January 2020: Luxury News
December 2019: Luxury News
January 2, 2020
1. Porsche India welcomes cayenne coupe
AKLC COMMENT(S): Congratulations & Good luck to them!
Porsche India launched the latest Cayenne SUV models and opened the doors of its new Baani showroom in New Delhi’s Gurugram. It’s the first custom-built Porsche Centre in the vibrant city of Delhi which offers best-in-class customer service. The showroom’s opening event also introduced guests to the new SUV, featuring sharper lines with a unique rear section.
Located on the Golf Course Road, one of the most prestigious areas of Gurugram, the state-of-the-art showroom is spread over three floors with a total area of 6,320 sqft. The features designed to enhance the customer experience include a new customer lounge, a rooftop terrace, a video wall, a Carrera Café, and a Porsche Driver Selection display, offering clothing and accessories. The facility will also feature a charging infrastructure for the brand’s present hybrid and future electric vehicle range.
Article link: https://www.luxebook.in/porsche-india-welcomes-cayenne-coupe/
2. The 22 most expensive homes in the world for sale
AKLC COMMENT(S): Would love to have the Manhattan one!!
From Bel air to Barbados, from Hong Kong to the Hamptons, here are the priciest listings on the planet. No, it’s not a great time to be selling a mega-priced mega mansion. A cooling global economy, concerns over stock market volatility, over-ambitious expectations on pricing. It’s all resulting in a global slowdown. But those with the resources are going to find an astonishing choice of remarkable properties—many now with huge price reductions. Here are 22 of the most amazing homes that lots of money can buy.
Article link: https://robbreport.com/shelter/homes-for-sale/most-expensive-houses-world-sale-now-2807417/
As India’s beauty market goes from strength to strength, Sephora is looking to expand in all of the country’s key markets, according to its India CEO.
Article link: https://in.fashionnetwork.com/news/Sephora-to-shift-its-focus-to-tier-2-3-cities-in-india,1171925.html
4. Living like a billionaire: The Bay area’s costliest real estate listings
San Francisco Bay Area real estate is among the most expensive in America, and the city itself is among most expensive places to live on Earth. So, in an already expensive city, what do you really get for $10 million and up? We searched the latest listings to find the most costly homes in San Francisco.
Browse the gallery above to see what the wealthy — or maybe you, if you belong to the three comma club — can buy this week.
Check back next week for an updated look at new listings as they come out.
Article link: https://www.sfgate.com/test-real-estate/article/bay-real-estate-most-expensive-mansions-luxury-14948681.php
5. How Instagram is using its @shop account to get up-and-coming brands to sell on the Platform.
AKLC COMMENT(S): Wow! This is huge!
Instagram is leaning on one of its own accounts to get more fashion and beauty brands selling through the platform.
2020 is already expected to be a big year for shopping on Instagram, especially for DTC brands. The social media platform started ramping up its Shopping and Checkout features in 2019. Companies including Revolve, Good American, Warby Parker, Balmain and Outdoor Voices all set up shops within Instagram in the last year. But for smaller, lesser-known companies, Instagram is leveraging its @shop account, which launched in May, to help those brands gain traction on the platform. Brands do not pay to be covered on the account, but the hope is that featured brands will use some of the paid shopping offerings. Instagram charges a seller’s fee for brands using Checkout.
Article link: https://www.glossy.co/fashion/how-instagram-is-using-its-shop-account-to-get-up-and-coming-brands-selling-on-the-platform
6. A 19th century Indian palace finds new life as Taj’s latest regal hotel.
AKLC COMMENT(S): Amazing experience 🙂
The Taj brand continues it;s winning streak of turning authentic historic palaces into hotels with both opulence and soul.
Since launching in 1903, the Taj brand has operated some of the top hotels in India and beyond, from grande dame city hubs (like The Pierre in New York City) to dreamy beachfront resorts in places like Goa and the Maldives. The brand’s extra-special skill, though, is running hotels that are set in palaces—not structures that were recently built to resemble palaces, but authentic royal residences, each with its own unique history and lore (and, in some cases, a few titled descendants still living on-site.) Among the most famous of these is the Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur, an all-white stone haven floating in the middle of Lake Pichola. Now, that legendary property has been joined by another Taj palace hotel in town—this one located on land, but no less spectacular.
Article link: https://robbreport.com/travel/hotels/19th-century-indian-palace-new-taj-hotel-2891312/
7. Reliance Retail to harness technology to give fashion business hyper-local approach.
AKLC COMMENT(S): Customization to next level! What an experience!
Reliance Retail plans to begin using a hyper-local approach to product selection in its fashion stores over the coming six months, driven by data analytics to tap into regional consumer demand.
The business is investing in data analytics to allow it to tailor its in-store product selection to the customers in each catchment area, ET Bureau reported. Instead of scaling store size to fit the size of the city it is located in, the new approach will see Reliance tailor the assortment of products to fit the area with the aim of increasing revenue.
8. Here’s why this 1983 fiat spider costs as much as a New Porsche 911 Carrera.
Roadster salon’s electric conversion has a hefty $139,995 price tag.
It will surprise no one that vintage cars can command a pretty penny on the collector market. Still, $140,000 is an awful lot to ask for a 1983 Fiat Pininfarina Spider America. There has to be something special about a car with that kind of price tag, and in the case of Roadster Salon’s Spider, there is.
The Barrington, Illinois-based Fiat restoration wizards have taken one of the ‘80s more under-appreciated convertibles and, well, converted it to electric power, according to an eBay listing for the car. And while some will wonder if that makes the car worth as much as a brand new Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, we’re willing to bet more than a few Fiat enthusiasts will consider the environmentally conscious Spider a worthwhile investment.
Article link: https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/roadster-salone-1983-fiat-pininfarina-spider-america-ev-conversion-2891819/
9. 10 Most expensive Custom Smartphones, Ranked by price.
AKLC COMMENT(S): 73% of our audience voted for the custom smartphones.
For most of us, a smartphone is a major investment. Whether it’s for the speed, camera, or the elusive promise of 5G, we’re often willing to invest hundreds or even thousands of dollars into the latest handsets. After all, most of us rely on smartphones to do our work, connect with friends, and entertain us when we’re on the toilet.
But for the wealthy, a regular old smartphone isn’t enough. If you really want to flex your wealth, it’s going to take more than just a top-tier flagship to prove that you’ve got a lot of money to burn. Thankfully, there are plenty of designers out there, who are willing to craft devices that make the most expensive phones look like bargains.
Article link: https://www.thetalko.com/smartphones-custom-expensive-price-ranked/
10. Louis Vuitton just snapped up the second-biggest Diamond on the planet
AKLC COMMENT(S): How cool !! wow!
The tennis ball-sized sparkler will be turned into fine jewelry.
Despite being in the high jewelry game for less than a decade, Louis Vuitton is staking its claim. The French luxury label more commonly associated with monogrammed leather goods has just acquired the second-largest diamond known to man.
Recovered from the Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana last April, the record-breaking sparkler Sewelô—which means “rare find” in Setswana—is true to its moniker: a 1,758-carat rough diamond and the biggest such diamond to be discovered in a century. Roughly the size of a tennis ball, the stone has been described as a “near gem of variable quality,” meaning it is an industrial diamond with sections that could produce gem-quality stones.
Articlelink: https://robbreport.com/style/jewelry/louis-vuitton-buys-second-biggest-diamond-in-history-2893187/
11. L’Oreal on the look out to acquire Indian beauty brands
AKLC COMMENT(S): Finally! So glad to hear this! All the best
L’Oreal is looking to acquire Indian beauty brands and start-ups as the business’ Indian unit becomes one of it’s three fastest growing segments.
Over the past two years, L’Oréal’s India subsidiary has become one of the French business’ fastest growing units, chairman Jean Paul Agon told ET Bureau in an interview. Agon named India as one of L’Oréal’s top three or four strategic countries globally and opined that ease of doing business in the country was ample.
“India has been one of the most successful subsidiaries in L’Oréal in the last two years, growing in the mid-teens and we are confident we will achieve that number this year too,” Agon told ET Bureau. “In terms of contribution to growth of the company, it’s one of the top three countries.”
Article link: https://in.fashionnetwork.com/news/L-oreal-on-the-look-out-to-acquire-indian-beauty-brands,1161338.html
12. H&M enters the rental market; taking circularity to new level
AKLC COMMENT(S): It’s all about creating experiences ! Amazing read
The latest player to enter the rapidly developing fashion rental market is swedish fast fashion giant H&M, with a deft high street collection of archival evening wear.
The high street fashion king unveiled its surprising new concept this week at its latest concept store, H&M Sergels Torg, named after the central shopping district in Stockholm, where it is located. Carefully edited with a slew of innovative ideas and business models, the store opens on Friday morning, November 29.
Article link: https://in.fashionnetwork.com/news/H-m-enters-the-rental-market-taking-circularity-to-new-level,1163033.html
13. Where to go next: 27 best places to travel in 2020
AKLC COMMENT(S): Greece & Jaisalmer on our bucket list
Where are you headed in 2020? Given that we’re on the verge of not just a new year but a new decade, this is the time to go big—and travel far—in 2020. To help fuel your wanderlust, we tapped into a handful of travel experts and influencers to find out the places that they have on their radars for 2020. Their choices for where to go in 2020 range from a pair of dreamy Greek Islands to an African country redefining adventure travel to a Japanese mountain town where old meets new. Compare these to the best destinations that the experts picked for 2019 (how many did you check off your bucket list?). I also opened my own little black book to give a sneak peek at what I’m most excited about around the world for 2020. You’re definitely going to want to put these spots on your travel wish list, too.
Article link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2019/12/18/where-to-go-next-best-places-travel-2020/#5310433f2387
14. The super expensive gift Kanye just gave him has ruined valentine’s day for men everywhere
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s relationship has been one of unequivocal luxury. From proposing alongside a 50-person orchestra in a baseball stadium to gifting her a $1.4million diamond Lorraine Schwartz choker to mark the birth of their first child, Yeezy spares no expense. And neither does his wife.
The couple’s gift game could only be described as extravagant; hand-painted Birkin bags, “random” Lamborghinis and Mercedes-Benz SUVs, Christmas stockings stuffed with stock options, and island rentals (specifically, Great Guana Cay in the Bahamas), to name but a few. Each tottering around a five- or six-figure price tag.
15. Hats will make a comeback in 2020, athleisure is the future, says Payal Singhal
AKLC COMMENT(S): Men, Take notes!
Designer Payal Singhal predicts big things for stripes, checks and florals, lauds Kanye West for being a style icon.
Payal Singhal feels pink is a colour men should experiment with. She also feels that the colour is complimentary for Indian skin tones. Speaking exclusively to ET Panache, Singhal predicts the upcoming trends in men’s fashion.
Vision 2020
“I foresee experimentation as the mood of 2020. Playing with prints will definitely be huge — be it stripes on checks or geometrics worn with florals. The same goes for Indian menswear. Silhouettes like sheer kurtas, dhoti salwar and athleisure will dominate wordrobes.
16. At this $17.5 Million palm Beach penthouse, You can have breakfast at Tiffany’s every day
The Brand new 13,000-square-feet condo sits on top of the Tiffany & co’ worth avenue store.
Fancy a breakfast at Tiffany’s? With this brand new $17.5 million penthouse, on ritzy Worth Avenue in the heart of Palm Beach, Florida, all you need to do to is head to your kitchen.
That’s because this new-construction,13,000-square-feet, super-luxury condominium sits directly above the town’s Tiffany & Co jewelry store.
Back in October 2018, New York-based developer John C. Kean, of Kean Development, paid $20 million to acquire the iconic Tiffany Building on the corner of Worth and Hibiscus.
17. These are the Biggest Spring 2020 Trends, Period
AKLC COMMENT(S): Our top 3: Business Casuals, Three Piece Suits & Collar ID
Yes, we know—it’s 30-something degrees outside right now, it’s impossible to step out of your apartment without multiple layers of Heattech on (at least in NYC), and we’re barely a third of the way through winter, so who has time to think about spring style? With fashion month kicking off in a little over two weeks and the spring collections set to start trickling into stores come February, there’s actually no time like the present to get informed on what the must-have S/S 2020 trends are going to be. Considering the fact that there are hundreds of runway shows each and every season, we certainly don’t expect you to go digging through them all to unearth the trends that will rise to the top. That’s what we’re here for.
Article link: https://www.whowhatwear.com/spring-fashion-trends-2020
18. BMW R18/2: The Big Boxer is ready to roar in style
A teardrop-shaped tank, narrow handlebar and shortened wheel cover makes BMW’s R18/2 look like a dragster.
BMW R18/2: BMW has followed up the retro-themed Concept R 18 motorcycle revealed earlier last year with another concept bike debuting at the 2019 EICMA show. Called the Concept R 18/2, the motorcycle is stylistically opposite from the Concept R 18, which featured historically-inspired aesthetics.
The BMW Concept R 18/2 instead has more modern cruiser styling while retaining the same 1800cc air/oil-cooled boxer twin. The German manufacturer has not provided information yet on the performance number as before.
Article link: https://www.theman.in/auto/best-bikes-launches-2020-bmw-triumph-tiger-kenzo-aston-martin-news.html
19. Louis Vuitton to open largest store in Japan this February with attached Restaurant
AKLC COMMENT(S): All about experiences 🙂
LVMH brand Louis Vuitton will open its largest flagship store in Japan in Osaka’s Shinsaibashi on February 1 and will open its first Vuitton café and restaurant inside the flagship store on February 15.
The new Louis Vuitton flagship store in Osaka will open a cafe named ‘Le Café V’ and restaurant ‘Sugalabo V’ on the top floor of its ‘Osaka Maison’. The first four floors of the seven-storey building, adjacent to the Prada flagship store on Shinsaibashi’s Midosuji shopping street, will be dedicated to retail with fine dining housed on the seventh floor.
20. The $300m Luxury hotel with a secret tunnel to Harrods
AKLC COMMENT(S): Oh wow! Would love to experience
A £300m luxury hotel development with a secret tunnel to Harrods has been given the green light by the local planning committee.
The Knightsbridge hotel will be a one minute walk from the iconic London department store, but also includes a disused underground pedestrian and goods tunnel linking the two sites.
Kensington and Chelsea’s planning committee has granted Singapore’s City Developments Limited (CDL) – which owns Millennium & Copthorne Hotels – permission to develop the Pavilion Road car park site.
Articlelink: https://www.cityam.com/300m-hotel-development-with-secret-tunnel-to-harrods-gets-green-light/
21. Rose Boutique India launches Nation’s first eternal rose luxury showroom
AKLC COMMENT(S): Good luck! Sounds very interesting
The brand has produced these unique real roses in more than fifty exotic colours which can live up to five years without water or any such maintenance.
Rose Boutique India, a luxury floral gifting brand launches India’s first eternal rose showroom in New Delhi. Through genetic modification, the brand has produced these unique real roses in more than fifty exotic colours which can live up to five years without water or any such maintenance.
With this launch, Rose Boutique India forays into the luxury market for flowers and wants to tap into the unexplored niche gifting segment. The brand intends to upgrade the experience of gifting flowers for every occasion through this endeavour.
Article link: http://www.retail4growth.com/news/rose-boutique-india-launches-nations-first-eternal-rose-luxury-showroom-4782
