market

Chicago French Market Brings La Campagne to Chicago's West Loop

Filed under: Dining

There are more than a dozen Euro-inspired food markets in Chicago, but they're seasonal. If you wanted your favorite bottle of Brittany's cidre doux to keep you warm in December, you had to stock up on it in September. Good news, then, for the francophiles: with the opening of the open-year-round Chicago French Market on Thursday, December 3, that kind of unholy abstinence -- and planning ahead -- is no more.

Taking its place in the Metramarket in The Windy City's West Loop, the French Market will be the only 365-day, Euro-chic indoor purveyor. Offerings from local farms and artisanal shops include certified organic produce, meat, fish, bread, pastries, small batch cheeses and wines, and flowers. And don't forget the chocolates and Lavazza coffee. Prepared meals can also be had for when you want an evening in Provence without spending business-class fare.

Six days a week the 15,000-square-foot market will exist to serve you, and there's covered, ground-level parking to entice you further -- validated for an hour free if you spend $20. The adventure begins at 7:30 Thursday morning, just in time for a pain au chocolat and a cafe creme.

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Tags: chicago, chicago french market, ChicagoFrenchMarket, food, food-awards, french, luxist-awards, market, organic

Rolex Buys Rolex Watches To Prevent Price Drops

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Watch sales are down, way down in some places, and the only option for many dealers is to provide deep discounts to move inventory. This creates price drops that many watch brands are less than thrilled with. Some brands are taking an active approach to protect brand pricing. Rolex is personally purchasing back inventory from dealers who are having trouble selling Rolex watches. Buying back the watches gives some money back to the retailers to help them during hard times, and allows Rolex to be confident that less deep discounting is occurring in the market. Rolex is of the most protective brands when it comes to pricing and image. They have an almost legendary reputation for not giving significant discounts. This is not a fact that they wish to change right now when keeping the integrity of a brand's pricing system solid is an important endeavor.

It is no secret that Rolex is a cash rich company. It is not likely a huge impact for them to be buying back inventory which will likely be warehoused until future times when things are better for the luxury watch market. I would go so far as to say that it is probably in Rolex's best interest to dismantle and recycle unsold watches than to release them at below market rates (that they set). Further, you might be wondering why dealers are all selling back to Rolex in the first place rather than discounting and potentially getting more money. This would likely conflict with their authorized dealer contracts with Rolex. Plus, Rolex likely has a redemption right - that allows it to buy back stock under certain circumstances. For you, this means less chance that your dream Rolex watch is going to be discounted any time soon. Pictured is a 2009 Rolex Datejust watch with Arabic numerals.

Via WorldTempus (in French).

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: crisis, dealers, discount, market, rolex, sales

Even Dubai Feels Wall Street's Pain...

by Laura Malesich (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

In a global marketplace, even Dubai isn't protected from the economy's frosty embrace. Although real estate giants don't anticipate a market crash in this tourist hot spot it has certainly slowed the rush to invest in Dubai down a bit. There may be a positive note in this unpredictable market as some believe the speculators or "flippers" will get weeded out and bring more stability. I don't pretend to understand everything about the effects of our economic issues but it's certainly disconcerting when Dubai is feeling the strain.

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Tags: dubai, economy, global market, GlobalMarket, market, TIME, wall street, WallStreet

Luxury Market Tight in China

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Are luxury retailers too optimistic about the opportunities in China? As the economy rapidly grows, retailers are faced with rising costs for labor and rent and a customer base that is more reluctant to purchase luxury items than in other countries. Many high end brands - Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Hermès, to name but a few - are all in competition for the same small segment of the population. While that doesn't sound so different from the way the retailers operate in other parts of the world, there is on big difference. In China, consumers are primarily interested in things that are "obvious status symbols," with easily visible logos from only the top brand, so many companies, even big name ones, are barely breaking even after years in the country.

But the segment of the population that can afford luxury is growing and as the country moves more towards a market economy, they grow more willing to purchase such goods. The lesson to retailers? Start small and learn the market. It's probably only a matter of time before more consumers start to want to add some luxury to their lives.

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Tags: brand, china, chinese, louis vuitton, luxury, luxury brands, market, retail

A Zip Code is Not Enough for Luxury

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

When it comes to real estate, many people will tell you that it all boils down to: location, location, location. This may or may not be true, but more people than you can shake a stick at (or shake a mortgage at) believe in it wholeheartedly. A nice house can do a lot for a property, but it seems that people are paying a premium for the property alone now. And I'm not referring to a vacant lot, priced expensively but accordingly. I'm talking about lots with run-down, unimproved houses so small you might actually be at risk of inhaling them when you hear the price - assuming they don't collapse first.

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Tags: blog, california, marin, marin housing, marin real estate, market, pos, pos house, real estate, RealEstate, red door, RedDoor, rela estate market