February 2019: Luxury News
Watchmaking wonders for women
February 13, 2019Watch: AKLC at SIHH 2019
March 15, 2019
- 10 Of The Most Popular Luxury Fashion Brands
There’s no denying we all love a bit of luxury — especially when it comes to our clothes. Whether you are yearning for a pair of Gucci shoes, or can’t get your mind off a Saint Laurent bag, the desire to own luxury goods is a big one.
With the industry, which is worth an estimated AU$579 billion, only growing, it can be hard to decipher what’s what. Although there are countless brands — including watch and jewellery brands, which we haven’t listed below — only a few have the history and heritage to be at the top.
Below, we’ve rounded up the 10 luxury brands everyone should know about. From the American labels which have history on their side to the Parisian staples we’ve grown up with, these luxury fashion brands all have one thing in common: we want to buy everything!
Article link: https://www.marieclaire.com.au/luxury-fashion-brands
2. Mercedes could assemble more cars in India
Relaxation of import norms that allows for small-scale sales without need for homologation will make identifying right models for India cheaper and less time-consuming, states Mercedes-Benz India head.
German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz believes there’s a possibility that more of its future models could be assembled locally, thanks to the Indian government’s decision to relax the norms for imported vehicles. The move allows carmakers to import 2,500 passenger vehicles a year without requiring them to be homologated in India. As a result, automakers can bring them to our market with little or no investment, gauge consumer demand and accordingly make a decision on local assembly.
“The rule can be an entryway for local assembly, eventually. We can bring models with limited efforts (investment) and see how the market responds. In principal, it’s an opportunity to explore the market with reduced efforts and I’m very confident that this is a good model to help us to explore other opportunities as well,” Martin Schwenk, MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India told Autocar India in an interview.
Article link: https://www.autocarindia.com/car-news/mercedes-could-assemble-more-cars-in-india-411320
3. Easing of import norms on luxury vehicles removes delay, will bring newer tech to India
PANAJI: The easing of import regulations on luxury vehicles has not only made it easier for foreign auto manufacturers to bring in newer vehicles to India, it has also completely eliminated a three-month long process for road-worthiness certification, said auto-dealers.
4. Lamborghini sees India in the fast lane, thanks to popularity of Urus
Lamborghini expects 60% growth this year and in the next five years India will be one of the top 15 markets for the company.
When was the last time you heard a super luxury car maker launching its product in India for commercial sale? In a first of sorts, Italian super luxury car maker Lamborghini on Thursday launched the Huracan Evo in India — the first market where it is introducing the car after a global presentation in Bahrain.
“I think globally we see India as one of an important part of our business strategy and with the Urus we have shown that we understand the market,” said Matteo Ortenzi, CEO of Lamborghini Asia Pacific.
5. Indian-Origin Sikh Businessman From London Buys 6 Rolls-Royce Luxury Cars Worth Rs 50 Crore
Apart from so many Rolls-Royce, he also owns a Bugatti Veyron, Porsche 918 Spyder, Pagani Huayara, Lamborghini Huracan and Ferrari F12 Berlinetta limited edition (only one in the world).
Buying a Rolls-Royce is a dream of many car buyers, but only a handful in the world can live this dream. However, there’s someone in the U.K. who actually owns more than 15 Rolls-Royce luxury cars and he is an Indian! Reuben Singh, a London-based Indian-Origin businessman has just bought 6 brand new Rolls-Royce luxury cars worth over Rs 50 Crore in Britain, 3 units each of Phantom luxury sedan and recently launched Cullinan luxury SUV.
6. Luxury goods market finally set for digital shake-up
After many years of reticence, the €262bn luxury goods market is finally moving online. Courtney Goldsmith investigates how traditional luxury brands are beginning to cash in on e-commerce.
It did not take entrepreneurs long following the creation of the internet to begin using the new platform to sell their goods and services. Although there is some debate about the world’s first official online sale – it may have been a pizza or a Sting CD – the growth of online shopping has been explosive.
Article link: https://www.europeanceo.com/lifestyle/luxury-goods-market-finally-set-for-digital-shake-up/
7. HP targets millenials with ‘luxury’ devices
Encouraged by strong double-digit growth in the premium notebook segment, technology giant HP is now eyeing a share of the $30 billion luxury goods market in India.
The company on Wednesday launched two ‘luxury’ devices under its Spectre range — Folio priced at ₹1.99 lakh and HP Spectre x360 starting from ₹1.29 lakh. “When we say luxury market, we are not looking at it as just a PC market, but actually playing in the broader luxury market in India which is estimated to be about $30 billion. That is the market we are going after,” Sumeer Chandra, MD, HP Inc. India, told The Hindu.
Article link: https://www.thehindu.com/business/hp-targets-millenials-with-luxury-devices/article26261315.ece
8. Luxury product market in India to grow 10-15% in next three years
Indian luxury brands have been most prominent in services so far. Taj, Oberoi and ITC Hotels have created global standards in hospitality
The Indian luxury market attracts a fair bit of attention – either because of the significant (and increasing) number of Indian billionaires in the list of HNIs or because of new brands that want to enter this generally high growth market. The luxury market is around $1.3 trillion globally and is growing at around 5%. The luxury market comprises of Products (things that you wear or carry, personal or wearable luxury), Services (services that you experience and enjoy such as travel and hospitality) and Assets (that you own such as houses, cars, planes etc). The most visible part of this market (and what is implied when referred to without any qualification) is the luxury products market which is around 30% of the total market. Historically in India the products market has been around 1/3rd of the total luxury market.
9. Fashion mogul ups stake in India’s luxury retailer Genesis Colors
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd said on Friday it has increased its stake in luxury fashion retailer Genesis Colors Ltd and a company set up by fashion designer Raghavendra Rathore.
Reliance Brands Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, acquired an additional stake of 2.5 percent in Rathore’s Future101 Design Pvt. Ltd for Rs 1.99 crore, taking its total stake to 15 percent. Future101 manufactures, distributes, and sells luxury apparels in India
Article link: https://fashionunited.in/news/business/fashion-mogul-ups-stake-in-india-s-luxury-retailer-genesis-colors/2019020820386
10. Gucci’s Fall/Winter 2019 Show Plays Between The Seen And The Unseen
Italian luxury brand, Gucci showcased its Fall-Winter 2019 Show in Milan that played with the magical ambiguity of masks. Not just a prop for the show, the mask represents a form. And, as with every form, it’s able to repair, cover and, at the same time, expose. The mask becomes the means through which we can become what we feel we are. It lets us show ourselves as we please and play our acting role as we think is best
The Gucci Fall-Winter 2019 show space was characterized by a bright, elliptical wall composed of more than 120,000 LED light bulbs which was integrated with a 100-meter long mirrored runway similar to a shiny curved path. Covered from floor to ceiling with mirroring materials that endlessly reflect and refract lights and movements, the fascinating and dynamic space was illuminated by a kaleidoscope of lights.
Article link: https://www.mansworldindia.com/style/gucci-fall-winter-2019-show-plays-visible-invisible/
11. Claude Monet’s rare Le Palais Ducal could sell for $35 million at the upcoming Sotheby’s sale
Sotheby’s has been auctioning art since the early 1900s. The auction house, on February 26, is hosting yet another art sale of impressionist, modern and surrealist art by artists like Monet, Picasso, Magritte, Rodin, Degas, Chagall, Kandinsky, Schiele and more.
Le Palais Ducal by Claude Monet. The Le Palais Ducal created in 1908 is an oil on canvas. It is one of the thirty seven canvases that were made by Monet during his visit to Venice with his wife in 1908. It depicts the historic Gothic façade of the Doge’s palace, and it belongs to a celebrated group of three works painted from the vantage of a boat moored along the canal, one of which is held in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum in New York. In the three months in Venice, the artist, enchanted by the beauty of Venice created 40 canvases on the city. (Estimated for £20,000,000 to 30,000,000)
Article link: http://blackbook.net.in/claude-monets-rare-le-palais-ducal-could-sell-for-35-million-at-the-upcoming-sothebys-sale/
12. Marriott reimagines travel loyalty in multichannel effort
Hotel group Marriott International is bringing its rewards program to life in a new multichannel effort that heralds its recent rebrand.
Marriott Bonvoy is the group’s newly revamped loyalty program that covers 30 hotel brands, including what was once Marriott Rewards, the Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest. Loyalty programs are crucial for hospitality groups since they encourage customer retention and emphasize experiential travel, a growing trend among affluents.
Article link: https://www.luxurydaily.com/marriott-reimagines-travel-loyalty-in-multichannel-effort/
13. How Personalisation and Artificial Intelligence Are Transforming Luxury Retail Online
Digital and technology developments are fundamentally transforming the luxury retail industry. The direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce model, in particular, is increasingly reshaping the luxury shopping landscape by making it easier for new entrants to gain market shares. The playing field is rapidly changing for traditional luxury brands.
In parallel, affluent consumers’ expectations are also evolving. Luxury customers expect their online interactions with a brand to match their first class offline experience. Customers have no patience for faulty filters and continuous scanning through irrelevant items to find THE product they are looking for.
14. After Karl Lagerfeld’s death, Silvia Venturini Fendi to head Italian luxury fashion house
Luxury giant LVMH won’t begin looking for an outside designer to succeed the late Karl Lagerfeld at fur-maker Fendi, leaving an executive who’s a member of the brand’s founding family to fill the role for the time being, according to people familiar with the matter.
Silvia Venturini Fendi, a granddaughter of the brand’s founders and its creative director for accessories, menswear, and children, has progressively expanded her role and won confidence in recent years.
