sales

Front-runner in e-commerce innovation for the luxury watch industry, Bell & Ross has opened its e-Boutique doors to US customers. Almost a year ago Bell & Ross opened up their e-commerce platform to European customers looking to buy the high-end watch brand's timepiece online. Now, as of late September 2010, customers in the US receive the ability to buy Bell & Ross watches and accessories online - direct from Bell & Ross.

At this time, most luxury watch brands do not allow online sales. Bell & Ross' approach to this was to sell online themselves, and use their retailer network for order fulfillment purposes. A few years ago it would have been heresy to suggest to major European brands to sell watches online. Now you can enjoy e-commerce solutions for brand such as Cartier, Longines, Bell & Ross, and more. Payment options at this time are only credit card (so you better be able to put $5,000 or more on your card in a single day). According to Bell & Ross, the US e-commerce model is the same that is being used in Europe - so it goes to show that the model Bell & Ross was experimenting with in Europe worked out well.

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

Private access, getting there first, and buying what you want at a discount plus cash back --- that's what shoppers want and that's what Mintbox.com delivers. Membership means access to exclusive invitation-only sales in-store and online at top designers and major apparel, health, and wellness brands.

Just last month Mintbox members were invited to the pricey Guerlain Spa at the Waldorf Astoria to enjoy their special two-hour, $600 Exceptional Orchidée Facial for only $199 plus 5% cash back. While discounts tend to run 30% early in the season for new merchandise, you might just end up getting end-of-season fashions at 80% or more. Other members-only perks include invitations to meet-and-greets with fashion designers, private trunk shows, tickets to New York Fashion Week, and personal-styling sessions.

Online luxury retailer Gilt Groupe is taking serious aim at men's style with the launch of Gilt Man. Gilt Groupe has already been selling some men's items on the main site but the new platform offers new and expanded men's categories in a "guys only" e-tail destination. Like the original site, Gilt Man will offer items through invitation-only sales each day with top brands available at up to 70 percent off retail in sales lasting 36 hours. The sales will include clothing as well as gadgets, sporting gear and other lifestyle items. Initial sales include Strida, Bogner, Helly Hansen, Harry's of London, Alexander McQueen, Porsche Design Adidas, Outdoor Research, Ducati Watches and Gianfranco Ferre. The site will also feature editorial content on style and trends.

Looking to get your hands on the hot new Lexus IS convertible? You may have to wait a while, as early sales figures indicate a high demand for the luxury cabrio without enough supply to meet it. Demand is so high, in fact, that parent company Toyota had to increase production at its assembly plant in Japan to 1200 units per month. Of those, nearly a quarter go to the Northeastern United States alone, and you can be sure that California and Florida boost those number significantly as well.

The model is available as both the IS250C and IS350C, the former of which –with a 204hp 2.5-liter V6 and $38k sticker price – accounts for some 85% of sales, while the latter – the more powerful $44k 306hp 3.5-liter IS350C – makes up only 15% of sales for the luxurious hard-top convertible. But as demand increase, buyers may be looking at dealer premiums to get ahead on the waiting list.

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.

We've seen it for years, the rapid-fire rush through the seasons. We no sooner say goodbye to one holiday than the next one is already being pushed at us in retail stores. But now that the economic slowdown has created a logjam in the process of rapid acquisition and dispersion, the stores have a problem. How do they get the merchandise out?

The obvious answer is sales and as Fashion Week Daily reports Saks Fifth Avenue is already selling Spring 2009 merchandise at 40 percent off and Barneys is set to follow suit next week. The depth of the discount is no surprise. Since the screech-to-a-stop holiday season last year department stores have been sawing away at prices to keep people shopping. In fact, at this point one has to wonder if 40 percent is even enough to get people excited. NY Mag's The Cut said, "call us when they hit 75 percent." The bright spot for stores is that they were better prepared for Spring 09 than they were for Fall/Winter 08 so there is less inventory to get rid of which does mean the discounts probably won't run as deep.

To say that luxury watch sales are down in these difficult economic times is obvious, but the picture is not that simple. Some areas are actually doing quite well, while others are more or less not effected by the economic situation. For the higher end watches, a lot of people see the slow down in sales as a psychological reaction in the minds of wealthy buyers to not wanting to spend so much when the economy is down. Thus, the most effected segment of the market are roughly those watches in the $2000 - $50,000 range. Yes this is a big range, but across the board this segment is suffering - in two ways. First, people are going down a notch in price points when purchasing. If they would have spent $10,000 on a watch a few years ago, today they are spending $2,000 - $5,000. Alternatively people aren't buying watches at all in this segment, and waiting until things get better to buy.

One segment that is doing remarkably well is the $100 - $500 segment. Typically not really considered part of the luxury watch group, watches in this range are gaining a lot of momentum.. Buyers are looking to decrease the amount of money spent on watches, but still want to buy watches, which is why this segment is doing remarkably well. A major point of this finding is that people will always want watches, and the demand is still there. Although retailers are typically loathe to offer these lower margin watches, the economic reality of today is forcing them to amend their points of view on this price segment.

The numbers are in from Christmas 2008 and bleak doesn't even begin to cover it. The Wall Street Journal reports that total retail sales, excluding automobiles, fell over the year-earlier period by 5.5% in November and 8% in December through Christmas Eve, according to MasterCard Inc.'s SpendingPulse unit. If you take out gasoline sales the overall percentages work out to a 2.5% drop in November and a 4% decline in December (the drop in gas prices contributed to overall lower sales).

The luxury market was the worst hit with sales falling over 21%; add in jewelry sales and that number goes up to 34.5% The grim numbers have forced retailers to increase their savings offers moving up the typical January clearance sales to huge post-Chrstmas sales this weekend. It doesn't seem to have worked too well from what I saw out there today though. Part of the reason may be that this holiday season shoppers spent less on gift cards as presents so there is less of an immediate incentive for people to rush back into the stores.

Just last week I mentioned the poor sales for the Hummer and speculated that gas prices could have something to do with it. How then to explain the high sales of the Maserati, a car known for its sleek looks and high price but not its gas mileage? Bloomberg reports that sales of Fiat's Maseratis jumped 20 percent in the U.S. last month and are up 16 percent in this year when sales of all luxury cars are down 15 percent.

Auto analyst Wes Brown says that Maserati fills a niche, it's a bit more distinctive than a Mercedes but not quite as pricey as a Ferrari or Lamborghini. Maserati says that the average purchaser is a 54-year-old male with household income of $750,000. These gentlemen certainly aren't getting fuel economy. The 405-horsepower Maserati GranTurismo coup gets 13 miles per gallon in the city and 19 on the highway, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Quattroporte, with a list price starting at around $120,000 gets 12 mpg in the city and 18 on the highway. Not exactly fuel saving numbers but then again, buyers aren't looking for a workhorse for their commuting needs, this is a pleasure vehicle.

Is this just more of the continued high spending at the top of the luxury market or is there something special about the Maserati that makes the buyer want to throw caution, and sidelong looks at gas pumps, to the wind?

More bad news for the luxury market, the Wall Street Journal reports on Gucci's sales figures. Sales at Gucci fell 3.3% in the first quarter. What's interesting is that Gucci's new strategy to improve their bottom line is to market lower-price products more aggressively. This goes against the common wisdom for luxury brands which is that the when the economy is down it is the time to focus on the affluent consumers who are still spending. Gucci also announced this week that popular actress Claire Danes will be the face of their fine jewelry line which follows an announcement that James Franco is the new face of the latest Gucci fragrance.

Other brands in the luxury world including Louis Vuitton are still doing well and perhaps Gucci is looking to mimic that glossy success. The Chief Financial Officer of Gucci's parent company PPR Jean-François Palus has said that the brand was focusing too much on their more expensive products such as those in the Pelle Guccissima line (even though the brand did well last year with over 2.2 billion euros in sales). Gucci is one of the brands that has weathered the most storms in the luxury market, languishing for years before being revitalized during the Tom Ford era, and I have no doubt they will triumph in the long run.

A study done for VINEXPO by the International Wine and Spirit Record on wine and spirits sales tracked sales and consumption trends all over the world. It found that the US is in a position to become the leading consumer of wine in the world by 2010, with red wine accounting for more than half of what will be a $23 billion market. Worldwide, wine consumption is expected to increase by 266 million bottles every year until 2010!

Spirits are encountering considerable growth, as well, with tequila, cognac and vodka sales all increasing in the US. Vodka is currently the most consumed spirit in the US, but is expected to eventually account for more than 25% of all spirits consumed. Worldwide, spirit consumption is increasing by roughly 1.3% per year, with drops only in gin, while whisky, rum and tequila are taking off in many other countries.

In spite of bans and animal rights outcries against its production, fois gras might be more popular than ever before at eateries. Luxury and gourmet foods are becoming increasingly popular and more diners are seeking out high-end meals in general. There are only a couple of farms in the US, but the French fois gras industry is expecting a record year. 85% of the world's production of the fatty duck (or goose) liver comes from France and the French foie gras producers see the 6% growth from the last year as in indicator of things to come, though they do say that half of the annual sales of fois gras are generated in December.

A marketing director in Santa Clarita, California has a new take on how to sell a house. To give the houses in a new development a "lived-in" feel, she has hired a group of actors to play house while prospective buyers come out and tour the property. "Mom," "Dad" and their two "kids" bake scones, celebrate a birthday party and play games, interacting with each other and with any guests who wish to play along or ask questions. It's "reality" real estate and the program has been dubbed "Home Life." Many of the guests who toured the house when it opened were actual realtors, not looking to buy the house, but to see how appealing having a "family" would be to clients.

As one visitor from USC's business school put it, "You imagine yourself in this situation. If you have a beautiful experience, that gets people to think, oh, I want to live like that!" The model family was as appealing, if not more so, than the home itself. It's easy to see how clients, perhaps used to watching reality shows on television, could relate quickly to a similar scenario that confronts them in real life.

Since the setup had immediate appeal to buyers and realtors alike. This could be the start of a new real estate trend, particularly with upmarket estates and in new developments, where houses might look less lived in because of their newness or their size.

According to the company Leadpile.com in a press release, more and more luxury car buying is going online. The company has an interest in the issue because they sell luxury cars via the internet, though they do make some strong points in their argument. Luxury car buyers are looking for stylish vehicles that offer comfort and convenience, and car dealerships could not be considered to be as convenient as shopping from your computer at home. The question is really whether the shoppers will miss the interaction and attention at upscale dealerships, which, in some locations, can rival the level of service received at posh salons.

With buyers who prize both comfort and convenience, it would make sense that they would put the comforts of being pampered at a high-class dealership above the convenience of shopping online. If convenience alone was the issue, they might not hold out for a luxury car in the first place.