Thursday. 31 July. 2008. 9:31 am
Rich people need their LV, no matter what kind of market we’re in.
It’s interesting to see that the luxury brand market isn’t all that touched by the global economy slowdown, oil prices, mortgage problems, the pollution from China. LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA group announced an actual increase in sales in their interim reports, and its rising in part thanks to us in Hong Kong and in China:
Net income climbed 7 percent to 891 million euros ($1.4 billion) from 834 million euros a year earlier, the Paris-based company said today. That surpassed the 857 million-euro median estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Chairman Bernard Arnault confirmed the company’s forecast for a “tangible increase in results this year” and said he would increase prices further in the U.S. and Japan.
Revenue is rising between 20 percent and 30 percent in Asia outside Japan, according to Armando Branchini of Milan-based consultancy Interbrand, making LVMH less vulnerable to slowing U.S. and European economies and gains by the euro. Bags co- designed for Louis Vuitton, LVMH’s top-earning brand, by designer Marc Jacobs and U.S. artist Richard Price fueled demand.
So, we guess even with our markets down this week, it still hasn’t and probably won’t affect our shopping habits. Read more of the story from Bloomberg here.
Wednesday. 2 July. 2008. 9:11 am
Apparently, all those fake LV bags have added up over the years.
As we’re sure many of you are aware, there are lots of fake bags and accessories sold on auction sites in Hong Kong and around the world. Well now, Louis Vuitton has won a big lawsuit against the auction giant eBay:
A Paris court on Monday ordered Internet auctioneer eBay to pay $63 million in damages to Louis Vuitton for selling fake luxury goods online, according to reports.
“This decision is not based on combating counterfeit material. It is based on LVMH’s desire to protect its commercial practices and exclude competition,” a spokeswoman for eBay in Paris told AFP.
eBay was ordered to pay $30.40 million to LVMH and $25.7 to its sister company Christian Dior Couture for damage to their brand images and causing moral harm.
More on the story here and here. But you can still find alot of Louis Vuitton products on the eBay Hong Kong website here, so even if you are selling a real LV handbags you’ll be under alot more scrutiny than ever before.
Wednesday. 25 June. 2008. 9:30 am
Take a tour of China with LV and Chinese Celebs.
Louis Vuitton has signed on three of the most famous Chinese actress to give you a guided tour of the 3 major cities in China. The Louis Vuitton soundwalk featuring voices of their celebrity friends may be one of the most innovative Olympic promotions to come from a luxury brand this year.
Louis Vuitton Soundwalk is an MP3 based audio guide that lets visitors experience a synchronized hour-long walk through 3 vibrant cities by some of our most famous screen actresses: Gong Li takes you through Beijing, Joan Chen through Shanghai and Shu Qi through our very own Hong Kong.
You can buy the MP3’s here for HK$140 each and put them on your mobile phone or your iPod. They come in a variety of languages: English, French, Japanese, Chinese and Korean.
Samples and more at the Louis Vuitton Soundwalk page here.
Tuesday. 22 April. 2008. 9:02 am
Luxury brands are untouchable with strong Q1 earnings.
The LVMH group, which is everything luxury in the world: from Louis Vuitton to Fendi, from Guerlain to Kenzo, from Moet & Chandon to Krug and TAG Heuer to Chaumet is basically recession-proof in the US as they announce an actual increase in sales this past 3 months, where every other sector is falling in the United States:
Elaborating on its first-quarter results, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton said U.S. sales of fashion and leather goods leapt 18 percent in dollars, with no evidence of trading down or any change in its favorable momentum.
“For the time being, we see no signs of slowing down in our retail businesses,” Jean-Jacques Guiony, Louis Vuitton’s chief finance officer, said during a conference call on Wednesday. “We are pretty optimistic.”
However, Guiony cautioned analysts not to “overestimate the impact” of the leather goods designed by Marc Jacobs in collaboration with American artist Richard Prince, suggesting it may not end up a long-running blockbuster like its hookup with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, whose multicolored monogram leather goods have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.
You can read the rest of the article here.
Tuesday. 3 April. 2007. 9:15 am
The LA Times picks the best shopping outlets in Hong Kong.
It’s always neat to read other cities reviews of Hong Kong. The LA Times tells us where the A-List tourist traps - ahem - people shop in Hong Kong:
Nearly a decade has elapsed since the British handover of Hong Kong to China. The territory, an East-West trading center since the mid-19th century, prospered during Britain’s 156-year rule. There was apprehension it would regress when the Chinese took over.
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