionaire, billionaires, fiac, francis bacon, FrancisBacon, friezeartfair, lehman brothers, LehmanBrothers, lvmh, lvmhmoethennessylouisvuitton, mondrian, pablo picasso, PabloPicasso, paris, paris france, ParisFrance, picasso, roman abramovich, RomanAbramovich

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Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion and Architecture

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Books

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.

Tags: Annie Leibovitz, AnnieLeibovitz, architecture, fashion, Frank Gehry, FrankGehry, Louis Vuitton, LouisVuitton, luggage, LVMH, Marc Jacobs, MarcJacobs, Richard Prince, RichardPrince, Rizzoli, Takashi Murakami, TakashiMurakami, Zaha Hadid, ZahaHadid

Vuitton Launches New World Series of Sailing

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Sports

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]

Tags: Louis Vuitton, LouisVuitton, LVMH, regatta, sailing, yacht

Thomas Pink iPod Commuter Tie

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Gadgets, Men's Style

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.

Tags: iPod, LVMH, Thomas Pink, ThomasPink, tie

LVMH Picks Up Shares In Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau Quinault

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

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.

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Tags: chateau cheval blanc, ChateauChevalBlanc, lvmh, wine

LVMH Profits Slip

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

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."

Source

Tags: bernard arnault, BernardArnault, lvmh, profits, stocks

Zenith Watches Lays Off 70 Of 250 Employees

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

"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

Tags: downsizing, firings, layoffs, LVMH, watch, zenith

Rick Ross Called Out On Fake Vuitton Shades

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Celebrity Shopping

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]

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Tags: louis vuitton, louis vuitton millionaires, LouisVuitton, LouisVuittonMillionaires, lvmh, rick ross, RickRoss, shades, sunglasses

Moet Hennessy Numbers Reveal Champagne Slump Continues

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

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.

Tags: lvmh, moet and chandon, moet hennessy, MoetAndChandon, MoetHennessy

Hennessy Black, Cognac With Its Own Song

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

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.

Source

Tags: cognac, hennessy, lvmh

Will LVMH Sell Its Share Of Moet Hennessy?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

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?

Source

Tags: champagne, louis vuitton moet hennessy, LouisVuittonMoetHennessy, lvmh

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