May 2019: Luxury News
Alec Monopoly watch launched in Ahmedabad, India
May 14, 2019
June 2019: Luxury News
July 4, 2019
1. Millennials want to cruise. How Norwegian is preparing for these young travelers to hop aboard
The global cruise industry is booming. Now the fastest-growing category in the leisure travel market — estimated at $45.6 billion in 2018 — cruise vacations attracted more than 26 million travelers last year, up 3% over 2017. By the end of 2019, that number is expected to hit 30 million, according to Statista.
One likely explanation for the surge is millennials’ increased interest in cruise travel. To keep pace, the industry plans to pour about $65 billion into building more ships over the next 10 years.
Article link: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/29/how-norwegian-cruise-line-is-preparing-for-millennials-to-hop-aboard.html
2. Ferrari goes electric with its most powerful street-legal car ever: the SF90 Stradale
Ferrari just launched Its most powerful street-legal car ever — a 986 horsepower road bullet with three electric motors.
The SF90 Stradale marks Ferrari’s first plug-in hybrid that’s not built for the racetrack. It’s powered by a 4.0-liter turbocharged V8 that generates 769 horsepower, but gets another 217 horsepower from three electric motors — one powering the rear wheels and two for the front.
Article link: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/30/ferrari-goes-electric-with-its-most-powerful-street-legal-car-ever.html
3. Vegan beauty: How conscious consumers are driving innovation in ethical cosmetics
Do you know what you put on your face this morning? Not the name of the brand or type of skin product, but what really went on your skin? If you turn your moisturiser over and see lanolin in the small print, which a lot of creams and lotions contain, then it’s a wax-like substance from sheep’s wool that’s been keeping your soft.
Meanwhile, those that swear by the restorative powers of keratin shampoo can probably thank the hair, nails, horns and hooves of animals for their silky hair, while your favourite red lipstick has likely been made possible by thousands of crushed up cochineal insects.
Article link: https://www.marketingweek.com/2019/05/29/how-conscious-consumers-are-driving-vegan-beauty/
4. WITH A NEW LINE, THE MARC JACOBS, THE DESIGNER WOULD LIKE TO REINTRODUCE HIMSELF
Marc Jacobs has been a preeminent figure in the fashion industry for upwards of three decades, but despite the wisdom he’s gleaned from his experience, he isn’t shy to admit there’s plenty he still doesn’t know. For starters, there’s the contemporary jargon often used by corporate types when pitching a new label. “‘On-brand’ is one of those phrases I’m not familiar with — I think if I believe in [something], then it’s perfectly fine for me to do,” he tells me inside his Spring Street showroom during a preview for his new line, The Marc Jacobs, in between drags from a palm-sized vape.
Article link: https://fashionista.com/2019/05/the-marc-jacobs-interview
5. Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior Owner Unveils Blockchain Platform to Verify Luxury Goods
ConsenSys has teamed up with LVMH and Microsoft to build a blockchain-powered platform that allows consumers to verify the authenticity of luxury goods, according to a news release on May 16.
The consortium says the system, known as Aura, is designed to “serve the entire luxury industry with powerful product tracking and tracing services.”
Article link: https://cointelegraph.com/news/louis-vuitton-and-christian-dior-owner-unveils-blockchain-platform-to-verify-luxury-goods
6. FASHION GIANT LVMH PARTNERS WITH UNESCO TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE GOALS
The French luxury conglomerate, LVMH, who preside over leading fashion institutions like Dior, Givenchy, Fendi, Louis Vuitton and Rihanna’s new Fenty range, has gone into partnership with UNESCO. The industry giant made the announcement just a couple of hours ago, posting on Instagram that the collaboration will last for five years. The plan is set to make the fashion front-runner more transparent in where it sources its materials and will more closely monitor the traceability of each house’s supply chain.
Article link: https://www.euronews.com/living/2019/05/14/lvmh-partners-unesco-sustainable-goals
7. BMW bets on SUVs to set the pace
Mumbai: Having grown in double digits in a falling luxury car market in 2018, Munich-based luxury car maker BMW India is banking on a new range of half a dozen sports utility vehicles or SUVs to continue outpacing peers.
Riding on the popularity of SUVs, BMW expects one out of every two vehicles that it sells in the country to be an SUV. While it has traditionally had a portfolio of three SUVs locally assembled in India – the X1, X3 and X5 – it will now complement these with the X4.
Article link: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/auto/cars-uvs/bmw-bets-on-suvs-to-set-the-pace/articleshow/69366807.cms
8. Richemont posts solid watch and jewellery sales for its full year
ZURICH, – Luxury goods group Richemont said sales of its watches and jewellery both grew by 10% in the year to the end of March, with the Americas and Asia performing well.
Swiss watch export figures showed sluggish shipments to top markets Hong Kong and the United States so far this year, a trend also visible at luxury peer Kering that recorded slowing U.S. growth for its Gucci brand in the first quarter.
9. Three renowned explorers and the luxe accessories they’ve inspired
Three renowned explorers and the luxe accessories they’ve inspired.
10. Richemont Profit Misses Estimates on Online Investment Costs
Richemont reported full-year operating profit that trailed analysts’ estimates as the company consolidated its acquisitions of online platforms YNAP and Watchfinder.
Earnings climbed 5 percent to €1.94 billion ($2.2 billion) in the 12 months through March. Analysts expected €2.05 billion. The operating margin slipped to 13.9 percent, the lowest in more than a decade.
Article link: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/richemont-profit-misses-estimates-on-online-investment-costs
11. Interior Designer Tanju Özelgin Shares His Plans for the Mazu 82 Yacht
Turkish interior designer Tanju Özelgin was called in by Mazu Yachts to conceive the interior spaces of the new Mazu 82 yacht. This is the first time the Turkish shipyard has enlisted the help of a dedicated interior designer on its yachts.
But Özelgin was not daunted. “Designing interiors for yachts is actually not that much different from designing any other space,” he says. “The main challenge of designing yacht interiors is that the space mostly never stands still and is constantly surrounded by water.”
Article link: https://robbreport.com/motors/marine/interior-designer-tanju-ozelgin-shares-his-plans-for-the-mazu-82-yacht-2851197/
12. Cartier’s Mercedes Abramo on Cultivating Female Leaders and Speaking Up
When Mercedes Abramo took the helm at Cartier North America in 2014, it was a considerable achievement: She was the first female president to lead the luxury giant in this country since it was established here by Pierre Cartier in 1909. Abramo has been a skillful force in the corporate world, projecting a calm, polished demeanor while spearheading meaningful changes and driving sales at a time when many of her competitors in the jewelry and watch sector are struggling.
Under her charge, Cartier renovated and expanded its historic Fifth Avenue Mansion, successfully launched new collections and customer-facing initiatives, and championed getting more women into the C-suite. To that end, the company is hosting this year’s annual Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards—an international competition for female entrepreneurs working to solve global challenges—for the first time in North America. At the May event, Cartier will announce seven winners (selected from about 2,900 global applicants), who will each receive $100,000 toward the development of their project, and 14 finalists, each given $30,000.
Article link: https://robbreport.com/style/jewelry/cartiers-mercedes-abramo-on-cultivating-female-leaders-2850877/
13. Phillips’ George Daniels Pocket Watch Tops the Geneva Auctions at $2.4 Million
While the auction market may seem chock full of sporty Rolex Daytonas and rare Patek Philippe “holy grail” references commanding astronomical prices, the top lot of this season’s Geneva watch auction sales was a handmade pocket watch—by a modern watchmaker no less.
George Daniels, considered to be one of the greatest watchmakers of the 20th and 21st centuries, began creating this masterpiece during the quartz crisis in the 1970s. Alexandre Ghotbi, Phillips’ head of sales in Geneva, called the George Daniels Grand Complication pocket watch, “the greatest horological invention of the last 200 years.”
14. PRADA ANNOUNCES IT WILL BAN FUR BY 2020
A momentous day for animal rights activists, as The Prada Group makes the significant decision to drop their use of fur to “meet the demand for ethical products.”
Prada will stop using fur in their products from next year, 2020, becoming one of the last of its contemporaries to go fur-free. The label joins Ralph Lauren, Vivienne Westwood, Giorgio Armani, Michael Kors, Jean Paul Gaultier and Versace (to name a few) in an attempt to respond to consumers’ changing attitudes towards animal rights.
Both the Fur Free Alliance (FFA) and PETA are claiming a victory after having lobbied the fashion industry for years, crashing Prada’s catwalks with anti-fur signs and staging eye-watering demonstrations all over the world.
Article link: https://www.euronews.com/living/2019/05/23/prada-announces-fur-ban-2020
15. Aston Martin Pays Tribute to James Bond with a (Very) Limited-Edition DBS Superleggera
As filming continues on the latest installment of the James Bond franchise, Aston Martin has just announced a new DBS Superleggera that commemorates the 50th anniversary of the film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (OHMSS), the only movie in the series to star George Lazenby in the titular role. Only 50 such DBS Superleggeras will be produced, all clad in the same olive-green hue that Bond’s 1969 Aston Martin DBS wore on the silver screen.
What makes the OHMSS Aston Martin distinct from other DBS Superleggeras? Heaps of carbon fiber, a unique splitter, aero blade and diamond-turned and forged wheels, for starters. The front fascia’s also adorned with a custom metal grille that’s got six horizontal vanes, and brightwork done in homage to the 1969 Bond DBS. And there are plenty of etched 007 logos, along with “OHMSS,” everywhere from the side strakes to the door sills.
Article link: https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/aston-martin-james-bond-dbs-superleggera-2851707/
16. Kari Voutlianien’s New 28ti Watch Has an Inside-Out Movement Display
On the flip side. It’s a casual phrase that originated back when DJs actually played records. The flip side was the B side, the less popular side, the track you weren’t all that excited to hear.
But leave it to Finnish watchmaker Kari Voutilainen to flip the script on that paradigm. His new 28ti model—ti stands for titanium inverse—is powered by a new caliber that literally positions the movement inside out, with the escapement and a large, in-house balance wheel located front and center. In the case of the 28ti, which is based on Voutilainen’s signature Vingt-8 model—designed, built, fabricated, finished and assembled entirely at the Voutilainen workshop in Motiers, Switzerland—the flip side is the main event.
Unveiled at the Baselworld fair in March, the model—which comes in a limited series of 26 pieces, eight encased in titanium (CHF 86,000, approximately the same in dollars at current exchange), eight in platinum (CHF 98,000) and 10 in the rare-earth metal tantalum (CHF 118,000)—bears all the hallmarks of a Voutilainen special, i.e., hand-finishing details, such as a movement crafted from German silver, that make watch lovers feel faint.
Article link: https://robbreport.com/style/watch-collector/kari-voutilainens-inside-out-28ti-watch-is-finished-by-hand-2851664/
17. Louis Moinet’s Newest Watch Commemorates the Transcontinental Railroad’s Golden Spike
The story of how the first transcontinental railroad was built is among the defining moments of American history: As the Civil War raged on, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific companies laid tracks from Sacramento, Calif., and Omaha, Neb., respectively, finally meeting at Utah’s Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869. The six-year effort connected the West coast to the burgeoning nation’s existing railroad network, signaling the dawn of a new era in American expansion.
Article link: https://robbreport.com/style/watch-collector/new-louis-moinet-watch-pays-tribute-to-the-transcontinental-railroad-2851459/
18. USA – General Motors finally reveals about much-awaited 2020 Chevy Corvette C8
On 11 April, 2019 General Motors announced on its social media that on 19 July, 2019, they will host the ‘next generation Corvette reveal event’ and posted pictures of a camouflage version driven in New York, on 7th Avenue, close to Times Square. As reported by Paul A. Eisenstein of CNBC, General Motors spokesperson said, “The Next Generation Corvette is the most anticipated Corvette ever. It’s the sum of each generation before it, but will stand alone as the new standard of performance.”
Article link: http://www.theluxurychronicle.com/gm-2020-chevy-corvette-c8
19. Switzerland – Favre Leuba announces top racer CS Santosh as Brand Ambassador
The second oldest Luxury Swiss Watch Brand Favre-Leuba, which was acquired by the Tata Group, has announced that India’s no. 1 off-road racer, CS Santosh will be the Brand Ambassador of their Raider Sea Sky timepieces. CS Santosh is a name that is synonymous with testing all limits and being the first to take up some of the biggest challenges. He is the first Indian in history to compete and finish the Dakar Rally – the world’s toughest off-road motorsport event. He has won several races such as Raid De Himalayas, Desert Storm and India Baja. He was also the winner of P1 Power Boats.
Article link: http://www.theluxurychronicle.com/favre-lauba-racer-santosh-as-brand-ambassdor
20. The rise of India’s new billionaires and the fall of the old
India is going through one of the greatest periods of wealth.
21. Here’s the Verdict on WatchTime’s First Event in LA—Straight from the Collectors
Ryan Radcliffe held a loupe to his eye as he peered inside the movement of Finnish watchmaker Kari Voutilainen’s newest timepiece, the 28 Ti.
The mechanical engineer from Long Beach, Calif., was at WatchTime LA, a luxury watch event held at Hudson Loft in downtown Los Angeles May 3-4; he said Vouitlainen was the main reason he was there.
“I’m obsessed with finishing and all my research led to this guy,” Radcliffe said, adding that he’d heard about the event on Instagram.
Article link: https://robbreport.com/style/watch-collector/what-west-coast-watch-collectors-really-thought-about-watchtime-la-2850060/
