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    	<title>CPP-LUXURY</title>
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        <description>CPP-LUXURY business of luxury</description>
        <pubDate>Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:07:19 +0300</pubDate>
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		<title>HOGAN by Karl Lagerfeld to be presented in Paris in October</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/hogan-by-karl-lagerfeld-to-be-presented-in-paris-in-october_907.html</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:58:43 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			The capsule collection created by Karl Lagerfeld for premium Italian shoes brand HOGAN, which is owned by the TOD'S Group, will be presented officially in Paris on October 2nd in a palace villa on Rue du Quatre Septembre. The...		]]></description>
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			The capsule collection created by Karl Lagerfeld for premium Italian shoes brand HOGAN, which is owned by the TOD'S Group, will be presented officially in Paris on October 2nd in a palace villa on Rue du Quatre Septembre. The collection includes not only shoes and bags but also some pieces of apparel. The capsule collection will be sold in select stores starting with January 2011. The company's CEO motivated the choice of designer Karl Lagerfeld because of his creative genius as well as his immense reputation in Asia.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Crisis takes its toll on MAX MARA</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/crisis-takes-its-toll-on-max-mara_906.html</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:41:48 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			Italian fashion group MAX MARA, owned by the Maramotti family reported it closed 2009 with a 33% decrease in its net profit, to EUR 55,1 million, compared with the previous year. The revenues of the group decreased by 7,7%...		]]></description>
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			Italian fashion group MAX MARA, owned by the Maramotti family reported it closed 2009 with a 33% decrease in its net profit, to EUR 55,1 million, compared with the previous year. The revenues of the group decreased by 7,7% to EUR 1,16 billion. The annual report of the group also mentions that considerable investments have been made to maintain the prestige of its brands. The company reported that in the first months of 2010, sales have seen a slight improvement, however, remains cautious about the overall performance.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>H&amp;M to launch collection with LANVIN</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/h-m-to-launch-collection-with-lanvin_905.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:04:04 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			Swedish mass fashion retailer H&amp;amp;M has confirmed this week a collaboration with LANVIN. The collection which will be signed by artistic director Alber Elbaz and head of menswear Lucas Ossendrijver will arrive in stores November 23.
&amp;quot;H&amp;amp;M approached us to...		]]></description>
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			Swedish mass fashion retailer H&amp;amp;M has confirmed this week a collaboration with LANVIN. The collection which will be signed by artistic director Alber Elbaz and head of menswear Lucas Ossendrijver will arrive in stores November 23.
&amp;quot;H&amp;amp;M approached us to collaborate, and to see if we could translate the dream we created at Lanvin to a wider audience, not just a dress for less,&amp;quot; says Elbaz. &amp;quot;I have said in the past that I would never do a mass-market collection, but what intrigued me was the idea of H&amp;amp;M going luxury rather than Lanvin going public. This has been an exceptional exercise, where two companies at opposite poles can work together because we share the same philosophy of bringing joy and beauty to men and women around the world.&amp;quot;
The new&amp;nbsp;range will be unveiled to the world on November 2 through a special film. Customers will also be able to buy the collection online, following the store's recent announcement that it is launching its first ecommerce site in September.
Previous designer collaborations for the Swedish high street giant have included Karl Lagerfeld,&amp;nbsp;Sonia Rykiel and Stella McCartney.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>HUGO BOSS to bring its collections faster to the stores</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/hugo-boss-to-bring-its-collections-faster-to-the-stores_904.html</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Sep 2010 03:31:29 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			Hugo Boss is cutting the time it takes to bring its collections to the shop floor, in a move to use some of the methods of lower-cost brands.The German fashion house plans to increase its number of stores from...		]]></description>
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			Hugo Boss is cutting the time it takes to bring its collections to the shop floor, in a move to use some of the methods of lower-cost brands.The German fashion house plans to increase its number of stores from about 450 this year to 700 by 2015, accelerating a transition towards higher-margin retail sales in fast-growing areas such as China.
Lead times to develop some Hugo Boss collections for next year are being cut from 50 to 38 weeks. &amp;ldquo;Shortening the times from collection development to production and delivery to the customer is crucial for our future success,&amp;rdquo; said Claus-Dietrich Lahrs, chief executive, in an interview. The programme would be fully implemented for summer 2012 sales, Mr Lahrs said.
Acknowledging that fast-moving fashion retailers such as Zara, owned by Inditex, and H&amp;amp;M use shorter lead times for products, Mr Lahrs said Hugo Boss would maintain its position as a premium brand, but wanted the &amp;ldquo;speed and reactivity&amp;rdquo; of those companies for Hugo Boss&amp;rsquo;s more fashion-driven items, which make up about one-third of sales.
Hugo Boss, listed in Germany and majority owned by Permira, the private equity group, is trying to lift sales from &amp;euro;1.6bn ($2bn) last year to &amp;euro;2.5bn by 2015. It plans to increase the proportion of sales from its own retail stores from about one-third to about half. 
Just under half the store openings are expected to be in China, where Hugo Boss set up a joint venture in July and which will be one of the three largest markets by 2015. 
from FT        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Starwood launches Aloft brand in Europe, making W Hotels more accesible</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/starwood-launches-aloft-brand-in-europe--making-w-hotels-more-accesible_903.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:43:04 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/starwood-launches-aloft-brand-in-europe--making-w-hotels-more-accesible_903.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Starwood hotel group launches its ALOFT branded chain in Europe by opening the first location this week in Brussels, with 147 rooms. The second Aloft in Europe will be open in London in 2012. With the occasion of the...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Starwood hotel group launches its ALOFT branded chain in Europe by opening the first location this week in Brussels, with 147 rooms. The second Aloft in Europe will be open in London in 2012. With the occasion of the Brussels opening, Starwood CEO Frits Van Paasschen said the Aloft brand ''is Ikea'', emphasizing the affordability of the new chain. The Aloft chain is positioned as the more accesible version of W Hotels, being branded ''a vision of W Hotels''.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Gucci opens its new luxury digital flagship store at GUCCI.COM</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/gucci-opens-its-new-luxury-digital-flagship-store-at-gucci-com_902.html</link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:51:47 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/gucci-opens-its-new-luxury-digital-flagship-store-at-gucci-com_902.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Gucci, a pioneer of the luxury online shopping experience since 2002,announce the opening of its new luxury Digital Flagship store at gucci.com. Following an 18 month architectural renovation under the direction of Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini, the new...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Gucci, a pioneer of the luxury online shopping experience since 2002,announce the opening of its new luxury Digital Flagship store at gucci.com. Following an 18 month architectural renovation under the direction of Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini, the new online retail destination takes advantage of the most innovative technologies available today thereby seamlessly integrating rich content, shopping and social networking to provide the site's monthly 2.5 million unique visitors with an aesthetic and customer-oriented experience that replicates the one they have when entering a Gucci signature flagship store in Rome, New York, London or Shanghai. 

Frida Giannini&amp;rsquo;s distinct design concept for Gucci's iconic flagship stores around the world is reflected down to the last detail in the architecture, rich color palette, textured materials, structure and product display of the Digital Flagship. Visitors to the new site travel online through the experience of a physical Gucci retail store, where products are displayed against a backdrop of gold, light beige, rosewood and other sophisticated materials, adding a sense of three-dimensional richness to the site set against contextual video and photography narrating the stories behind the products.&amp;nbsp; 

Another guiding philosophy of the new Digital Flagship, which is also iPad friendly, is its ease of use and functionality. The horizontal navigation, a defining feature first introduced by gucci.com, displays all available products on one page. An added scrollbar showcases items in the three-by-three product display as in Gucci&amp;rsquo;s retail stores and the drop-down shopping menu in the main navigation bar permits browsing without leaving the current page view. The highly impactful product photography is further enhanced by a click and zoom feature from multiple angles allowing shoppers to discover each item - inside and out - before purchase, just as you would be able to do in a store.&amp;nbsp;On every product page shoppers can click on links that directly connect them to relevant content - videos, news items, photos of celebrities wearing a product - from the &amp;ldquo;World of Gucci&amp;rdquo; area. Shoppers can express their passion for Gucci by sharing product and content pages via links on Facebook, Twitter and e-mail or by simply selecting &amp;ldquo;love&amp;rdquo; for a particular product or page.
In the new Digital Flagship, inspiration and product are never far apart. The &amp;ldquo;World of Gucci&amp;rdquo; brings the House to life through five different areas: Gucci Forever, which delves into every aspect of Gucci&amp;rsquo;s 90 year history; Gucci Now, which updates visitors on news, events and fashion shows; Think Forever, which spotlights artistic and environmental initiatives; Act Now, which highlights philanthropic efforts; and Gucci Connect, which includes distributed digital content.&amp;nbsp; The integration of social media such as a live Twitter feed, an interface with the Gucci official Facebook fan page, and product page links to ready-to-wear items straight off the catwalk, allow visitors to truly engage with the brand.

An integrated marketing and communications plan to support the opening of the new Digital Flagship launches on September 1st with a groundbreaking invitation to attend Frida Giannini's next women's ready-to-wear fashion show as a virtual guest at gucciconnect.com, an innovative hologram window display in signature retail locations, in-store iPad stations and a viral welcome video (gucci.com/digitalflagship)among a wide range of other activities. As with other flasghip store openings Frida Giannini has designed an exclusive collection of accessories in celebration, which in thus case are only available for purchase online.

Gucci was in fact a pioneer when it launched its US e-commerce site in 2002.&amp;nbsp; The current site operates in 17 countries in 8 different languages, while e-commerce is offered in 12 countries. With over 2,000 skus available online the gucci.com site is considered one of the benchmarks of the luxury fashion industry.&amp;nbsp; One of the reasons Gucci has been successful in attracting new customers is because of the attention paid to the internet. Through the site, Facebook, Twitter and the Gucci App, the brand reaches a growing digitally-oriented customer in a very direct and content rich way. 

The Gucci Official page on Facebook has over 900,000 fans and is growing steadily.&amp;nbsp; At the end of June, the Gucci App, which is updated every two months, counts more than 600,000 downloads and over 1,100,000 updates.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>GOYARD - an iconic true luxury brand</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/goyard---an-iconic-true-luxury-brand_901.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Aug 2010 06:42:35 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Review]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/goyard---an-iconic-true-luxury-brand_901.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Established in France in 1835 initially as a trunk maker, GOYARD is today the best illustration of a true luxury brand. Exceptional quality, creativity and exclusivity have been the three core features which have characterized the Goyard brand ever...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Established in France in 1835 initially as a trunk maker, GOYARD is today the best illustration of a true luxury brand. Exceptional quality, creativity and exclusivity have been the three core features which have characterized the Goyard brand ever since it was set up. Goyard has long had a devoted clientele of celebrities and royalty. Aristocrats such as the Grand Duke of Russia, the Maharajah of Kapurthala and the Duke of Windsor all traveled with Goyard luggage. More recently, one of the biggest fans of the brand has been Karl Lagerfeld. Other celebrity clients include: Sofia Coppola, Alain Ducasse, Carla Bruni Sarkozy, Gwynneth Paltrow etc.
Unlike rivals such as Louis Vuitton or Gucci, the Goyard cases feature an original pattern of interlaced chevrons instead of displaying monogram. Also, GOYARD is distributed in less than 10 locations worldwide, Paris remaining the only showroom of the brand. &amp;nbsp;Another probably shocking aspect in today&amp;rsquo;s fast moving economy, GOYARD has no advertising budget, therefore, its advertising is made mostly through word of the mouth and through the limited retail points. 
Other unique features of Goyard include boutique in Paris solely dedicated to pet accessories as well as camping accessories, which was open in 2008. Mention should also be made that Goyard holds the patent for an original &amp;quot;Malle Bureau&amp;quot; (&amp;lsquo;&amp;rsquo;Office Trunk&amp;rsquo;&amp;rsquo;) -&amp;nbsp; a portable trunk which includes shelves and a writing table. 
Earlier this year, Goyard launched an anniversary book which &amp;nbsp;includes the history of the Goyard family, &amp;nbsp;the achievements during the Paris Expo Universelle in 1900 and the creation of the noble facade of the Paris store. But it is more generally about the art of travel and its blossoming in the 20th century from early trains to grand hotels. One cannot, will not and should not read this delicately created tome on a Kindle or an iPad. For every piece of its construction, over a period of seven years, is an ode to artisans: handmade paper cajoled from the rare remaining manufacturers in France; and depth of print from traditional technique. &amp;nbsp;As the pages turn, with their deep-grain photographs and written passages, some are blank, except for subtle intaglio plate marks. In their natural whiteness, produced with a 500-year-old technique of hemp lightened with the petals of a desert flower, the hand-cut pages resonate with craftsmanship. They offer the possibility of personalized heraldic engraving, still produced by the French printer Devambez, along with traditional letterpress printing. Only 233 pieces were made, each book with its own trunk and are only available to clients and collectors, fetching up to USD 6.000. 
Throughout the years, the brand has not only remained loyal to its roots but has also maintained its iconic image through exclusivity and prestige. There are few such luxury brands in the world, another example being British Asprey. 
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Legendary luxury hotel reopens in Istanbul</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/legendary-luxury-hotel-reopens-in-istanbul_900.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Aug 2010 01:12:42 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			Following a EUR 23 million renovation, Istanbul's&amp;nbsp;legendary hotel PERA PALACE is set to reopen on September 1st.&amp;nbsp;Inaugurated in 1892, PERA&amp;nbsp;PALACE&amp;nbsp;has been host to many world famous intellectuals such as&amp;nbsp;Alphonse de Lamartine,&amp;nbsp;Pierre Loti, Theophile Gaultier as well as royalties such...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Following a EUR 23 million renovation, Istanbul's&amp;nbsp;legendary hotel PERA PALACE is set to reopen on September 1st.&amp;nbsp;Inaugurated in 1892, PERA&amp;nbsp;PALACE&amp;nbsp;has been host to many world famous intellectuals such as&amp;nbsp;Alphonse de Lamartine,&amp;nbsp;Pierre Loti, Theophile Gaultier as well as royalties such as King Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth II, Emperor Franz Joseph. Other celebrities who used to be loyal guest of the Pera Palace include: Alfred&amp;nbsp;Hitchcock, Zsazsa Gabor, Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis and Greta Garbo. The Pera Palace is said to have been the inspiration for Agatha Christie's novel Murder on the Orient Express.
Pera Palace Hotel, was home to many firsts. Apart from the Ottoman Palaces, it was the first building to have electricity as well as the first electric elevator. Bathrooms that provided the only running hot water in the city were also privileges exclusive to Pera Palace Hotel guests. Tall spacious rooms lit by magnificent chandeliers were host to many unforgettable tea and dance parties. 
&amp;nbsp;
Original 19th Century&amp;nbsp;features, including&amp;nbsp;precious &amp;ldquo;White Carrara&amp;rdquo; marbles and exquisite &amp;ldquo;Murano-glass&amp;rdquo; chandeliers make Pera Palace Hotel suites the ideal place to experience century -&amp;nbsp;old heritage.&amp;nbsp;At the same time,&amp;nbsp;expertly installed state&amp;ndash;of-the-art technology and new technological services guarantee the comfort of a truly luxury hotel. The hotel has 115 rooms, including 16 suites, each bearing a famous celebrity name. 
&amp;nbsp;
The Pera Palace boasts a unique SPA&amp;nbsp;spreading on&amp;nbsp;380 square metre, which includes a Turkish bath with heated marble floors, jacuzzi, sauna, a&amp;nbsp;fully equipped gym and an indoor jet-streamed swimming pool.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Libya, a fast growing economy in Africa, presents a wealth of opportunities</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/libya--a-fast-growing-economy-in-africa--presents-a-wealth-of-opportunities_899.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sat, 28 Aug 2010 08:04:25 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Opportunities]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			The decision to renounce terrorism, its program of weapons destruction as well as the handover of the two suspects in the airline bombing case of Lockerbie, have all contributed to lifting of economic sanctions against Libya and the end...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			The decision to renounce terrorism, its program of weapons destruction as well as the handover of the two suspects in the airline bombing case of Lockerbie, have all contributed to lifting of economic sanctions against Libya and the end of its diplomatic isolation, almost 6 years ago. 
An OPEC member, Libya is home to the largest proven reserves of crude oil in Africa and this is one of the major magnets for foreign investments. Experts consider that Libyan oil and gas reserves are considerably higher than the officially listed figure of 41.5 billion barrels of crude and 51 billion cubic feet of gas.&amp;nbsp; The country's crude reserves are also generally sweet and light and highly attractive to refiners. Libyan fields also have faster routes to customers in Europe and North America than Gulf producers.

As a result, some USD 10bn of foreign investments have flowed into Libya's oil sector since the end of 2003 when sanctions ended. Tens of thousands of kilometres of 2D and 3D seismic surveys have been carried out in the search for locations for exploration drilling. Italian ENI, British BP and Spanish REPSOL are among the most active energy companies in Lybia. 
The International Monetary Fund forecasts Libya's economy will grow by 5.4 percent this year, while the U.N. said foreign direct investment into the country quadrupled from $1 billion in 2005 to $4.1 billion in 2008
Libya&amp;rsquo;s construction sector is booming, with office and residential being among the largest developments. American company AECOM alone, is overseeing a USD 80 billion project to build 160,000 housing units throughout the country, about a quarter of which will be in the city of Benghazi, and refurbishing sewage and paving roads there. Overall, however, Libya plans to spend $500 billion over the next decade on a host of projects. 
The biggest infrastructure contracts in Libya have already been awarded to China and Russia. Russian Railways is moving fast ahead with its EUR 2.2 billion contract to build a 550 kilometer high-speed rail line on the Sirt - Benghazi route. Two even larger rail lines have been awarded the China Railway Construction Corp at an unknown cost. The government is allocating over EUR 100 million for the renovation of the country&amp;rsquo;s main international airport in the capital city of Tripoli. &amp;nbsp;
As for tourism, the country is attracting mostly affluent European travellers. The main destination is the capital city of Tripoli. There are four major international luxury hotel chains operating in Tripoli: Corinthia (owned by its Maltese parent company), Radisson Blu (owned by a local company) and Rixos (owned by its Turkish parent company). &amp;nbsp;Currently under construction, there are three major luxury hotels: InterContinental (2011), Sheraton (2012) and JW Marriott (2011) hotels are under construction. 
The recently completed Palm City&amp;nbsp;just outside&amp;nbsp;Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast&amp;nbsp;is the first premium residential complex with 413 luxurious units. Palm City&amp;nbsp;offers a&amp;nbsp;full range of services such as shops, restaurant, health club&amp;nbsp;Another major investment is Medina Towers project, a 40 storey building in the center of Tripoli which will include 350 luxury apartments, A class offices space and 8.000 sqm retail gallery.&amp;nbsp;Both&amp;nbsp;projects are developed by joint venture company (Maltese and Kuwaiti). 
Given the overall economic development of the country, its upper middle class segment has been developing rapidly, growing into an important target base of premium products and services. There is also a segment of very wealthy individuals, especially those close to the ruling family of the country and those involved in oil and construction. &amp;nbsp;That is why, in less than two years, the market will be ready to welcome major international luxury brands, especially from fashion and jewelry / watches. 
Oliver Petcu
&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>TOD'S registers profit rise in the first half of 2010</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/tod-s-registers-profit-rise-in-the-first-half-of-2010_898.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sat, 28 Aug 2010 01:49:52 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/tod-s-registers-profit-rise-in-the-first-half-of-2010_898.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Italian luxury group TOD'S announced exceptional financial results for the first half of 2010, with a 21,6% growth of its net income to EUR 52,4 million, while its sales grew by 5,2% to EUR 377,5 million. 
TOD'S Group includes...		]]></description>
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			Italian luxury group TOD'S announced exceptional financial results for the first half of 2010, with a 21,6% growth of its net income to EUR 52,4 million, while its sales grew by 5,2% to EUR 377,5 million. 
TOD'S Group includes the following leather shoes and accessories brands: Tod's, Hogan, Fay and Roger Vivier. 
Tod&amp;rsquo;s brand revenues totalled 195.9 million Euros in the first six months of 2010, with growth of 8.4% from H1 2009. The growth was mainly driven by shoes and handbags.
The Hogan brand totalled 137.5 million Euros in sales, with growth of 4.2% from H1 2009. This performance has been driven by the strategic goal to preserve its long term exclusivity and image.
Fay brand revenues were 34.3 million Euros in the first six months of 2010. As for&amp;nbsp; the Roger Vivier brand realized 9.5 million Euros in revenues in H1 2010, with growth of 28.3% from H1 2009. In the next few seasons, the brand will remain focused on consolidating its exclusivity and prestige; therefore, the analysis of the sales trends is not fully meaningful.
The Group continues its growth on the domestic market. In the first half of 2010, the Group&amp;rsquo;s sales in Italy were 203.7 million Euros, up 1.6% from H1 2009. In the rest of Europe, sales totalled 80.3 million Euros, with growth of 3.4% from H1 2009. 
&amp;nbsp;
The US market achieved excellent results, with a significant acceleration of its growth. In the first half of 2010, the Group&amp;rsquo;s sales totalled 25.5 million Euros, with growth of 11.2% from H1 2009.
Also the &amp;ldquo;Asia and Rest of World&amp;rdquo; area accelerated its growth; the Group posted extremely positive results in China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan. In H1 2010, aggregate revenues for that area were 68 million Euros, with growth of 17.3% from H1 2009.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>HERMES sales increase by 23% in the first half 2010</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/hermes-sales-increase-by-23--in-the-first-half-2010_896.html</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Aug 2010 05:46:09 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			French luxury company HERMES registered a 23% sales increase for the six months ended 30 June 2010, to a value&amp;nbsp;of&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;EUR 1,074.7m. Sales growth was particularly&amp;nbsp;strong for the group's directly operated stores&amp;nbsp;(up 25% at constant exchange rates), with a solid...		]]></description>
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			French luxury company HERMES registered a 23% sales increase for the six months ended 30 June 2010, to a value&amp;nbsp;of&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;EUR 1,074.7m. Sales growth was particularly&amp;nbsp;strong for the group's directly operated stores&amp;nbsp;(up 25% at constant exchange rates), with a solid growth showing accross all Herm&amp;egrave;s product categories. Wholesale revenues, which in 2009 were adversely affected by distributors' inventory drawdowns, primarily in watches and perfumes, resumed on an uptrend.
In Europe, sales were up 17% driven by excellent retail activity in all countries. In the Americas, the rebound initiated in the fourth quarter of 2009 continued throughout the first six months, with a rise of 26% at end of June. The first Hermes store dedicated to men on Madison Avenue in New York inaugurated at the beginning of the year encountered an impressive&amp;nbsp;success.
In non-Japan Asia (up 45%), sales generated by the group's stores remained on an impressive growth trend. Hermes continued to expand its distribution network and opened two new branches in China during the second quarter. In Japan, sales were slightly down (-2%).
By product categories, silks &amp;amp; Textiles delivered an&amp;nbsp;exceptional performance. Sales advanced by 17%, underpinned by the success of the new women's silk collections, which were enhanced by exceptional new products in cashmere and silk.
Leather Goods and Saddlery remained on a very high growth trend (23%), fuelled by new, high-profile introductions in small leather accessories and leather bags in addition to the flagship models.
Ready-to-Wear and Fashion Accessories delivered a rise of 18%, attributable primarily to the success of fashion accessories.In Perfumes, sales were up 25%, boosted by the successful launch of Voyage d&amp;rsquo;Hermes during the month of March and by persistently strong demand for Terre d&amp;rsquo;Herm&amp;egrave;s.After a difficult year in 2009, Watches registered a 33% surge while Tableware sales improved appreciably (up 8%).
Outlook for 2010
Hermes will continue to follow its long-term strategy of maintaining control over its know-how and distribution network. In 2010, Hermes will continue to invest in expanding its distribution network and plans to open and renovate some twenty branches. It will inaugurate a new store on rue de S&amp;egrave;vres in Paris at the end of the year.
During 2010 &amp;ndash; the year of &amp;ldquo;Tales to be told&amp;rdquo; &amp;ndash; Hermes' sales growth will continue to be driven by its ambitious, alluring creative designs and by the vitality of its craftsmanship. This momentum will be sustained by rallying the distribution network&amp;rsquo;s efforts to showcase our lavish collections and to highlight customer service &amp;ndash; our strongest advantage in maintaining growth        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Dolce &amp; Gabbana closes D&amp;G stores in Japan</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/dolce---gabbana-closes-d-g-stores-in-japan_895.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Aug 2010 05:29:36 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/dolce---gabbana-closes-d-g-stores-in-japan_895.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Italian luxury brand Dolce &amp;amp; Gabbana has announced it is closing down all the 15 stores of its D&amp;amp;G line. They blame the decision to halt the distribution of the D&amp;amp;G ready-to-wear lines, leather accessories and shoe collections in...		]]></description>
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			Italian luxury brand Dolce &amp;amp; Gabbana has announced it is closing down all the 15 stores of its D&amp;amp;G line. They blame the decision to halt the distribution of the D&amp;amp;G ready-to-wear lines, leather accessories and shoe collections in Japan on the scarcity of available locations for its boutiques and the widespread availability of counterfeit products.
The decision to regroup in Japan comes in the wake of Versace and French Connection UK leaving the market entirely within the last year. It also underlines the ground-shift in purchasing patterns in Japan, where consumers are increasingly focusing on mid-range clothing lines and other fashion items.
Dolce &amp;amp; Gabbana and D&amp;amp;G collections were launched in Japan in April 1996 through a distribution agreement with the local firm of Group Misaki Shoji. A new subsidiary, Dolce &amp;amp; Gabbana Japan KK was set up in August 2001 and, six years later, the company took over all production and distribution of D&amp;amp;G ready-to-wear lines, accessories and shoe collections.
With this organizational change came the proposal for the fashion house to directly distribute its products through stand-alone boutiques and shops-in-shops, the company said in a statement.
Part of an effort to take the D&amp;amp;G brand upmarket, the first boutique was unveiled in 2009. At present, there are 15 across Japan. In recession-hit Japan, however, the approach has flopped and the boutiques will be closed by January 31, 2011.
&amp;ldquo;Given the unavailability of ideal locations in Japan, both in terms of space (dimension) and image (positioning of the brand), the group decided to discontinue the distribution of the D&amp;amp;G ready-to-wear, leather accessories and shoe collections,&amp;rdquo; Dolce &amp;amp; Gabbana said in a statement. &amp;ldquo;Furthermore, a careful evaluation of the Japanese market illustrated the difficulty in reaching the repositioning goal due to the widespread availability of counterfeit products which, among other things, have undermined all the actions undertaken to reposition the brand at the highest level of the market.&amp;rdquo;
Recently, DOLCE &amp;amp; GABBABANA have been making headlines in the UK where leading London department store Selfridges discountinued the distribution of any Dolce Gabbana products. Apparently the row resulted over the decision of the department store to reposition&amp;nbsp;the selling space dedicated to both Dolce Gabbana and D&amp;amp;G&amp;nbsp;lines. &amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Stuart Vevers, a genius designer of timeless leather goods</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/stuart-vevers--a-genius-designer-of-timeless-leather-goods_894.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:59:40 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/stuart-vevers--a-genius-designer-of-timeless-leather-goods_894.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			British born designer Stuart Vevers graduated from the University of Westminster in 1996. His first job was at Calvin Klein followed by Bottega Veneta, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton where he worked with Marc Jacobs. He joined Mulberry as Creative...		]]></description>
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			British born designer Stuart Vevers graduated from the University of Westminster in 1996. His first job was at Calvin Klein followed by Bottega Veneta, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton where he worked with Marc Jacobs. He joined Mulberry as Creative Director in 2005 and was instrumental in the company's success, transforming their leather goods into the must-have bags. He has also collaborated with Luella Bartley and Designer of the Year, Giles Deacon. In 2006, he won the British Fashion Council's Accessory Designer of the Year award. In July 2007 it was announced that he had been appointed Creative Director of Loewe. 
Vevers&amp;nbsp;is now&amp;nbsp;aiming to revive the Spanish luxury brand of LOEWE by&amp;nbsp; choosing&amp;nbsp;simplicity over bling, functionality over flash. One of his newest creations: a leather version of an ordinary brown paper grocery bag for about $1,045. He's making a point of using the same bag shapes season after season&amp;mdash;the opposite of &amp;quot;it&amp;quot; bags' short fashion cycle. And he's made sure that Loewe bags are lightweight, under two pounds. &amp;quot;It's kind of taking the bag back to its purest functionality,&amp;quot; Mr. Vevers says.
For a decade, nailing the &amp;quot;it&amp;quot; bag was the holy grail for luxury brands because of insatiable consumer demand and hefty profit margins. Back then, more was more. Chlo&amp;euml;'s Paddington, launched in 2005 and weighed down by a metal padlock and a $1,380 price tag, boasted waiting lists. Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada splashed their logos on their purses. 
Then came the 2008 economic crisis. Sales of handbags in the U.S. fell 3.3% to $6.97 billion in 2009, according to market researcher NPD Group. Restraint and classicism returned. Gucci and Coach toned down their logo looks. Meanwhile, Bottega Veneta&amp;mdash;known for its iconic plain, woven-leather bags&amp;mdash;enjoys increasing popularity.
Mr. Vevers's challenges: Sell the simplicity and re-establish Loewe's presence in the U.S., one of the most cutthroat consumer markets in the world. The 164-year-old Spanish brand generates about a third of its sales in Spain and the other two thirds in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Loewe Chief Executive Lisa Montague. World-wide sales are below &amp;euro;100 million ($133 million), estimates Luca Solca, a luxury-goods analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein&amp;mdash;&amp;quot;very small in the context of LVMH.&amp;quot; Since being purchased in 1996, Loewe has lingered in LVMH's closet&amp;mdash;despite the efforts of such designers as Narciso Rodriguez, who left the brand after five years to focus uniquely on his own label. The brand wasn't sold in U.S. stores for at least 10 years. 
Mr. Vevers, who was recruited to become Loewe's creative director in 2007, has plenty of experience. After designing in 1998 for Bottega Veneta, Mr. Vevers joined LVMH's star Louis Vuitton brand. He also worked at its smaller Givenchy fashion house before leaving in 2005 to take the reins of Mulberry, a British brand that specializes in accessories, and giving his over-the-top mode free rein. Besides adding studs, tassels and spikes to the brand's line of classic aged-leather bags, he designed an evening bag shaped like a medieval mace ball and a metal-and-leather clutch. 
&amp;quot;He has worked for iconic brands, and he always respects its heritage while giving it an edge,&amp;quot; says Floriane de Saint Pierre, a luxury-goods consultant and recruiter. 
But for Loewe, Mr. Vevers decided he wanted to strip the bag down. &amp;quot;'Luxury' was becoming a word that was so overused,&amp;quot; says the boyish-looking designer, noting the economic crisis merely accelerated his transformation. It was a concept he says Loewe executives initially struggled to grasp. &amp;quot;I think there was some confusion as I was explaining that it was time to move on,&amp;quot; recalls Mr. Vevers. (Ms. Montague says Loewe &amp;quot;strongly believes in Stuart's ability and his sensitivity to understand the evolution of the market.&amp;quot;) 
Lacking a big ad budget (LVMH is proceeding cautiously with the revival effort), Mr. Vevers is banking on word of mouth. Tapping stylists he knows from his Mulberry days, he's gotten Loewe's 35-year-old Amazona bag&amp;mdash;a classically rectangular bag with two handles that costs between $1,800 and $1,950&amp;mdash;into the hands of Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lopez and Madonna. So far, three stores in the U.S. sell Loewe's bags&amp;mdash;Bergdorf Goodman, Jeffrey and Hirshleifer's on New York's Long Island.
Mr. Vevers appears to have no regrets about his style change, saying that he has grown up: &amp;quot;I don't think I could ever design the way I did then now. It just wouldn't feel right.&amp;quot; 
from WSJ        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Top luxury SPA hotel to open in Budapest, Hungary</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/top-luxury-spa-hotel-to-open-in-budapest--hungary_893.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Aug 2010 06:15:04 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/top-luxury-spa-hotel-to-open-in-budapest--hungary_893.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Following the completion of an extensive renovation of the 16th century RACZ Turkish Thermal Bath, a five star boutique hotel was built connected to the facilities. The RACZ HOTEL &amp;amp; THERMAL SPA is&amp;nbsp;situated in&amp;nbsp;the heart of&amp;nbsp;Budapest, in the Buda...		]]></description>
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			Following the completion of an extensive renovation of the 16th century RACZ Turkish Thermal Bath, a five star boutique hotel was built connected to the facilities. The RACZ HOTEL &amp;amp; THERMAL SPA is&amp;nbsp;situated in&amp;nbsp;the heart of&amp;nbsp;Budapest, in the Buda district,&amp;nbsp;at the foot of the Gellert Hill and close to the Elisabeth Bridge.
Adjoining the hotel is the historic R&amp;aacute;cz Thermal Spa which is renowned for its Turkish bath dating back to the 16th century and pools from the Imperial Habsburg era. These historical facilities listed under the UNESCO World Heritage have been restored and blended into a modern luxury Thermal and Day Spa of 8000 sqm including 11 pools, relaxation areas, saunas such as a Finish Sauna, sunbathing terrace, 21 treatment rooms offering the very latest and traditional therapies, cosmetic rooms for special beauty treatments and a hairdressing salon. The Spa also offers a dedicated VIP section. 
The hotel has 67 luxuriously appointed rooms of which 20 suites will open later this Fall and will be part of the worlwide chain The Leading Small Luxury Hotels of the World        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Luxury retail sales growth in UAE drives rebound for the entire Middle East region</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/luxury-retail-sales-growth-in-uae-drives-rebound-for-the-entire-middle-east-region_892.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:26:34 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			Sales of the Chalhoub Group, leading&amp;nbsp;Middle Eastern luxury retailer rose by 20% in the first 6 months of this year&amp;nbsp;in comparison with the&amp;nbsp;same period last year.&amp;nbsp;The Chalhoub Group which portfolio includes over 280 luxury brands (&amp;nbsp;Christian Dior, Louboutin, &amp;nbsp;Louis...		]]></description>
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			Sales of the Chalhoub Group, leading&amp;nbsp;Middle Eastern luxury retailer rose by 20% in the first 6 months of this year&amp;nbsp;in comparison with the&amp;nbsp;same period last year.&amp;nbsp;The Chalhoub Group which portfolio includes over 280 luxury brands (&amp;nbsp;Christian Dior, Louboutin, &amp;nbsp;Louis Vuitton etc)&amp;nbsp;opened 25 new outlets in the first half, with another 20 planned for the rest of the year. The firm has more than 350 stores throughout 14 countries in the Middle East. 

In the UAE, sales grew by 26 percent compared to the first six months of 2009, helped by a 30 percent like-for-like hike in Abu Dhabi.Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia posted 14 percent sales growth, while Kuwait was &amp;lsquo;flat&amp;rsquo;, a senior official at the firm told Arabian Business. 

&amp;ldquo;One of the good surprises for us was the performance of the stores in Dubai Mall, which were trading ahead of what we had expected. In addition, Riyadh was quite good, and Doha was also showing better figures,&amp;rdquo; said Fadi Jabbour, Chalhoub Group&amp;rsquo;s regional retail chief operating officer. 

&amp;ldquo;We have come back again to the clientele that we had originally. We lost some of the tourists that we had &amp;ndash; for instance the Russians are nowhere to be seen &amp;ndash; but we are seeing some Chinese interest in places like Dubai Mall. But that will take some time to build up,&amp;rdquo; he stated. 

The executive also said that the lack of available high-end retail space in the Abu Dhabi market meant that the Chalhoub Group would not be able to add further outlets into the UAE capital until 2012.

&amp;ldquo;But jewellery has been difficult last year, and continues to be so. There&amp;rsquo;s no mystery there,&amp;rdquo; he added. 

&amp;ldquo;And then there are some brands that were not really in line with the peoples&amp;rsquo; tastes. One of the difficulties we had was with Paul and Joe, for example. We like the brand, but it was over-present in the market.&amp;rdquo;

When asked whether the group would be adding to its family of brands in the second half, Jabbour replied: &amp;ldquo;We&amp;rsquo;re becoming extremely choosy on the brands we can add to the portfolio. Today, we are committing to expanding the Louboutin brand and Michael Kors, so for us this is more a period of consolidation.&amp;rdquo;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>ESCADA pursues global restructuring with major renovations of its stores</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/escada-pursues-global-restructuring-with-major-renovations-of-its-stores_890.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sat, 21 Aug 2010 06:34:31 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/escada-pursues-global-restructuring-with-major-renovations-of-its-stores_890.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Ailing German luxury brand ESCADA, which was saved from bankruptcy from Indian group Mittal, has announced major plans for restructuring. Over EUR 12 million will be spent on renovating the majority of the Escada stores worlwide. Sales at ESCADA...		]]></description>
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			Ailing German luxury brand ESCADA, which was saved from bankruptcy from Indian group Mittal, has announced major plans for restructuring. Over EUR 12 million will be spent on renovating the majority of the Escada stores worlwide. Sales at ESCADA have been improving, particularly in the key markets. For instance, in&amp;nbsp;Spain, Escada's&amp;nbsp;second most important market have registered a 7% increase in the first quarter of this year.&amp;nbsp;The company's CEO Mr&amp;nbsp;Bruno Salzer&amp;nbsp;believes business will stabilize this year and will see&amp;nbsp;a strong recovery in the coming years, especially&amp;nbsp;for the Escada Sport&amp;nbsp;line. &amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>GUCCI opens monobrand store in Bucharest, Romania</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/gucci-opens-monobrand-store-in-bucharest--romania_889.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:23:22 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/gucci-opens-monobrand-store-in-bucharest--romania_889.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Italian luxury brands is reportedly opening this fall, a monobrand store in the Romanian capital of Bucharest. The store which will be situated&amp;nbsp;in a very central location, on the groudfloor of Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel on leading retail avenue...		]]></description>
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			Italian luxury brands is reportedly opening this fall, a monobrand store in the Romanian capital of Bucharest. The store which will be situated&amp;nbsp;in a very central location, on the groudfloor of Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel on leading retail avenue Calea Victoriei. The store is likely to be a franchised operation with a local retailer.
The line up of luxury brands already present on Calea Victoriei include: Emporio Armani (September 2010), Ermenegildo Zegna,&amp;nbsp;Paul &amp;amp; Shark and the two main luxury watches and jewellery retailers Micri Gold&amp;nbsp;(Chopard, Bvlgari, Damiani etc), Helvetansa (Cartier, Piaget, Chaumet etc).&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;The presence of GUCCI will therefore establish Calea Victoriei as the key destination of luxury brands in Bucharest. The Louis Vuitton store situated within the shopping gallery of the JW Marriott hotel remains rather isolated and at a distance from the city center.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>The much anticipated re-opening of the SAVOY Hotel in London to face new major competitors</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/the-much-anticipated-re-opening-of-the-savoy-hotel-in-london-to-face-new-major-competitors_888.html</link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Aug 2010 05:50:32 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Opportunities]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			In less than two months, the legendary SAVOY Hotel&amp;nbsp;in London&amp;nbsp;will be open for business after a near three-year closure for a &amp;pound;220 million ($385m) revamp. The hotel has already accepted reservations for the &amp;pound;10,000-a-night Royal Suite, the first time...		]]></description>
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			In less than two months, the legendary SAVOY Hotel&amp;nbsp;in London&amp;nbsp;will be open for business after a near three-year closure for a &amp;pound;220 million ($385m) revamp. The hotel has already accepted reservations for the &amp;pound;10,000-a-night Royal Suite, the first time that the hotel, which has been host to Sir Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe and The Beatles, has had a suite of such sumptuous extravagance. The suite which features 8 rooms and covers almost an entire floor, boasts mirrors that turn into televisions and a 2.1m handmade bed, and is the most expensive of the hotel's 268 rooms, which start from &amp;pound;350 a night.
The reopening is one of the most hotly anticipated events in the industry, and will fire the starting gun on a remarkable phase in the development of the capital's luxury hotel scene. A host of new upmarket hotels are set to appear in London over the next two years in what will herald a fierce battle among the five-star players to attract the jet-set.
Soon after the return of the Savoy, which is managed by the Fairmont chain, London will welcome back the Four Seasons on Park Lane. That has been closed for the past two years while it undergoes an estimated &amp;pound;100 million rebuilding but is due to reopen in December.
Next year sees the opening of 45 Park Lane, a new hotel from the group that owns the nearby Dorchester, and the Corinthia, an international chain that is making its British debut. The chic W chain is also entering London next year, with a property on Leicester Square.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Shangri-La, one of the biggest hotel brands in Asia, is opening its first London property in the new Shard skyscraper. Claridge's and the Berkeley both have expansion plans, while Waldorf Astoria is also making a splash in the capital, with the launch this November of a property in the grounds of Syon Park in west London. All have been emboldened by the strong performance of London's most exclusive hotels during the economic downturn.
None of the newcomers, however, is as hotly anticipated as the reopening of the Savoy, an event that will be marked with a string of lavish cocktail parties, each celebrating a different feature of the revamped hotel. The site shut for its makeover in December 2007 and had originally been expected to reopen in May 2009.
Down the road from the Savoy, a stone's throw from Westminster, lurks one of the new kids on the block. The deluxe Corinthia chain, already established in cities such as St Petersburg, Budapest and Prague, is spending &amp;pound;270 million to open its first London site, converting a former Ministry of Defence building into what will be its flagship property, with almost 300 rooms. Its 370sq m royal suite includes a private gym and a barbecue pit on an outdoor terrace.
Estimates suggest that London's most exclusive big West End hotels have seen &amp;quot;revpar&amp;quot; (revenues per available room,a key industry measure) drop by only 8 during the worst of the economic downturn, testament to both their enduring appeal and the ability of their customers to shrug off a recession.
Last week, it was revealed that at the Intercontinental Hotel on Park Lane revpar had risen 15 in the first half of this year. The success of these hotels can be attributed, at least in part, to the closure of the Savoy and the Four Seasons - trade that would have gone to those two stalwarts has been snapped up by their rivals. The business won't be handed back quite so readily. Andy Cosslett, chief executive of Intercontinental Hotels Group, said: &amp;quot;We have worked hard to accommodate those customers. I expect we will keep some of them.&amp;quot;
While the two big-name rivals have been shut, others have raised their game, with the Grosvenor House and Connaught, for example, enjoying the benefits of significant investment. Such investment will be vital if London's top hoteliers are to cope with the increased competition. &amp;quot;There will be a novelty factor about the new hotels,&amp;quot; said Jonathan Langston, managing director of TRI Hospitality Consulting. &amp;quot;It will be important for others at the top end of the market to keep pace with the new, and newly refurbished, product.&amp;quot;
Others think that the most vulnerable to the new entrants are hotels operating a notch or two below the luxury mark, or those that do not have the prime sites.
All of those charged with running the new or reopened hotels seem unfazed by the prospect of greater competition. John Stauss, regional vice-president of Four Seasons and general manager of its Park Lane property for the past 17 years, said: &amp;quot;There is enough business to go around.&amp;quot;
from The Australian        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>BVLGARI to open luxury hotel in London</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/bvlgari-to-open-luxury-hotel-in-london_887.html</link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Aug 2010 05:24:27 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			Legendary Italian jeweller Bulgari is to open an exclusive boutique hotel in London on the site of the former Normandie Hotel in Knightsbridge, overlooking Knightsbridge Green. Following the same - very stylish - lines as the original Bulgari hotel...		]]></description>
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			Legendary Italian jeweller Bulgari is to open an exclusive boutique hotel in London on the site of the former Normandie Hotel in Knightsbridge, overlooking Knightsbridge Green. Following the same - very stylish - lines as the original Bulgari hotel in Milan, the 78-room London hotel which will be run by Ritz-Carlton, promises to be a luxury affair, complete with private holistic spa, swimming pool and hydrotherapy steam rooms.
Famous&amp;nbsp;Italian designer Antonio Citterio, responsible for the Milan hotel, has come up with the interior design for the guest rooms at the Knightsbridge hotel, while architects Squire and Partners are responsible for delivery of the project. Silver is a central theme of the design, drawing on Bulgari's history with silversmiths and jewellery, and the theme influences the design of all the public spaces and bedrooms. The hotel also includes six luxury apartments, a restaurant at lower ground level with a sweeping staircase supported by a silver lit balustrade, a lounge, bar and spirit room. If that wasn't enough there's also a ballroom, private members club, business centre and meeting rooms - including a 50-seat screening room. Demolition has already begun on site and the completion date is expected to be in December 2011.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>TRUMP SOHO Hotel opens state of the art SPA, with New York's first luxury hammam</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/trump-soho-hotel-opens-state-of-the-art-spa--with-new-york-s-first-luxury-hammam_886.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sun, 15 Aug 2010 01:25:42 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Review]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			Inaugurated earlier this year, TRUMP SOHO Hotel opened this week an impressive 11,000-square-foot spa which encompasses two floors of the sleek Manhattan hotel. The new SPA introduces the sought-after skin-care products and treatments of Kate Somerville and a selection...		]]></description>
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			Inaugurated earlier this year, TRUMP SOHO Hotel opened this week an impressive 11,000-square-foot spa which encompasses two floors of the sleek Manhattan hotel. The new SPA introduces the sought-after skin-care products and treatments of Kate Somerville and a selection of services created specifically for its SoHo locale. It also features the first authentic luxury hammams in New York City,&amp;nbsp;providing&amp;nbsp;a rare opportunity to experience the traditional social and cultural bathing rituals of Turkey and the Middle East.
&amp;nbsp;
Created under Ivanka Trump's direction, The Spa at Trump's elegant design is the stylish work of DiGuiseppe Architect, the award-winning hospitality and spa specialists. It includes nine private treatment rooms and wet rooms, separate hammams for men and women, and indoor and outdoor relaxation areas.&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
The spa's state-of-the-art fitness center is outfitted with the latest equipment from TECHNOGYM. The hotel in New York City boasts three luxurious Spa Suites offering private, connecting couples-sized treatment rooms and designed by Rockwell Group will open in the fall.
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
Throughout The Spa at Trump, DiGuiseppe has introduced Middle Eastern design details that create an environment both sensuous and serene, from Assyrian-shaped ceilings tiled in Capiz shells to woven-mesh chandeliers of nickel and crystal. Spa-goers step through a portal of Maccassar ebony into an entry fashioned after a Moroccan courtyard and graced by a fountain carved from Calacatta gold marble. 
&amp;nbsp;
Under the domed ceilings of the men's and women's hammams, surrounded by mosaic-tiled walls, a dedicated Hammam Attache leads spa-goers through time-honored rituals from Turkey, Morocco, Persia and India. The Turkish Hammam treatment, for instance, features an oil-based castile soap applied with a traditional handmade Kessa mitt while the spa-goer lies on a heated belly stone of Calacatta marble, leaving the skin feeling like silk. The Moroccan Hammam treatment incorporates authentic Moroccan black soap crafted from olive oil and crushed olives in a full-body exfoliation, followed by a detoxifying warm Ghassoul clay application. A balancing Ayurvedic massage, Shirodhara treatment, henna and threading is also be available.
&amp;nbsp;
Spa-goers also benefit from the highly personalized services of a Trump Spa Attache who guide them through each step of the experience, from assisting with the selection of a robe, slippers and locker, to preparing infused elixirs and customizing iPod music selections. 
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
Trump SoHo, the first luxury hotel in Downtown Manhattan is housed within an impressive 46 story glass tower.&amp;nbsp;The 391 spacious guestrooms and suites decorated with custom furnishing by FENDI Casa feature floor-to-ceiling windows providing unrivaled views of the city's spectacular skyline and the Hudson.         ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>HERMES launches social networking web site dedicated to scarves</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/hermes-launches-social-networking-web-site-dedicated-to-scarves_885.html</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Aug 2010 02:34:45 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/hermes-launches-social-networking-web-site-dedicated-to-scarves_885.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			French luxury house HERMES has recently launched ''J'aime Mon Carre'' (''I love my Scarf), a new web site dedicated exclusively to its signature square scarves. The web site, which is directly linked to Hermes's Facebook page, pictures hip young...		]]></description>
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			French luxury house HERMES has recently launched ''J'aime Mon Carre'' (''I love my Scarf), a new web site dedicated exclusively to its signature square scarves. The web site, which is directly linked to Hermes's Facebook page, pictures hip young girls in a cool urban looks wearing scarves as bras, turbans, ties, belts and regular around the neck.
The web site is divided by capital cities, showing girls in every day shots on the streets of Paris, London, New York and Tokyo, with a street movie in each city, providing inspiration on how to wear the legendary scarves. The&amp;nbsp; girls are casually dressed, most with a hippy, street look. In September, HERMES is also set to launch a special collection of scarves which will be available at the chic Paris store of COLLETTE. HERMES's new&amp;nbsp;marketing venture is meant to increase awareness of the brand online, and to bring it closer to a younger clientele.
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>China's Rich Have $1.1 Trillion in Hidden Income</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/china-s-rich-have--1-1-trillion-in-hidden-income_884.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Aug 2010 01:14:15 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

        <guid isPermaLink="false">
        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/china-s-rich-have--1-1-trillion-in-hidden-income_884.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			China&amp;rsquo;s households hide as much as 9.3 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) of income that is not reported in official figures, with 80 percent accrued by the wealthiest people, a study showed.&amp;nbsp;
The money, much of it likely &amp;ldquo;illegal or quasi-illegal,&amp;rdquo;...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			China&amp;rsquo;s households hide as much as 9.3 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) of income that is not reported in official figures, with 80 percent accrued by the wealthiest people, a study showed.&amp;nbsp;
The money, much of it likely &amp;ldquo;illegal or quasi-illegal,&amp;rdquo; equates to about 30 percent of China&amp;rsquo;s gross domestic product, the study, conducted for Credit Suisse AG and published last week by the China Reform Foundation, found. The average urban disposable household income in China is 32,154 yuan, or 90 percent more than official figures, according to the report.
Most of that extra cash is going to the wealthiest families. The top 10 percent of China&amp;rsquo;s households take in 139,000 yuan a year, more than triple the official figures, according to the Credit Suisse report. In contrast, the bottom 10 percent earns 5,350 yuan, or 13 percent more. The top 20 percent of households account for 81.3 percent of total hidden income, according to the study, written by Wang Xiaolu of the Beijing-based foundation.
The &amp;ldquo;grey income&amp;rdquo; comes from many sources, including gifts to officials at weddings, profits from land transfers, kickbacks from construction projects, and payoffs from state monopolies such as the tobacco industry, the study said.
from Bloomberg        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Technogym in Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world and in ARMANI  HOTEL Dubai</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/technogym-in-burj-khalifa--the-tallest-building-in-the-world-and-in-armani--hotel-dubai_883.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 10 Aug 2010 10:16:36 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

        <guid isPermaLink="false">
        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/technogym-in-burj-khalifa--the-tallest-building-in-the-world-and-in-armani--hotel-dubai_883.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			The latest prestigious collaborations of Technogym answers to the name &amp;quot;Burj Khalifa&amp;quot;, the tallest building in the world, and Armani Hotel Dubai, which exclusively occupies 11 floors within Burj Khalifa.
&amp;nbsp;
Burj Khalifa is an imposing architectural construction that has transformed...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			The latest prestigious collaborations of Technogym answers to the name &amp;quot;Burj Khalifa&amp;quot;, the tallest building in the world, and Armani Hotel Dubai, which exclusively occupies 11 floors within Burj Khalifa.
&amp;nbsp;
Burj Khalifa is an imposing architectural construction that has transformed the Dubai skyline and revolutionized the life of the city, accommodating within Armani Hotel Dubai, innumerable shopping centres, restaurants and residences. Striking symbol of creativity, enterprise and invention, is the centrepiece of Downtown Dubai, Emaar&amp;rsquo;s flagship project in Dubai. 
&amp;nbsp;
A building that important couldn't do without a space dedicated to Wellness: the structure will house two clubs, both with the best Technogym equipment, including the Excite+ line with integrated Visioweb and Element+.
&amp;nbsp;
On the other hand, Armani Hotel Dubai is located within the spectacular Burj Khalifa, the world&amp;rsquo;s tallest tower. The hotel, accessed through its own grand entrance, exclusive occupies eleven floors of the tower, each one reflecting the essential values of pure elegance and sophisticated comfort that define the Armani style.
&amp;nbsp;
In March 2010 an entire gym was installed, complete with Technogym Excite+ and integrated Visioweb, Selection and Kinesis One. The space also provides personal trainers that can meet the needs of guests. Armani Hotel Dubai has 160 rooms, in addition to the 150 suites located in the Armani Residence. Each is equipped with Bike Excite, Run Personal and various other Wellness Tools.
&amp;nbsp;
For more information about Technogym you can contact Living Well S.R.L. (City Gate South Tower, 3-5 Piata Presei Libere, 11th Floor, 1st District, Bucharest, Tel: 021 3133208, Fax: 021 3133209, e-mail: office@livingwell.ro), Technogym&amp;rsquo;s official distributor in Romania.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Marc Jacobs becomes first top fashion brand to create plus-size line</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/marc-jacobs-becomes-first-top-fashion-brand-to-create-plus-size-line_882.html</link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Aug 2010 06:04:47 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/marc-jacobs-becomes-first-top-fashion-brand-to-create-plus-size-line_882.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			Marc Jacobs, one of the world's most successful design labels, is set to become the first major fashion houses to produce a clothing line catering for women bigger than size 14.
Although there is yet to be an official announcement,...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Marc Jacobs, one of the world's most successful design labels, is set to become the first major fashion houses to produce a clothing line catering for women bigger than size 14.
Although there is yet to be an official announcement, Robert Duffy, president of the Marc Jacobs label, wrote about the move on Twitter, confirming that the company was in the early stages of discussions to produce a plus-size range. He said that it would be a year before the line was available. &amp;quot;We are in talks now. For plus sizes,&amp;quot; Duffy tweeted. &amp;quot;Listen, we are in the very beginning stages of talking to a partner about plus sizes.&amp;quot;
Marc Jacobs&amp;nbsp;has recently launched Little Marc Jacobs childrenswear, Bark Jacobs dog accessories and a fragrance for men called Bang. During New York Fashion Week next month, he will launch Book Marc, a bookshop.
via The Guardian        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Creating the Anti ''It'' bag</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/creating-the-anti---it---bag_881.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sun, 08 Aug 2010 05:28:49 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Opportunities]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/creating-the-anti---it---bag_881.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			Formerly at Mulberry where he was creator of ''it'' bags, Stuart Vevers is now Creative Director of Spanish luxury accessories brand LOEWE which is owned by the LVMH Group. He is reviving the brand by utilizing simplicity over bling...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Formerly at Mulberry where he was creator of ''it'' bags, Stuart Vevers is now Creative Director of Spanish luxury accessories brand LOEWE which is owned by the LVMH Group. He is reviving the brand by utilizing simplicity over bling and functionality over flash.
One of his newest creations: a leather version of an ordinary brown paper grocery bag for about $1,045. He's making a point of using the same bag shapes season after season&amp;mdash;the opposite of &amp;quot;it&amp;quot; bags' short fashion cycle. And he's made sure that Loewe bags are lightweight, under two pounds. &amp;quot;It's kind of taking the bag back to its purest functionality,&amp;quot; Mr. Vevers says.&amp;nbsp;For Loewe, Mr. Vevers decided he wanted to strip the bag down. &amp;quot;Luxury was becoming a word that was so overused&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp;.&amp;nbsp;The brand has recently been re-launched in the US, where it hasn't been sold in 10 years.
from WSJ Europe        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>POLO RALPH LAUREN increases profit and pursues aggresive expansion in Asia</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/polo-ralph-lauren-increases-profit-and-pursues-aggresive-expansion-in-asia_880.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Aug 2010 01:07:36 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/polo-ralph-lauren-increases-profit-and-pursues-aggresive-expansion-in-asia_880.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			During the annual shareholders' meeting this week, the POLO RALPH LAUREN Group reported a 57% increase in profit in the first quarter of this year to USD 121 million, from USD 77 million a year ago. The company ended...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			During the annual shareholders' meeting this week, the POLO RALPH LAUREN Group reported a 57% increase in profit in the first quarter of this year to USD 121 million, from USD 77 million a year ago. The company ended the period with USD 1,1 billion in cash and investments. Chairman and CEO Ralph Lauren highlighted the company will focus on expanding womens wear and luxury accessories. He also announced the various POLO lines such as Rugby, Double RL, RLX presented tremedous opportunity for growth internationally, with the possibility of&amp;nbsp;being sold in separate, stand alone stores.
Since 2007, when POLO bought back its sublicensee in Japan, the company has embarked on a major expansion in Asia, last year purchasing its licensee for South East Asia and this year buying out its licensee in South Korea. Mr Lauren also mentioned China is a top priority for international expansion. A new store on New York's Madison Avenue will be inaugurated late September, at the same time with the reopening of the revamped Rhinelander mansion.
The company opened earlier this year, in Paris, its largest European store, covering a total surface of 1.200 sqm. The store which is situated in the chic St Germain district also includes a top class restaurant.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Top luxury industry executive Maurizio Aschero takes on another challenge</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/top-luxury-industry-executive-maurizio-aschero-takes-on-another-challenge_879.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Aug 2010 01:24:29 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/top-luxury-industry-executive-maurizio-aschero-takes-on-another-challenge_879.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			Recognized as one of the most experienced luxury retail executives specialized in emerging markets,&amp;nbsp; Maurizio Aschero headed for more than 7 years Helen Marlen, the leading luxury retail group&amp;nbsp;in Ukraine.&amp;nbsp;Aschero has&amp;nbsp;recently decided&amp;nbsp;to&amp;nbsp;leave&amp;nbsp;his position at Helen Marlen in&amp;nbsp;order to run,...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Recognized as one of the most experienced luxury retail executives specialized in emerging markets,&amp;nbsp; Maurizio Aschero headed for more than 7 years Helen Marlen, the leading luxury retail group&amp;nbsp;in Ukraine.&amp;nbsp;Aschero has&amp;nbsp;recently decided&amp;nbsp;to&amp;nbsp;leave&amp;nbsp;his position at Helen Marlen in&amp;nbsp;order to run, as General Director and Partner, &amp;ldquo;Maas Markets Ltd&amp;rdquo;, a project management and investment company focused on the development of the luxury retail in Ukraine and Russia, with offices in Kiev, Milan and Moscow. In the plans of Maurizio Aschero, there is the immediate support of several Ukrainian retail luxury activities.
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;ldquo;As the luxury retail market is still at the beginning and in big need of specific knowledge, I want to enlarge my range of action in activities connected to fashion retail, but not only, like interior decoration, luxury real estate and other. Maas Markets relies on several international professionals, including architects, who develop high-profile projects for demanding, modern luxury companies. &amp;nbsp;It is time to break the stagnation in the Ukrainian market. Old ideas and primitive management are keeping the country backward. Ukraine is losing ground to smarter East-European nations.&amp;nbsp; With Maas Markets I will help young businesses to grow faster and to achieve great results, leaving &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;the post-soviet and pre-modern companies to their only destiny: disappear. It is time for Ukraine to wake up and catch up with the modern world. Here I am, to help&amp;rdquo; said Maurizio Aschero in a statement to CPP-LUXURY.COM
&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Bags a Bitch</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/bags-a-bitch_878.html</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Aug 2010 04:41:41 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Review]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/bags-a-bitch_878.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
Back when I was working in advertising, most of my creative work was for luxury retail and fashion. When it comes to unstitching the heart of what drives many female fashion consumers, there is always something primarily competitive. Fashion...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
Back when I was working in advertising, most of my creative work was for luxury retail and fashion. When it comes to unstitching the heart of what drives many female fashion consumers, there is always something primarily competitive. Fashion is infamously reported to be cut-throat at the top and that certainly filters down. Just think of the stampedes, manicured rugby-tackling and elbowing that goes on during designer sales. In England, closely following headline news, always come the grim, unflattering footage of desperate fashion-addicts sleeping or queuing for days/hours outside shops before a sale.&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
A dear friend of mine did one of those de rigueur work-placements at Gucci during the Tom Ford glory days. It was glamorous, the place to be, with endless A-listers sneaking into the back to snap up everything in their size. Someone fleetingly mentioned to brace himself for the first day of the sale the following day. Nothing could have prepared him for the carnage he witnessed and managed to survive. Women who are obsessed will do virtually anything to get their hands on the prize. 
&amp;nbsp;
Obviously most women just have a natural love and appreciation for beautiful things, so I am talking about a specific group here. On the extreme side are the repetitive tales of young girls and women selling themselves the world over for designer clothes and accessories. The stories start to fall on deaf ears, we have heard it so many times. The woman convinced of the importance of these luxury items in her life. They become her life, instead of just an accessory of little importance other than its aesthetic beauty.&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
Luxury fashion goods gather too much importance sometimes. Handbags cannot speak, they cannot think and they certainly cannot choose who is going to carry them. That is where the marketing people step in with a simple formula, and make sure that the right celebrities with the right image and right fans, are photographed with a certain bag. Then all the people who like that celebrity's &amp;quot;look&amp;quot; will start to want one (except that the celebrity's look is actually her stylist's look who is getting a nice commission from the fashion company). 
&amp;nbsp;
Sometimes not everyone who wants the bag is allowed to buy one, even if they can afford it, because the fashion brand want it only to be seen on the 'right people' and to create a sense of false exclusivity around the bag. If you cannot have it, then you want it more, right? Like the iconic Hermes Birkin bag with its alleged 2 year waiting list. Hermes were outraged when Michael Tonello published his book &amp;quot;Bringing Home the Birkin&amp;quot; unmasking the truth about the waiting list and a formula for how to buy one in any Hermes shop in the world without ever waiting.
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
Trying to create an aura of mystery around a handbag, is like trying to elevate the status of spaghetti. It is popular but essentially, even if you put caviar on the top, it is still spaghetti, with expensive bits. A bag may be beautiful and made to last many years but at the end of the day it is still just a bag. Or is it?
Next to the big group of women who now each have this special bag, there is another group of women who never wanted the bag to begin with, based on the simple fact that everyone else wanted one and they do not want to carry something so obvious.
&amp;nbsp;
I am generalizing greatly here, as a woman I am more than aware of the dense psychology that dictates the desire, purchase and use of luxury handbags. Some women buy to be trendy, others want timeless quality and understated elegance. Most want everything.
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
Luxury goods are also used as calling cards to unnamed secret 'clubs', perhaps the easiest to pick on is the typical bankers' wives' club. Of course they would never consider themselves a 'club' or even a 'society', this is a secret, often subconscious code of solidarity and acceptance to the 'herd'. Just as the perfect blow dry, manicure, botox and number of carats on her ring finger signal they 'belong'. Even more so than this are the handbag 'classics' in classic black or cream: the quilted Chanel 2.55, Hermes Kelly or Birkin, anything from Louis Vuitton that does not have a monogram.
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
Fashion is fun, its fantasy and sometimes functional. The artist Anna Hauldin-Maule's series of hyper-realistic paintings entitled &amp;quot;A Head for Fashion&amp;quot; give a glossy, editorial interpretation to women's competitiveness and obsessions with fashion. After a high-fashion style photo-shoot she painstakingly paints the image flawlessly in oil. It shows everything from the banality of the subject, to the lengths women are willing to go to achieve it. Most notably all the women are naked, as if all they have in the world, all that matters, all they have given is for these bags. She humorously even has a suggestion for those who cannot afford a bag at all, spray tan your naked body with the brand logos.
&amp;nbsp;
I would love to see these paintings used for a great advertising campaign of a fashion forward store such as Harvey Nichols. It is an entertaining reminder not to take yourself or fashion too seriously, and also how a handbag can save you from a bad hair day (put it over your head), make your bum look smaller (put it over your bum) and how to wrestle someone trying to steal your Birkin.
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
JetSet Violet
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
Photos: http://www.maulestudios.com/
&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>CHANEL continues international expansion and registers growth in couture sales</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/chanel-continues-international-expansion-and-registers-growth-in-couture-sales_877.html</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:12:41 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/chanel-continues-international-expansion-and-registers-growth-in-couture-sales_877.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			In an interview to Italian media, Bruno Pavlovsky, President of the Fashion Division of CHANEL, confirmed an increase in sales for haute couture, which has been attracting a new wave of customers from Asia and Russia. He explained the...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			In an interview to Italian media, Bruno Pavlovsky, President of the Fashion Division of CHANEL, confirmed an increase in sales for haute couture, which has been attracting a new wave of customers from Asia and Russia. He explained the new haute couture customers are seeking exclusivity and high quality of customer service. For its haute couture, Chanel is following their clients wherever they are in the world, for the entire process of fittings and finishings.
As for the international expansion, Mr Pavlovsky confirmed four new openings by the end of this year: two boutiques in Sao Paolo, one in Singapore and the re-opening in Milan. Chanel will continue to expand with 7 to 8 boutiques per year.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Crisis eliminates aspirational buyers for luxury products </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/crisis-eliminates-aspirational-buyers-for-luxury-products_876.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:40:59 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Analysis]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/crisis-eliminates-aspirational-buyers-for-luxury-products_876.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			The booming sales of luxury brands in the years leading up to 2008, were much attributed to the aspirational consumers, defined as those who would buy on a loyal basis products from so-called ''second lines'' or ''diffusion lines''. Those...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			The booming sales of luxury brands in the years leading up to 2008, were much attributed to the aspirational consumers, defined as those who would buy on a loyal basis products from so-called ''second lines'' or ''diffusion lines''. Those were the success years of brands such as D&amp;amp;G, EMPORIO ARMANI, JUST CAVALLI etc. The international crisis has brought about lower sales of these lines, in favour of the first lines, considered as prestige.
The real winners of the crisis have been the brands such as BURBERRY or COACH which have established themselves as ''democratic, affordable luxury''. The lower prince point of their products has attracted the former aspirational buyers of the second lines. This ''affordable'' luxury segment has thrived during the crisis, with double digit sales growth, also attracting the so called aspirational customer who used to buy less pricey&amp;nbsp;items of luxury brands such as&amp;nbsp;small leather accessories.&amp;nbsp;
The post crisis core&amp;nbsp;luxury consumer target is definitely buying less&amp;nbsp;products and is looking at higher end items, valuing the quality of raw materials and finishes. Peoeple are looking for unique, limited edition pieces, more than before the crisis. Less seasonal products are also preferred, when it comes to fabrics, styles and colours.
An&amp;nbsp;important segment of the former aspirational buyers target, especially in emerging markets, has been drawn during the crisis, to the so called ''premium'' perceived brands such as GUESS, GANT, LACOSTE, TOMMY HILFIGER.
Marketing strategies of top luxury brands have also been altered during the crisis, the aspirational aspects being mostly replaced by lifestyle aspects. Particular&amp;nbsp;attention&amp;nbsp;should also&amp;nbsp;be paid to&amp;nbsp;the way luxury products&amp;nbsp;are integrated into a complete lifestyle, for instance the new past times of&amp;nbsp;consumers, who&amp;nbsp;spend more and more time online and who dedicate an&amp;nbsp;important&amp;nbsp;part of their budgets to technology,&amp;nbsp;buying the latest laptop,&amp;nbsp;mobile phone, reading tablet etc.&amp;nbsp;
It remains to be seen how the luxury brands will be able attract the consumers they lost during the crisis, especially for their apparel products. An increasing number of traditional luxury consumers have adopted the mix and match trend and became regular customers of fast fashion brands while continuing to buy the accessories from the luxury brands, especially shoes and bags. It is still trendy to wear an H&amp;amp;M T-shirt with an Hermes Birkin bag. 
Oliver&amp;nbsp;Petcu&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Paris sees increase in foreign affluent travellers</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/paris-sees-increase-in-foreign-affluent-travellers_875.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:25:21 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/paris-sees-increase-in-foreign-affluent-travellers_875.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			In a statement to the press, French Secretary of State for Tourism confirmed a significant increase in the number of wealthy foreign travellers who visit Paris, especially from Asia, Middle East and Russia. The number of travellers from Asia...		]]></description>
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			In a statement to the press, French Secretary of State for Tourism confirmed a significant increase in the number of wealthy foreign travellers who visit Paris, especially from Asia, Middle East and Russia. The number of travellers from Asia and Middle East who stay in five star hotels has increased by 30% in the first quarter of 2010. The increase in travellers is higher for superior accommodations.
However, luxury hoteliers have maintained a cautious pricing policy, continuing promotional sales to attract travellers. According to Deloitte, in June, the average income per room in luxury hotels rose by 7,6%, while the actual average price per room dropped by 1,2%.
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		<title>PRADA reports 29% increase in first half revenues</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/prada-reports-29--increase-in-first-half-revenues_874.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Aug 2010 10:36:32 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			Italian&amp;nbsp;luxury house Prada posted a 29 percent rise in first-half revenues on Wednesday, driven by strong retail sales in Asia, the United States and Europe.
Prada&amp;nbsp;reported its revenue in the six months to the end of July exceeded 930 million...		]]></description>
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			Italian&amp;nbsp;luxury house Prada posted a 29 percent rise in first-half revenues on Wednesday, driven by strong retail sales in Asia, the United States and Europe.
Prada&amp;nbsp;reported its revenue in the six months to the end of July exceeded 930 million euros, adding that&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Asia registered a 70% increase,&amp;nbsp;followed by the United States and Europe.&amp;nbsp;Prada and Miu Miu brands were the best-performers. 

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		<title>End of the year to mark full recovery for luxury brands</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/end-of-the-year-to-mark-full-recovery-for-luxury-brands_873.html</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Aug 2010 06:05:15 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Analysis]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/end-of-the-year-to-mark-full-recovery-for-luxury-brands_873.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			World's largest luxury groups announced last week better than expected results,&amp;nbsp;most of them posting double digit growth. The best results were registered by LVMH, owner of Louis Vuitton and Dior, followed by Gucci Group and Richemont. From a geographical...		]]></description>
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			World's largest luxury groups announced last week better than expected results,&amp;nbsp;most of them posting double digit growth. The best results were registered by LVMH, owner of Louis Vuitton and Dior, followed by Gucci Group and Richemont. From a geographical perspective, US, Japan and Western Europe&amp;nbsp;have produced&amp;nbsp;less favourable results with modest increases in sales, at the very opposite being Asia, especially China and South America. Unanimously, the results have highlighted that the best performing outlets have been those directly operated.
Richemont and Gucci Group attribute their positive results to restructuring - store closures as well as a better fine tuned control of the stocks. Internet sales have also contributed to the positive results of the brands in this first half of the year.
Another conclusion which emerges from the financial results announced by the groups is the fact that consumers are much more price sensitive than they used to, before the financial crisis and they are looking for quality products. That is why, leather accessories - shoes, bags, small leather accessories, continue to outperform apparel. As for design, the winning brands have been those which have drawn on their heritage and have produced timeless pieces.
Swatch Group,&amp;nbsp;the world's largest watchmaker, is the latest group to announce&amp;nbsp;results for the first six months of 2010. The Group&amp;nbsp;expects a positive rest of&amp;nbsp; 2010 after record sales and soaring profit in the first half. 

The results added to evidence that consumers have put the financial downturn behind them and are increasingly willing to splash out on pricey items after months of holding back due to fears about job cuts and their dwindling savings.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Much like in the&amp;nbsp;case of the&amp;nbsp;other luxury groups, China has represented the highest growing&amp;nbsp;market for Swatch.&amp;nbsp; Swiss watch exports rose by 19.7 percent in the first six months of 2010, the federation of the Swiss watch industry said last month. 

All the&amp;nbsp;four groups have indicated that they have stepped up advertising campaigns and are running extensive campaigns in print and online. More and more brands have opened this year their own online shopping facility. With the improving consumer sentiment, sales are likely to continue climbing, the peak will be reached over the Christmas holidays season.
Oliver Petcu, CPP        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>VOLVO to develop new luxury model</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/volvo-to-develop-new-luxury-model_872.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Aug 2010 11:44:26 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/volvo-to-develop-new-luxury-model_872.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Volvo&amp;rsquo;s new Chinese chairman wants to take the Swedish car brand upmarket and compete directly with BMW and Mercedes-Benz by building a large luxury saloon. Zhejiang Geely Holding Group on Monday closed its purchase of Volvo from Ford Motor...		]]></description>
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			Volvo&amp;rsquo;s new Chinese chairman wants to take the Swedish car brand upmarket and compete directly with BMW and Mercedes-Benz by building a large luxury saloon. Zhejiang Geely Holding Group on Monday closed its purchase of Volvo from Ford Motor for $1.5bn in the biggest overseas acquisition yet by a Chinese company of an overseas carmaker.
Li Shufu, chairman of Volvo and co-chair of Geely, said: &amp;ldquo;At the moment we are competing with BMW, Audi and Mercedes, but we don&amp;rsquo;t have a product to compete with the BMW 7-Series and Mercedes S-class. We need to fill that gap&amp;rdquo;.
Mr Li said Volvo had the technology plus the research and development capability needed to build a large luxury car and command higher prices for all its vehicles. He said: &amp;ldquo;In the Chinese market, people want luxury cars&amp;hellip; luxury they see through their eyes and touch with their hands&amp;rdquo;.
Volvo sold 335,000 cars worldwide last year, fewer than any of the big German luxury brands.Volvo has been successful in China with an extended-wheelbase version of its S80 mid-size executive saloon, of which it expects to sell about 15,000 this year. However, it has no comparable large model like the S-class or 7-Series.
from FT.com        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Strong sales help BVLGARI cut losses</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/strong-sales-help-bvlgari-cut-losses_871.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Aug 2010 07:56:15 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			Growth in all product categories except watches as well as increasing sales in the U.S. and China helped Italian jeweller BVLGARI cut its losses in the first half of 2010 to EUR 7,7. This compares with a net loss...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Growth in all product categories except watches as well as increasing sales in the U.S. and China helped Italian jeweller BVLGARI cut its losses in the first half of 2010 to EUR 7,7. This compares with a net loss of EUR 40,5 million for the same period last year. In the first half of 2010, sales rose 11.8% to EUR 443,3 million.
Sales of jewellery, the group's core business rose 14.8% accounting for 45.7% of revenues. Fragrances sales advanced 16.1%, while accessories sales rose 25.2%. An exceptional performance has been registered by the sales of its handbags in its directly operated stores, sales increasing by 42%.
Sales by region highlighted the weak European and Japan markets which grew just by 1%, in contrast with US where BULGARI's sales jumped by 53.4% and in China with a sales growth of 29.7%.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>PPR, parent company of GUCCI doubles profit in H1</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/ppr--parent-company-of-gucci-doubles-profit-in-h1_870.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Aug 2010 07:29:02 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/ppr--parent-company-of-gucci-doubles-profit-in-h1_870.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Retail-to-luxury group PPR SA&amp;nbsp;announced &amp;nbsp;this week that net profit in the first half of the year more than doubled as consumer spending recovered and the company increased its business outside of Europe.
The owner of the Yves Saint Laurent and...		]]></description>
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			Retail-to-luxury group PPR SA&amp;nbsp;announced &amp;nbsp;this week that net profit in the first half of the year more than doubled as consumer spending recovered and the company increased its business outside of Europe.
The owner of the Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci brands said net profit in the six months through June rose to euro 403 million&amp;nbsp; from euro189 million in the same period a year ago. Revenue increased 3.6 percent in the period to euro 8.14 billion.
&amp;quot;Our prospects for the short and medium term are good,&amp;quot; CEO Francois-Henri Pinault said in a statement. The company did not provide financial guidance for the full year, but said &amp;quot;the strengths that underpinned the quality of PPR's results in the first six months of the year should once again be at work in the second half.&amp;quot;
PPR is focusing on its more profitable luxury and lifestyle businesses. Future plans may include spinning off its Redcats catalog unit, its Conforama furniture chain or even its FNAC books and electronic chain.It already has sold its African car distributor and pharmacy group as part of the strategy.
Revenue at PPR's Gucci Group subsidiary, which comprises luxury fashion and leather brands such as Yves Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta as well as its namesake Gucci brand, rose 11.1 percent in the quarter to euro1.82 billion. Sportswear maker Puma AG reported a 0.1 percent increase in sales to euro1.29 billion in the six-month period.
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		<title>Luxury car sales rise amid increasing demand</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/luxury-car-sales-rise-amid-increasing-demand_869.html</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:15:44 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/luxury-car-sales-rise-amid-increasing-demand_869.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Luxury-car makers boosted their 2010 outlooks as demand recovered faster than expected, fueled by a growing number of affluent Chinese customers and a rebound in the U.S.
Audi AG will report a &amp;quot;very significant&amp;quot; increase in second-quarter earnings from a...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Luxury-car makers boosted their 2010 outlooks as demand recovered faster than expected, fueled by a growing number of affluent Chinese customers and a rebound in the U.S.
Audi AG will report a &amp;quot;very significant&amp;quot; increase in second-quarter earnings from a year earlier, fueled by stronger car sales. The company will offer more concrete full-year sales guidance Friday, the German luxury car maker's chief executive, Rupert Stadler, said late Monday.&amp;quot;We will exceed the one million [car sales] significantly this year,&amp;quot; Mr. Stadler said at the presentation of the new A7 coupe in Munich. He declined to be more specific.
Audi's German rival, Mercedes-Benz, said Tuesday that it expects to contribute &amp;euro;4 billion in earnings before interest and tax, or Ebit, to parent Daimler AG's full-year profit, which is expected to total &amp;euro;6 billion this year. The company had previously expected Ebit at the core Mercedes-Benz Cars unit would come in at the upper end of &amp;euro;2.5 billion to &amp;euro;3 billion in 2010 and group Ebit would exceed &amp;euro;4 billion. The Mercedes-Benz Cars unit includes the Mercedes-Benz, Smart and Maybach nameplates.
In the second quarter, the return on sales at the Mercedes-Benz Cars division was 9.8%. Daimler said the Mercedes-Benz brand had its strongest second quarter ever, with car sales rising 24% on the year to 314,400 vehicles.
BMW AG, the world's largest luxury-car maker by sales, said earlier this month that pretax profit in 2010 is set to rise more sharply than previously expected because sales are likely to be better than hoped.
BMW now expects this year's vehicle sales to rise about 10% to more than 1.4 million cars. It had previously forecast a rise in the single-digit percentage range to more than 1.3 million cars. The company sold fewer than 1.3 million cars in 2009, down 10.4% from the year before.
from WSJ 
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		<title>LVMH profit rise signals recovery of luxury </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/lvmh-profit-rise-signals-recovery-of-luxury_868.html</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:02:01 +0300</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Leading luxury group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton reported this week a 53%&amp;nbsp;rise in first-half profit,&amp;nbsp;signalling&amp;nbsp;a strong return of luxury consumption and, in a break from previous cautiousness, expressed some confidence about the rest of the year.
The world's largest...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Leading luxury group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton reported this week a 53%&amp;nbsp;rise in first-half profit,&amp;nbsp;signalling&amp;nbsp;a strong return of luxury consumption and, in a break from previous cautiousness, expressed some confidence about the rest of the year.
The world's largest luxury-goods company posted net profit of &amp;euro;1.05 billion, up from &amp;euro;687 million a year earlier, on strong revenue growth across all the company divisions and brands.
Revenue for the six months to June 30 was &amp;euro;9.1 billion, up 17% from &amp;euro;7.8 billion a year earlier and ahead of analyst expectations of &amp;euro;8.85 billion. All divisions, from perfume to wine, posted double-digit sales growth with the highest increase coming from watches and jewelry, up 28% to &amp;euro;443 million. LVMH said there was a strong recovery in orders. The business was one of the hardest hit in the sector as retailers dramatically cut back on orders during the crisis.
The fashion and leather-goods division, which houses the company's star brand and one of the industry's strongest performers throughout the crisis, Louis Vuitton, posted 18% growth to &amp;euro;3.52 billion. Luxury consumers took refuge in more classic leather accessories, preferring staid brands to the trendy handbags of the boom years.
Still, the company declined to give full-year guidance. &amp;quot;Thanks to the crisis we don't give previsions anymore,&amp;quot; LVMH Chairman and Chief Executive Bernard Arnault said Tuesday. Mr. Arnault and other luxury executives have been wary in calling a recovery. Mr. Arnault declined to give details of the company's future acquisition plans, except to say he isn't interested in buying the French cosmetics giant L'Oreal SA.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>JIMMY CHOO expands consumer target and considers ready to wear and mens's line</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/jimmy-choo-expands-consumer-target-and-considers-ready-to-wear-and-mens-s-line_867.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Jul 2010 02:12:40 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			In a recent interview, JIMMY CHOO's CEO Joshua Schulman outlined his company's strategy&amp;nbsp;for future growth which includes: further developing Choo 24:7, the&amp;nbsp;lower&amp;nbsp;priced&amp;nbsp;line of classics&amp;nbsp;by adding boots&amp;nbsp;and handbags,&amp;nbsp;launching&amp;nbsp;a high end&amp;nbsp;line called Crystal and adding more casual styles such as the...		]]></description>
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			In a recent interview, JIMMY CHOO's CEO Joshua Schulman outlined his company's strategy&amp;nbsp;for future growth which includes: further developing Choo 24:7, the&amp;nbsp;lower&amp;nbsp;priced&amp;nbsp;line of classics&amp;nbsp;by adding boots&amp;nbsp;and handbags,&amp;nbsp;launching&amp;nbsp;a high end&amp;nbsp;line called Crystal and adding more casual styles such as the sneaker line as well as espadrilles and clogs. The Crystal collection which is a group of&amp;nbsp;jeweled styles, will be&amp;nbsp;launched later this year ahead of next years 15th anniversary of the brand. This Fall, Jimmy Choo will launch a co-branded collection with Australia's UGG, with five different styles, which has already grabbed the attention of media, customers as well as buyers.
After having ventured into&amp;nbsp;various categories such as&amp;nbsp;sunglasses, scarves&amp;nbsp;and small leather goods,&amp;nbsp;the compay is considering launching women's ready to wear and men's shoes, for which Schulman says there is already increasing demand. February 2011 will also see the launch of the first fragrance of the brand.
Since it was bought by TowerBrook investment fund three years ago, JIMMY CHOO has doubled its turnover, reaching EUR 175 million. Schulman indicated that the best performing outlets are those directly operated by the company. The expansion strategy will focus on Europe, China and South America.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Aman Resort in Montenegro, one of the most luxurious resorts in Eastern Europe</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/aman-resort-in-montenegro--one-of-the-most-luxurious-resorts-in-eastern-europe_866.html</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:28:19 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Review]]></category>

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        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			In a country famed for its beauty, the most iconic images associated with Montenegro are of the tiny islet named Sveti Stefan overlooked by Villa Miločer, a graceful stone manse set on a pink sand beach. The former summer...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			In a country famed for its beauty, the most iconic images associated with Montenegro are of the tiny islet named Sveti Stefan overlooked by Villa Miločer, a graceful stone manse set on a pink sand beach. The former summer residence of Queen Marija Karađorđević, Villa Miločer is phase one of Aman Sveti Stefan. The resort was developed by&amp;nbsp;Singapore based Aman Resorts which operates ultra luxury boutique resorts in France, Morocco, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, India, China, Cambodgia etc. &amp;nbsp;
Surrounded by more than 800 olive trees, the manse resides on a 32-hectare estate, embraced on three sides by ancient cedar and pine forests. Attached to the coast by a narrow isthmus, the island of Sveti Stefan across the bay was once a fortified fishing village, dating back to the 15th century. The island is a peaceful secluded heaven, providing the ideal setting for the most comfortable and relaxing holiday.
Aman Sveti Stefan&amp;rsquo;s Villa Miločer offers eight spacious suites which elegantly combine the royal grandeur of old Europe with contemporary comfort and style. Parquet floors are warmed by woollen rugs and a fireplace takes centre stage in each suite. Leather chairs and silk accents bring a touch of intimacy and brightness to the living quarters, while bathrooms feature parquet and antico stone floors, free-standing bathtubs and timber wardrobes. All of the suites have wireless internet and balconies with views over the sea towards the island of Sveti Stefan or over the gardens. Rates&amp;nbsp;per night vary from 600&amp;nbsp;euro to 2000 euro, but it is advisable to book in advance.&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
Aman Sveti Stefan incorporates two kilometres of coastline including the pink sandy beaches of Sveti Stefan, Miločer Beach and the famed Queen&amp;rsquo;s Beach. Aman Sveti Stefan&amp;rsquo;s Villa Miločer offers guests a host of opportunities to enjoy these gifts of nature, be it through boating on the Adriatic Sea, lounging on the beach or simply enjoying the spectacular view from the Living Room.&amp;nbsp;
Three new restaurants have joined Villa Milocer's existing dining venues--The Dining Room, Loggia and Living Room--on the mainland, including: Queen's Chair, serving Pan-Adriatic fare every evening from 6pm, overlooking the Bay of Budva; Olive Restaurant, a casual beachside brasserie open for breakfast, lunch and dinner; and the Beach Caf&amp;eacute;, offering informal al fresco dining all day long in a secluded spot near Villa Miločer.
And later this summer, the island of Sveti Stefan itself will offer diverse dining options in a uniquely atmospheric setting, reminiscent of its fabled past - The Piazza. This open-air square is the heart and soul of the island's village setting, featuring a number of dining venues including a Taverna, an Enoteca, a Pasticceria, an Antipasti Bar and a Cigar Room. Also located on the island away from the vibrant bustle of the Piazza is the Cliff Pool and Bar. Other facilities to open are The Aman Restaurant, Terrace and Pool Bars and the main swimming pool.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Paris luxury hotels capacity to increase by 70% in the next 2 years</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/paris-luxury-hotels-capacity-to-increase-by-70--in-the-next-2-years_865.html</link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:53:01 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Analysis]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			The French branch of Jones Lang Lasalle Hotels predicts that the capacity of luxury hotels in Paris will increase by 70% in the next two years, from the current capacity of 1150 rooms. The major players of palace luxury...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			The French branch of Jones Lang Lasalle Hotels predicts that the capacity of luxury hotels in Paris will increase by 70% in the next two years, from the current capacity of 1150 rooms. The major players of palace luxury hotels currently&amp;nbsp;in Paris are George V, Ritz, Plaza&amp;nbsp;Athenee, Le Bristol, Fouquet's, Le Crillon, Le Meurice. Of the existing hotels, only some of them have resorted to improvements ahead of the openings of the new competing luxury hotels: The Plaza Athenee which renovated earlier this year most of its rooms and opened an impressive Dior Institute SPA and the Le Bristol which inaugurated a new wing with brand new rooms and a new Michelin starred restaurant.
The new&amp;nbsp;comers include Le Royal Monceau and Shangri La, both due to open&amp;nbsp;late this year. Le Royal Monceau&amp;nbsp;is a former luxury hotel which has undergone a major renovation during the past five years. The hotel, which is owned by Qatari Diar will be managed by the Raffles Hotels. Shangri La which is owned by the Kuok family from Hong Kong is a newly developed building close to the Arch of Triumph, in the heart of Paris.
2011 will see the arrival of the ultra luxury Mandarin Oriental, wholly owned and managed by the Mandarin Oriental Group. The hotel is a former residential building which has undergone a major transformation. The interior design is signed by French renowned architect Sybille de Margerie. Without giving away too much information, Margerie said the design will be drawn on haute couture and romanticism, inspired by legendary Parisian shopping street Fabourg Saint Honore where the hotel is situated. The top suites of the hotel will be priced at up to EUR 15.000 per night. In 2012, the most important opening will be the Peninsula Hotel which is owned by Qatari Diar and which will be managed by Hong Kong based Peninsula Hotels. The hotel will be situated on Avenue Kleber, steps from Champs Elysee and the Arc de Triomphe.
The Parisian luxury hotels have not been spared by the international crisis, the average nightly rack rate dropped from EUR 830 to EUR 750 in 2009 and the average occupancy rate dropped by 10% in 2009 to 69% , compared to 2008. However, the new luxury hotel openigs will most likely benefit from the growing number of Chinese and Indian travellers. Boston Consulting Group estimated that the number of billionaires grew by 14% in 2009 compared to the previous year.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Ultra Rich Spending Less And Chasing Quality </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/ultra-rich-spending-less-and-chasing-quality_864.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sun, 25 Jul 2010 02:29:10 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			America&amp;rsquo;s richest are spending less cash, and are being more choosy about the products they actually buy. The Survey of Affluence and Wealth in America 2010--a creation of American Express Publishing and the Harrison Group--polled about 2,400 people from...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			America&amp;rsquo;s richest are spending less cash, and are being more choosy about the products they actually buy. The Survey of Affluence and Wealth in America 2010--a creation of American Express Publishing and the Harrison Group--polled about 2,400 people from the richest 10% of U.S. households.
Below are the top 10 consumer trends of the ultra-wealthy:
The wealthy are spending less and shopping smarter: The rich are still willing to buy high-end products, but relish sales and quality, not namesake or status.
They may not be optimistic, but they&amp;rsquo;re happy. About 91% of those surveyed thought the U.S. was still in the middle of a recession, and 60% felt it would take one year or more for a full recovery. But 71% were happy in their personal relationships. Contrast that to the 43% of the general population who reported being happy.
Family is important. About 83% of those surveyed said they eat dinner with their family at least four times a week, up from 16% five years ago when they survey began. 
Cutting costs is stylish now. You might see an increase of millionaires shopping at Wal-Mart. More than 77% of respondents defined themselves as resourceful and more self-reliant. Online deals and coupons are big, and the rich were more likely to wait for items to go on sale than in the past. Purchasing generic brands and buying in bulk were also popular.
They are less worried about their jobs. Confidence in job security increased 20% from last year.
More online shopping, less real people. Good news for Amazon, EBay and Google: the affluent prefer to research and purchase products online, and far fewer relied on salespeople.
They are better communicators. About 64% said that they now talk to their kids and spouse about money. Divorce is also down nationwide.
They feel less guilty about being rich. In 2009, many of the wealthy surveyed felt guilty about buying luxury goods or discussing their worth. Now, they&amp;rsquo;re trending toward less guilt and a greater desire for people to know they are affluent.
They&amp;rsquo;re increasing brand loyalty. There was a 6 % increase in consumers who said &amp;ldquo;I have a few brands that I like, and a 7 % increase in those who said &amp;ldquo;the brands I wear say a lot about me.
Print might make a comeback, maybe. About 69% answered that they pay more attention to print ads than those online. Only 8% said they use Facebook to make a purchasing decision, though more than 40 % had Facebook accounts.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>US luxury market recovers gradually, however, apparel underperforms</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/us-luxury-market-recovers-gradually--however--apparel-underperforms_863.html</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Jul 2010 04:41:54 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/us-luxury-market-recovers-gradually--however--apparel-underperforms_863.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			The country&amp;rsquo;s richest consumers will drive luxury spending up between 6 and 8 percent this year, according to a survey of affluent Americans conducted by American Express Publishing Corp. and Harrison Group, but apparel is unlikely to benefit. Apparel...		]]></description>
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			The country&amp;rsquo;s richest consumers will drive luxury spending up between 6 and 8 percent this year, according to a survey of affluent Americans conducted by American Express Publishing Corp. and Harrison Group, but apparel is unlikely to benefit. Apparel spending by these consumers has recovered somewhat, but continues to slide, falling 5 percent in the first quarter and 4 percent in the second quarter. By comparison, apparel spending by this group slid 8 percent during the fourth quarter of 2008 and 9 percent in the first quarter of last year. 

Overall spending by the most affluent 10 percent of the U.S. population is expected to surge $56 billion this year versus 2009, and half that amount is expected to go toward the purchase of luxury products. 

Harrison Group vice chairman Jim Taylor told WWD at a Luxury Marketing Council presentation in New York Wednesday that apparel spending is generally discretionary and not a necessity. &amp;ldquo;It has become an event-driven business,&amp;rdquo; he said. &amp;ldquo;Still, I think it will be a pretty good Christmas.&amp;rdquo; . He also added:&amp;nbsp;''Aspirational wealth in America is gone,&amp;rdquo; explaining that,&amp;nbsp;with or without a double dip, the economic landscape has fundamentally changed. 

Even wealthy consumers have become more &amp;ldquo;resourceful&amp;rdquo; in seeking out the best deals and &amp;ldquo;more independent&amp;rdquo; in general, added Cara David, senior vice president of corporate marketing and integrated media at American Express Publishing.&amp;nbsp; Clothes may matter less, but happiness matters more to those with discretionary incomes in the $125,000-to-$500,000-and-up category. David said the affluent have placed a greater emphasis on their personal lives. &amp;ldquo;Success is now more about the lives they are living than the living that they are making,&amp;rdquo; she said, adding that this consumer is spending more time with family and friends, and appears to be more grounded.&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>GUCCI win court case against hotel developers which use its brand </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/gucci-win-court-case-against-hotel-developers-which-use-its-brand_862.html</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:26:13 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			Italian luxury brand GUCCI filed a&amp;nbsp;legal suit&amp;nbsp;early June against Baitek International, a real estate developer in United Arab Emirates which&amp;nbsp;had announced the opening in Dubai of a hotel bearing the name of Elisabetta Gucci, a member of the Gucci...		]]></description>
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			Italian luxury brand GUCCI filed a&amp;nbsp;legal suit&amp;nbsp;early June against Baitek International, a real estate developer in United Arab Emirates which&amp;nbsp;had announced the opening in Dubai of a hotel bearing the name of Elisabetta Gucci, a member of the Gucci family, which lost the right of using their family name commercially when the company&amp;nbsp;had been&amp;nbsp;bought by PPR, the parent company of Gucci Group. The Florence court ruled in favour of Gucci Group and ordered all those involved in the project to cease immediately the use of the ''Elisabetta Gucci'' brand and hand over the web site&amp;nbsp;elisabettagucci.com.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Despite economic growth, India's luxury market remains underdeveloped</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/despite-economic-growth--india-s-luxury-market-remains-underdeveloped_861.html</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:57:36 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/despite-economic-growth--india-s-luxury-market-remains-underdeveloped_861.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			The lack of upscale retail space, high taxes and red tape are the main factors which have been hampering the development of the Indian luxury market. 
Luxury spending in India, the world&amp;rsquo;s second-most populous nation, was less than a...		]]></description>
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			The lack of upscale retail space, high taxes and red tape are the main factors which have been hampering the development of the Indian luxury market. 
Luxury spending in India, the world&amp;rsquo;s second-most populous nation, was less than a tenth of that in China last year, according to Bernstein Research. Wealthy shoppers&amp;rsquo;&amp;nbsp;preference for the shopping centers of Paris, London and Milan pose a challenge for companies such as LVMH and Gucci Group in a country where the biggest stock market rally in 18 years produced about 42,000 millionaires last year. 
India&amp;rsquo;s spending on luxury clothes, watches, jewelry and cosmetics was about 600 million euros ($777 million) last year, according to a Bernstein Research report. That compared with 6.6 billion euros for China excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and 3.4 billion euros in South Korea, a country with a population of about 49 million. 
The absence of the ambience usually associated with luxury shopping is an impediment, said Narayanan Ramaswamy, executive director at KPMG in India. &amp;ldquo;A buyer of a Cartier watch doesn&amp;rsquo;t want to buy from a store that has pushcarts selling bananas on the sidewalk,&amp;rdquo; he said. 
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
Suitable retail space for stores selling Louis Vuitton products or Bulgari SpA&amp;rsquo;s watches is rare in a country which got its first mall in 1999. The Murjani Group built the Galleria in Mumbai, which it says was the first Indian shopping center where most tenants sold high-end products targeted at the rich. Before that, luxury stores were mainly located in five- star hotels in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. 
&amp;nbsp;
The DLF Emporio mall in New Delhi, where common areas resemble a five-star hotel lobby with fountains and potted plants, is one of the few locations in the capital city of 14 million people where brands such as those of Giorgio Armani SpA, LVMH, Jimmy Choo and Ermenegildo Zegna can set up shop. Luxury outlets in India also have to fight the perception that their collection is dated. 
The&amp;nbsp;Bernstein Research report concludes that&amp;nbsp;a growing economy, increasing incomes and urbanization will boost the prospects for luxury retailers in the long term . Economic growth may accelerate to more than 8.5 percent in the financial year ending March, from 7.4 percent in the previous 12 months.&amp;nbsp; 
The number of millionaires in India rose 51 percent to 126,700 last year, according to the 2010 World Wealth Report by Bank of America Corp.&amp;rsquo;s Merrill Lynch &amp;amp; Co. and Cap Gemini SA. The Indian luxury market, including cars and jets, is forecast to reach about $14 billion by 2010 end and then double to $30 billion by 2015, consultant AT Kearney predicted in 2007. 
from Bloomberg        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Louis Vuitton opens in Beirut, Hermes to follow suit </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/louis-vuitton-opens-in-beirut--hermes-to-follow-suit_860.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:49:41 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/louis-vuitton-opens-in-beirut--hermes-to-follow-suit_860.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			French luxury fashion and accessories brand HERMES&amp;nbsp; has announced the&amp;nbsp;opening, at the end of this month, of&amp;nbsp;a monobrand boutique in Beirut, its first in Lebanon. The boutique&amp;nbsp;will&amp;nbsp;be a franchised operation with a local partner. Three new openings are planned...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			French luxury fashion and accessories brand HERMES&amp;nbsp; has announced the&amp;nbsp;opening, at the end of this month, of&amp;nbsp;a monobrand boutique in Beirut, its first in Lebanon. The boutique&amp;nbsp;will&amp;nbsp;be a franchised operation with a local partner. Three new openings are planned within the next two years, in Kuwait, UAE and Saudi Arabia, all franchised operations, adding to the existing five boutiques in the region.
Last week, Louis Vuitton opened its first store in Beirut.&amp;nbsp;The Louis Vuitton&amp;nbsp;boutique, which is directly operated,&amp;nbsp;was opened in the Downtown area, by the Souks upscale mall. Other recent openings in Beirut include the monobrand boutiques of Christian Louboutin, Burberry, Officine Panerai, Jimmy Choo and Yves Saint Laurent. With the exception of Vuitton all openings are franchised operations, the market being split between two retailers: local, Aishti and UAE based Luxury Clothing Company (LCC).
According to Oliver Petcu, luxury industry consultant at CPP, the potential of the Lebanese luxury market which relies on travellers from the Gulf region, has been over-evaluated and&amp;nbsp;many international luxury brands should not have rushed to open monobrand stores, a&amp;nbsp;multibrand representation&amp;nbsp;would have been much more feasible for a long term strategy.&amp;nbsp;Lebanon's&amp;nbsp;luxury market, much like its overall economy is&amp;nbsp;heavily dependant&amp;nbsp;on&amp;nbsp;its internal political stability&amp;nbsp;and its fragile relations with its neighbours.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>CARTIER confirms European luxury market recovery</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/cartier-confirms-european-luxury-market-recovery_859.html</link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jul 2010 04:55:27 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/cartier-confirms-european-luxury-market-recovery_859.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			In a recent interview to The Prague Post, CARTIER CEO Mr Bernard Fornas confirmed the recovery of its sales in Europe, mostly due to the return of tourist. Mr Fornas said the ''Americans are back because the strength of...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			In a recent interview to The Prague Post, CARTIER CEO Mr Bernard Fornas confirmed the recovery of its sales in Europe, mostly due to the return of tourist. Mr Fornas said the ''Americans are back because the strength of the dollar, and the Japanese are back on the strength of the yen. Europe is driven by tourists more than locals. We're strong in those countries where tourists like to travel in Europe''.
In the interview,&amp;nbsp;Mr Fornas&amp;nbsp;also ruled out any brand diversifications or co-branding and gave the example of hotel branding proposals from the Middle East. He also added that&amp;nbsp;part of Cartier's success is due to the unique branding and product development,&amp;nbsp;with no designer or ambassador speaking or representing Cartier and&amp;nbsp;one single collection&amp;nbsp;for all international markets. &amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Luxury fashion brands and diversification </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/luxury-fashion-brands-and-diversification_858.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sat, 17 Jul 2010 09:37:39 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Opportunities]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/luxury-fashion-brands-and-diversification_858.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			When Armani launched its branded chocolates and flowers more than 5 years ago, many have criticized the move saying it would lead&amp;nbsp;to a dilution of the Armani brand. In time, these have proven successful especially because of their lifestyle...		]]></description>
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			When Armani launched its branded chocolates and flowers more than 5 years ago, many have criticized the move saying it would lead&amp;nbsp;to a dilution of the Armani brand. In time, these have proven successful especially because of their lifestyle component which they convey. Clients would buy a box of Armani chocolates and an Armani flower arrangement especially as a gift, when going to a special event. Now within the Armani Hotel in Dubai the chocolate and&amp;nbsp;flower collections blend perfectly with the environment, recreating a genuine, unique Armani Lifestyle.&amp;nbsp;Quality is playing a crucial role in these collateral lines and this, has recently been recognized by Armani which signed a licensing agreement with top premium Italian chocolate manufacturer Venchi.
There are also negative brand diversifications, especially in mobile phones. The&amp;nbsp;Armani/ Samsung co-branded mobile phone had never become a lifestyle object. The reason ? The Armani mobile phone was sold at an average affordable price and distributed widely in any type of retail, from a small kiosk to large IT stores, along with all other phones. The same misfortune followed the Prada / LG co branded mobile phone. The fact that technology was not a primary feature of the mobiles phones made these phones less attractive to more and more savy tech consumers.
This explains why Louis Vuitton skate board or Hermes equestrian lines have been in such big demand, both products being an integral part of a particular lifestyle. The fact&amp;nbsp;such collections&amp;nbsp;are available in few select stores in limited editions is also adding to the exclusivity factor. Would Louis Vuitton or Hermes &amp;nbsp;be able to sell chocolates or flowers ?&amp;nbsp;
to be continued Tuesday &amp;nbsp;20 July        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Top new trends in luxury travel (Eastern Europe)</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/top-new-trends-in-luxury-travel--eastern-europe_857.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sat, 17 Jul 2010 08:49:09 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Analysis]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/top-new-trends-in-luxury-travel--eastern-europe_857.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			A recent survey conducted by CPP Luxury Industry Consultants Ltd among the leading travel agencies in four Eastern European countries revealed important new trends in luxury travel. The survey was conducted in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine during the...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			A recent survey conducted by CPP Luxury Industry Consultants Ltd among the leading travel agencies in four Eastern European countries revealed important new trends in luxury travel. The survey was conducted in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine during the month of May. Among the most important findings are the change of destination for the two main yearly holidays and downgrading on hotels during city breaks and shopping trips.
Over half of the wealthy clients of the travel agencies surveyed have traded&amp;nbsp;former popular&amp;nbsp;summer destinations of Spain (Tenerife, Mallorca etc), &amp;nbsp;Italy (Sardinia, Portofino etc) and France (South) with Turkey,&amp;nbsp;Croatia and Egypt&amp;nbsp;where five star holiday packages are cheaper and sometimes for even longer stays. Wealthy consumers who used to take two longer holidays during the summer season (usually one long haul such as Asia or the US and the other one as a beach holiday), this year only take one such holiday, the preference being given to beach holidays which are cheaper because of the distances.
Affluent consumers still take at least one weekend city break every two months, irrespective of the season, one being for shopping and the second one for visiting. The top destinations are Milan, Paris and Vienna. Most wealthy travellers prefer to downgrade on the hotels they stay, to allocate a ''reasonable'' budget for shopping and entertainment. Top prestige deluxe hotels in the major capital cities are usually replaced by five star chains such as Sofitel or Marriott.
The new trends seem to be extending towards the upcoming winter holidays season. Beach destinations such as the Caribbean, Florida or Seychelles are likely to be replaced by holidays at a shorter distance such as United Arab Emirates (Dubai), Morocco and Egypt. The most popular destinations for this winter holidays seasons is likely to be Dubai, which combines both beach/sun with shopping.
Another important change in consumer preferences is the downgrading in car type both for rentals and airport transfers. For instance, wealthy&amp;nbsp;traveller give up an S Klasse Mercedes&amp;nbsp;for&amp;nbsp;an E Klasse, or a 7 Series BMW for a 5 series BMW.
When it comes to air travel, with few exceptions, the majority of wealthy travellers fly economy on short haul and look for special fares for business class on long haul flights. As for private jets, less and less Eastern Europeans rent them for leisure trips and that is why, they are more and more prefferred for business trips proving cost effectiveness, especially when several executives of the same company travel on the same trip and for last minute trips.
Oliver Petcu        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Dubai welcomes new luxury brands at Mall of Emirates expanded dome  </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/dubai-welcomes-new-luxury-brands-at-mall-of-emirates-expanded-dome_856.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:00:39 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			MALL OF THE EMIRATES, one of Dubai's leading shopping centers welcomes&amp;nbsp;this September&amp;nbsp;over 40 luxury fashion and food&amp;amp;beverage&amp;nbsp;stores&amp;nbsp;within&amp;nbsp;its newly expanded area, the Fashion Dome&amp;nbsp;which covers 10.500 sqm. The new line up of luxury brands includes: Christian Louboutin, Cartier, Canali, Boutique...		]]></description>
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			MALL OF THE EMIRATES, one of Dubai's leading shopping centers welcomes&amp;nbsp;this September&amp;nbsp;over 40 luxury fashion and food&amp;amp;beverage&amp;nbsp;stores&amp;nbsp;within&amp;nbsp;its newly expanded area, the Fashion Dome&amp;nbsp;which covers 10.500 sqm. The new line up of luxury brands includes: Christian Louboutin, Cartier, Canali, Boutique 1, Paul Smith, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Galliano, Versace, See by Chloe, Bottega Venetta, Mulberry, Missoni, Diane von Furstenberg, Sephora and the largest D&amp;amp;G boutique in the region. The mall already houses Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Gucci&amp;nbsp;, which&amp;nbsp;will expand to bigger premises within the new Fashion Dome.
The new stores will be set in stylish Italian Piazza style surroundings, complete with plentiful natural light from the mall&amp;rsquo;s second glass dome with a two-storey hand-carved stone fountain - making for a shopping atmosphere that is truly unique.
The new food and beverage area will include the renowned More Caf&amp;eacute;, as well as the sophisticated French cuisine restaurant of Fauchon, PF Chang&amp;rsquo;s for unique Chinese cuisine with an American twist and Tribes which offers the best tastes of Africa.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>TOM FORD launches officially women's wear this Fall</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/tom-ford-launches-officially-women-s-wear-this-fall_855.html</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:52:10 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/tom-ford-launches-officially-women-s-wear-this-fall_855.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			The first women's collection of TOM FORD Spring Summer 2011&amp;nbsp;will be launched during New York fashion week,&amp;nbsp;on September 12,&amp;nbsp;with&amp;nbsp;a&amp;nbsp;trunk show which&amp;nbsp;will&amp;nbsp;take place at the flagship store on Madison Avenue . The line is produced entirely in Italy by Zamasport...		]]></description>
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			The first women's collection of TOM FORD Spring Summer 2011&amp;nbsp;will be launched during New York fashion week,&amp;nbsp;on September 12,&amp;nbsp;with&amp;nbsp;a&amp;nbsp;trunk show which&amp;nbsp;will&amp;nbsp;take place at the flagship store on Madison Avenue . The line is produced entirely in Italy by Zamasport (apparel) and Guido Pasquali &amp;amp;&amp;nbsp; Cleo Bottier (shoes). Two former designers from Gucci are part of the design team lead by Tom Ford himself. According to sources close to the designer, the collection is ultra luxury sexy and glamourous.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>BURBERRY sales rise 27%, beating expectations</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/burberry-sales-rise-27---beating-expectations_854.html</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Jul 2010 06:56:23 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/burberry-sales-rise-27---beating-expectations_854.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			British luxury brand BURBERRY&amp;nbsp;posted a 27% gain in first-quarter sales, beating analysts&amp;rsquo; estimates, led by growth in Asia and deliveries to wholesale customers.Revenue in the three months ended June 30 increased to GBP 291 million from GBP 229 million...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			British luxury brand BURBERRY&amp;nbsp;posted a 27% gain in first-quarter sales, beating analysts&amp;rsquo; estimates, led by growth in Asia and deliveries to wholesale customers.Revenue in the three months ended June 30 increased to GBP 291 million from GBP 229 million last year.
BURBERRY plans to increase capital spending by 86% this year, opening 20 to 30 stores in the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions, CEO Angela Ahrendts said.The first sales figures for the&amp;nbsp;autumn-winter 2010 collections, which arrived in stores from June,&amp;nbsp;indicate that the &amp;ldquo;momentum&amp;rdquo; is continuing,&amp;nbsp;CFO Stacey Cartwright said on a conference call. &amp;ldquo;We continue to outperform almost irrespective of what the local economies are doing,&amp;rdquo; Cartwright said. Wholesale revenue, which accounts for about 30% of sales, gained 46%, excluding Spain and currency swings, the company said. &amp;ldquo;We are seeing significant increases in all regions except Europe&amp;rdquo; Cartwright said, citing &amp;ldquo;some traction&amp;rdquo; with U.S. department stores, which are giving more space to the brand, especially for spring-summer 2011 lines.
Oliver Petcu of CPP believes Burberry's continued success worldwide, defying the international crisis, is mostly due to two factors. First,&amp;nbsp;Burberry collections price point is lower than most&amp;nbsp;of the major international competing luxury brands, thus reaching a wider&amp;nbsp;audience which&amp;nbsp;has translated into a ''democratic&amp;nbsp;luxury'' positioning and perception.&amp;nbsp;Secondly,&amp;nbsp;the fact that BURBERRY&amp;nbsp;stores include all&amp;nbsp;its&amp;nbsp;lines, from the upscale Prorsum&amp;nbsp;to&amp;nbsp;Sport&amp;nbsp;represents&amp;nbsp;another&amp;nbsp;major competitive advantage.&amp;nbsp;Mention should also be made that&amp;nbsp;Burberry's international expansion which is mostly done through franchising operations,&amp;nbsp;has been greatly helped by the lower&amp;nbsp;initial investment costs in the store fittings, in most cases half the cost of competing brands such as Gucci. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Richemont reports negative results for year ending March 2010</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/richemont-reports-negative-results-for-year-ending-march-2010_853.html</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Jul 2010 03:45:17 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/richemont-reports-negative-results-for-year-ending-march-2010_853.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			World's second largest luxury group RICHEMONT announced this week its financial report for the year ending in March 2010. Total sales for the entire group dropped by 4% compared to the previous year, to a total of EUR million...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			World's second largest luxury group RICHEMONT announced this week its financial report for the year ending in March 2010. Total sales for the entire group dropped by 4% compared to the previous year, to a total of EUR million 5 176. The operating profit dropped by 14% from EUR 968 million in 2009 to EUR 830 million in 2010. The lowest sales decrease, of 3%,&amp;nbsp;was registered by the jewellery maisons division, which makes up to 52% group sales.
In Europe, which is Richemont's number one market by region accounting for 40% of consolidated sales, the group sales dropped by 11%, especially Western Europe, with some countries in Eastern Europe being more resilient. US and Japan also registered negative results with 20% and 12% sales drops respectively. Asia Pacific was the only region to grow, with sales increasing by 18%.
CEO of Richemont, Mr Johann Rupert emphasized the company's results were satisfying given the economic conditions and the group companies reacted ''quickly and positively to the downturn in demand and have grown market share''. Some of the drastic measures taken included closing directly operated boutiques and reducing the number of third party distribution points, especially in the United States.
Sales in the first quarter of 2010 have continued to follow the trend seen in the pre-Christmas period and sales in the month of April were 24 per cent above the&amp;nbsp;prior year&amp;rsquo;s depressed levels, primarily driven by wholesale sales.
&amp;nbsp;
The Group&amp;rsquo;s luxury goods interests encompass several of the most prestigious names in the industry, including Cartier, Van Cleef &amp;amp; Arpels, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Alfred Dunhill and Montblanc. Richemont also owns fashion brands Chloe, Shanghai Tang, Azzedine&amp;nbsp;Alaia as well as leather accessories brand Lancel.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>CHRISTIAN LACROIX sees re-birth with men's collection</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/christian-lacroix-sees-re-birth-with-men-s-collection_852.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:08:45 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/christian-lacroix-sees-re-birth-with-men-s-collection_852.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			After the turmoil of the bankruptcy proceedings of the CHRISTIAN LACROIX fashion house, which resulted in the departure of its founder and designer, Sasha Walckhoff took&amp;nbsp;over the creative direction of the&amp;nbsp;brand.&amp;nbsp;He&amp;nbsp;has designed the Spring Summer 2011 men's collection under...		]]></description>
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			After the turmoil of the bankruptcy proceedings of the CHRISTIAN LACROIX fashion house, which resulted in the departure of its founder and designer, Sasha Walckhoff took&amp;nbsp;over the creative direction of the&amp;nbsp;brand.&amp;nbsp;He&amp;nbsp;has designed the Spring Summer 2011 men's collection under the Lacroix brand, which is funded by a licensee. Walckhoff has been with the Christian Lacroix&amp;nbsp;company since 1992 and worked closely with the designer himself. The new Lacroix men's line is designed in keeping with the spirit of the French brand and sells at the same prices as any other luxury ready to wear brand. In an interview to US media, Walckhoff said the collection was very well received by the buyers and he is positive of the financial outcome.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>ARMANI - turnover falls by 6%, while cash reserves grow by 20%</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/armani---turnover-falls-by-6---while-cash-reserves-grow-by-20_851.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jul 2010 02:05:34 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/armani---turnover-falls-by-6---while-cash-reserves-grow-by-20_851.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			ARMANI Group reported this week a 6% fall in its turnover for 2009 compared to 2008 and an EBITDA of EUR 218 million, 28% lower than in 2008. Mr Armani attributes the negative results to the slow down of...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			ARMANI Group reported this week a 6% fall in its turnover for 2009 compared to 2008 and an EBITDA of EUR 218 million, 28% lower than in 2008. Mr Armani attributes the negative results to the slow down of the US and Japan, two key markets for the group.
However, the net cash reserves have increased by 20% to EUR 447 million, compared to 2008. The international expansion of the group included 182 new monobrand store openings in 2009, the total number of sales points reaching 1.503. Sales of the group in China grew by 32%.
In the same press release Mr Armani said: ''Our policy focused on development has&amp;nbsp;allowed us to take advantage, in the first months of&amp;nbsp;2010, of the market recovery and relaunch our growth''. &amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>TOMAS MAIER, the heart and soul of BOTTEGA VENETA</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/tomas-maier--the-heart-and-soul-of-bottega-veneta_850.html</link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:47:27 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/tomas-maier--the-heart-and-soul-of-bottega-veneta_850.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			German born Tomas Maier is currently the Head of Creative Design at Italian luxury brand BOTTEGA VENETA, in charge with&amp;nbsp;all the brand lines, from&amp;nbsp;apparel, leather accessories to&amp;nbsp;jewellery&amp;nbsp;and home collections. He began his professional training at&amp;nbsp;Ecole de la Chambre Syndicalle...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			German born Tomas Maier is currently the Head of Creative Design at Italian luxury brand BOTTEGA VENETA, in charge with&amp;nbsp;all the brand lines, from&amp;nbsp;apparel, leather accessories to&amp;nbsp;jewellery&amp;nbsp;and home collections. He began his professional training at&amp;nbsp;Ecole de la Chambre Syndicalle de la&amp;nbsp;Haute&amp;nbsp;Couture in Paris and&amp;nbsp;her&amp;nbsp;worked for several fashion brands:&amp;nbsp;Revillon, Guy Laroche, Sonya Rykiel. He was also designer&amp;nbsp;for women's&amp;nbsp;line at Hermes for almost 2 years.&amp;nbsp;In 1997 he launched his own line of ready to wear women's clothing.
In June 2001, he was recruited by Tom Ford as&amp;nbsp;Head of Creative Design at Bottega Veneta. Tomas Maier is credited with reinventing the Bottega Veneta brand using top quality leathers and a clean design with a label free aestethic, which was against the general trend of the early 2000 when logomania ruled at all major brands. Today, Bottega Veneta is after Gucci the second most successfull brand of the GUCCI GROUP, its parent company.
Under his creative helm, Bottega Veneta has grown into a well established luxury brand with an impecable reputation for both the unique design of&amp;nbsp;its products&amp;nbsp;and the very high quality of its manufacturing. Maier manage to turn Bottega Veneta into a brand of the same caliber with Gucci, Hermes or Louis Vuitton, otherwise considered direct competitors. Bottega Veneta's coherent branding has been translated by Maier into the sleek design of the stores as well as cutting edge advertising campaigns, which he, himself called ''the art of collaborations''.
In 2007, Maier launched the home collection of Bottega Veneta which is sold in most of the flagship stores internationally. He also designed entirely a suite at the legendary New York luxury hotel, St Regis. Other such interior design projects are to follow suit.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>The winning strategy of online sales for luxury brands</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/the-winning-strategy-of-online-sales-for-luxury-brands_849.html</link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:50:34 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Analysis]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/the-winning-strategy-of-online-sales-for-luxury-brands_849.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			For long, one of the main reasons luxury brands would postpone their launch of online sales was their relationship with department stores and large wholesale clients for fear of&amp;nbsp;an uneven competition. Then, after the debut of&amp;nbsp;the&amp;nbsp;financial crisis, most department...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			For long, one of the main reasons luxury brands would postpone their launch of online sales was their relationship with department stores and large wholesale clients for fear of&amp;nbsp;an uneven competition. Then, after the debut of&amp;nbsp;the&amp;nbsp;financial crisis, most department store chains&amp;nbsp;were forced to&amp;nbsp;drastically reduce prices which translated into losses&amp;nbsp;for&amp;nbsp;the luxury brands.&amp;nbsp;For many&amp;nbsp;luxury brands this came like a wake up call&amp;nbsp;and they&amp;nbsp;realized&amp;nbsp;online sales would bring them the much needed revenue as they would&amp;nbsp;sell directly to consumers, with no intermediaries.&amp;nbsp;
The other reason which has, rightfully, kept many luxury brands away from internet sales has been the fear of losing their exclusivity. While high street stores are only accessible to a certain number of customers, the internet is widely open to anyone.&amp;nbsp;The&amp;nbsp;reputation of a&amp;nbsp;luxury brand and its exclusivity have&amp;nbsp;always been driven by high level of customer service and decor of its highstreet stores.
This explains why brands&amp;nbsp;such as Bottega Veneta, Jimmy&amp;nbsp;Choo or Marc Jacobs&amp;nbsp;are only starting online sales this year, more than a decade after many other established brands such as Louis Vuitton or&amp;nbsp;Gucci. While the&amp;nbsp;advantage of selling directly to consumers is undisputable, the exclusivity factor needs to be tackled&amp;nbsp;carefully.
One of the&amp;nbsp;ways&amp;nbsp;luxury brands can succeed with online sales while preserving their exclusivity is the differentiation between the type of merchandise they sell online versus offline (traditional highstreet stores). Creating special collections which sell only online or vice versa&amp;nbsp;has been&amp;nbsp;a proven winning strategy and this involves also devising separate marketing communications strategies for online sales.
Maintaining a direct link between online and offline sales is also crucial. Several luxury brands are giving customers the option of buying online and picking up their merchandise in the stores. This is not only beneficial for the luxury brand as it has direct contact with the online customer but is also beneficial to the online customer who can touch the product, explore its manufacturing etc. Such a link is being offered by Bottega Veneta for online sales, the direct pick up will be available gradually, the first point being the flagship on Fifth Avenue in New York.
With more and more luxury brands being forced to increase revenue, direct online sales of outlet merchandise is likely to become a hot topic for the coming months.&amp;nbsp;Should brands create&amp;nbsp;their own dedicated online shops&amp;nbsp;selling outlet merchandise, this would&amp;nbsp;also cut the ''middleman'' in a sector worth billions of euros. &amp;nbsp;
It remains to be seen how major online shopping sites such as VentePrivee or Net a Porter will be able to compete with the direct online sales of the luxury brands. It could be that, in the long run, such portals will prove successful in selling smaller&amp;nbsp;luxury brands rather than the major established ones. For now, the competitive advantage of these major luxury online sales players is their expertize and experience as well as existing database of customers.
Oliver Petcu        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Shanghai, the first international location for HARRODS</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/shanghai--the-first-international-location-for-harrods_848.html</link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:57:56 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/shanghai--the-first-international-location-for-harrods_848.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			British iconic luxury department store HARRODS has announced it is considering opening a new store in Shanghai, China. The iconic British department store is weighing up various new locations but has described China as &amp;quot;the most probable&amp;quot;.
&amp;quot;There are other...		]]></description>
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			British iconic luxury department store HARRODS has announced it is considering opening a new store in Shanghai, China. The iconic British department store is weighing up various new locations but has described China as &amp;quot;the most probable&amp;quot;.
&amp;quot;There are other areas of the world where we could operate profitably,&amp;quot; said Michael Ward, Harrods' ceo. &amp;quot;China is the most probable but we would have to do a lot of work first.&amp;quot; The number of Chinese visitors is up 125 per cent this year, with an average spend of triple that of a US customer.&amp;nbsp;Mohammed Al Fayed sold his emporium in May to the&amp;nbsp;Qatari royal family for &amp;pound;1.5 billion.&amp;nbsp;Al Fayed motivated the&amp;nbsp;sale of&amp;nbsp;Harrods because pension fund trustees stopped him taking a dividend from the business he' owned for 26 years        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Innovations - growing competitive advantages for luxury hotels</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/innovations---growing-competitive-advantages-for-luxury-hotels_846.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sun, 11 Jul 2010 07:42:46 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Review]]></category>

        <guid isPermaLink="false">
        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/innovations---growing-competitive-advantages-for-luxury-hotels_846.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			First introduced by select PENINSULA Hotels, one of the leading luxury international chains, the 24 hour check in / check out service is bing embraced as an essential competitive advantage&amp;nbsp;by many other luxury hotels. THE ADDRESS Hotels&amp;nbsp;in Dubai offers...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			First introduced by select PENINSULA Hotels, one of the leading luxury international chains, the 24 hour check in / check out service is bing embraced as an essential competitive advantage&amp;nbsp;by many other luxury hotels. THE ADDRESS Hotels&amp;nbsp;in Dubai offers a total 24 hour stay, with check in and out at any time for guests opting for suite or club rooms.&amp;nbsp;
The RAFFLES Dubai hotel&amp;nbsp;provides&amp;nbsp;a 24 hour check in and check out service in an effort to enhance the experience of guests staying in any of its suites. The service is looking to accommodate residents flying into the city during the night and will enable guests staying in a suite to check in and out at any time of the day or night without incurring additional charges. The convenience of having the room ready for check in at any time is also offerred by American luxury hotel chain MONTAGE.
CAMPBELL GRAY Hotels offer&amp;nbsp;pure bio toiletries in the bathrooms at all its international locations. The toiletries are produced by British bio active skincare specialist REN.
American premium hotel chain KIMPTON offers organic menu options for snaks and drink for minibars at many of its locations (Dallas, Miami, Chicago etc). MANDARIN ORIENTAL Hotels offer organic snacks and drinks in the minibars at most of their international locations. Some of the flagship Mandarin Oriental locations such as London, Tokyo and New York offer pure essential oils on turndown and in the bathrooms.
The newly opened ARMANI HOTEL Dubai has replaced concierge, guest relations and front office services with ''lifestyle managers'' each taking care of designated guests providing all necessary assistance during their stay. A similar service called ''Aura Managers'' was implemented last year by the hip design chain ME by MELIA owned and operated by Spanish hotel chain MELIA. Unlike at Armani Hotel, the Aura Managers only provide concierge and guest relations&amp;nbsp;services.&amp;nbsp;
LE RICHEMOND, the Rocco Forte Hotel in Geneva introduced earlier this year the first ''watch butler''. In addition to giving guests access to the expertise of timepiece connaisseur Pierre Jacques, they also have the opportunity to browse a list of primarily Geneva-manufactured watches from which they may view pieces upon request. Jacques, who is also the head of Les Ambassadeurs watch boutique, will be available for private appointments with guests at the hotel or at his boutique where they will be transported in a limousine.
The recently opened TRUMP SOHO New York hotel is offering luxury wardrobe storage &amp;amp; management service for frequent guests. Garde Robe's elegant valet service allows Trump SoHo New York owners and guests to keep their clothing and personal items in New York rather than travel with luggage on each visit.
All&amp;nbsp;these novelties seem not only to generate attention through intense PR but are also likely to make a difference for discerning travellers worldwide who are becoming&amp;nbsp;at the same time more demanding and more price sensitive.&amp;nbsp;
Oliver Petcu&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>CHANEL, the most impressive fashion show at Paris Haute Couture week</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/chanel--the-most-impressive-fashion-show-at-paris-haute-couture-week_845.html</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Jul 2010 08:40:46 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/chanel--the-most-impressive-fashion-show-at-paris-haute-couture-week_845.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			As if to show off and emphasize the stature of the CHANEL brand, designer Karl Lagerfeld staged an impressive haute couture collection at Grand Palais where an enormous lion was the highlight of the collection. The lion was chosen...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			As if to show off and emphasize the stature of the CHANEL brand, designer Karl Lagerfeld staged an impressive haute couture collection at Grand Palais where an enormous lion was the highlight of the collection. The lion was chosen as it symbolizes the zodiac of Madame Coco Chanel.
The collection&amp;nbsp;was rich in imagination and decoration, and thought-provoking in its challenging new proportions.The day clothes were all about line: tweed jackets cropped to the rib cage with buttons running like tram lines from top to narrow bottom half.&amp;nbsp;There were several bolero-length tops, with knee or calf-length skirts and ruched ankle boots.&amp;nbsp;Overall there was a hippie, 60's feel, with a strong casual feel. The evening looks includes short, daring dresses and several unique embroidered pieces.
The greatest applause went to Mr. Lagerfeld&amp;rsquo;s male muse, the model Baptiste Giabiconi, who walked the finale wearing a lion&amp;rsquo;s mane. And the couturier himself, whose Chanel megalomaniac show managed to steal the limelight of the entire Paris Couture Week.
&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>The JW Marriott Bucharest shopping gallery becomes more deserted</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/the-jw-marriott-bucharest-shopping-gallery-becomes-more-deserted_843.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:31:18 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/the-jw-marriott-bucharest-shopping-gallery-becomes-more-deserted_843.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			The lack of a coherent strategy both retail and marketing seems to be driving away gradually more and more tenants of the shopping gallery within the JW MARRIOTT Hotel. The latest shop&amp;nbsp;which closed&amp;nbsp;earlier this week is CATWALK,&amp;nbsp;occupying the second...		]]></description>
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			The lack of a coherent strategy both retail and marketing seems to be driving away gradually more and more tenants of the shopping gallery within the JW MARRIOTT Hotel. The latest shop&amp;nbsp;which closed&amp;nbsp;earlier this week is CATWALK,&amp;nbsp;occupying the second largest space after the&amp;nbsp;Louis Vuitton store. Other&amp;nbsp;shops which closed within the JW Marriott gallery this year include Franck Muller and Korloff.&amp;nbsp;
The Catwalk&amp;nbsp;was a specialized multibrand store of accessories, both shoes and bags&amp;nbsp;of the following brand mix&amp;nbsp;Bruno Magli, Fratelli&amp;nbsp;Rosetti, Bally, Gino Rossi and Burlington. The store was owned by Rafar a division of RTC Group which has been in deep financial difficulties recently. Rafar used to operate the Bally monobrand shop in Bucharest which closed in 2009.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>THE MUSE, the new ultra luxury hotel in St Tropez</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/the-muse--the-new-ultra-luxury-hotel-in-st-tropez_842.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jul 2010 06:17:46 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/the-muse--the-new-ultra-luxury-hotel-in-st-tropez_842.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			Malaysian hotel group YTL officially opened this week MUSE, a suite only&amp;nbsp;ultra luxury resort hotel in St Tropez. All its suites are overlooking the impressive terraced gardens created by&amp;nbsp;Sophie Agata Ambroise which&amp;nbsp;are named for muses such as Edith Piaf,...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Malaysian hotel group YTL officially opened this week MUSE, a suite only&amp;nbsp;ultra luxury resort hotel in St Tropez. All its suites are overlooking the impressive terraced gardens created by&amp;nbsp;Sophie Agata Ambroise which&amp;nbsp;are named for muses such as Edith Piaf, Catherine Deneuve, and Lauren Bacall. The hotel offers transfers in style to the beach in Bentley cars, while sun butlers and dog sitters are available to the guests throughout their entire stay.
The hotel SPA which&amp;nbsp;is entirely ecological, offers&amp;nbsp;a wide range&amp;nbsp;of treatments with pure essences from the gardens. &amp;nbsp;The highlight of the hotel is a 100 sqm aquamarine water pool, with&amp;nbsp;comfortable sun beds. Manicure and massages services are also available at the pool.&amp;nbsp;The suites are available from EUR 600 per night&amp;nbsp;up to&amp;nbsp;EUR 3.000 per night. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>BOTTEGA VENETA launches its new innovative website </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/bottega-veneta-launches-its-new-innovative-website_841.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:10:01 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/bottega-veneta-launches-its-new-innovative-website_841.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			Italian luxury fashion brand BOTTEGA VENETA which is part of GUCCI GROUP has launched this week its new website which introduces several innovations such as the service of a personal shopping assistance with wish list for registered clients, the...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Italian luxury fashion brand BOTTEGA VENETA which is part of GUCCI GROUP has launched this week its new website which introduces several innovations such as the service of a personal shopping assistance with wish list for registered clients, the possibility of picking up purchased merchandise in stores and many interactive features. Online shopping will be available in USA from this Fall, followed early 2011 with the U.K. and Japan.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>REGENT Hotels plan major expansion</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/regent-hotels-plan-major-expansion_840.html</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jul 2010 01:20:28 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/regent-hotels-plan-major-expansion_840.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			Taiwan's leading hotel company Formosa International&amp;nbsp;which has recently acquired the REGENT HOTELS&amp;nbsp;from Carlson Hotels / Rezidor announced this week major plans for international expansion of the luxury hotel brand through a newly established&amp;nbsp;investment fund which will raise between USD...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Taiwan's leading hotel company Formosa International&amp;nbsp;which has recently acquired the REGENT HOTELS&amp;nbsp;from Carlson Hotels / Rezidor announced this week major plans for international expansion of the luxury hotel brand through a newly established&amp;nbsp;investment fund which will raise between USD 300 million and USD 500 million from private investors. The expansion plan will&amp;nbsp;focus on Europe, USA and China, existing hotels being&amp;nbsp;preferred. &amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>New luxury car sales in Romania have doubled in the first 5 months of the year</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/new-luxury-car-sales-in-romania-have-doubled-in-the-first-5-months-of-the-year_838.html</link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jul 2010 10:16:56 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/new-luxury-car-sales-in-romania-have-doubled-in-the-first-5-months-of-the-year_838.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			According to the Romanian Police, a total number of 40 new luxury cars were registered in the first five months of 2010, almost double compared to 22 new registred cars during the same period last year. The report refers...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			According to the Romanian Police, a total number of 40 new luxury cars were registered in the first five months of 2010, almost double compared to 22 new registred cars during the same period last year. The report refers to cars priced from EUR 100.000. Almost half of the newly registered cars were FERRARI, with a F430 Scuderia model being the most expensive at over EUR 300.000. The industry executives reckon the increase comes from the easing of leasing and borrowing from financial institutions.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>The potential of grown aromatherapy flowers in luxury hotel rooms</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/the-potential-of-grown-aromatherapy-flowers-in-luxury-hotel-rooms_837.html</link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jul 2010 08:11:49 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Opportunities]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/the-potential-of-grown-aromatherapy-flowers-in-luxury-hotel-rooms_837.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			For the past ten years less and less hotels are placing fresh flowers in rooms, setting up a single arrangement in the hotel lobby. Even these arrangements have now been ''cut'' by the crisis and pot flowers with a...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			For the past ten years less and less hotels are placing fresh flowers in rooms, setting up a single arrangement in the hotel lobby. Even these arrangements have now been ''cut'' by the crisis and pot flowers with a longer life have replaced the fresh flowers. There are also the landmark exceptions such as the Four Seasons George V in Paris, the Four Seasons at the Bosphorus in Istanbul and the recently opened Armani Hotel in Dubai, the three hotels ranking as the top luxury hotels&amp;nbsp;with the most beautiful&amp;nbsp;and lavish flower arrangements worldwide. Other major chains such as Mandarin Oriental are traditionally placing orchids in a pot in all rooms at properties worldwide.
Rosemary, lavender, jasmine, lemongrass are just some of the flowers which are so commonly used in aromatherapy under the form of cosmetics or essential oils. Obviously, any manager would have an obvious relucatant attitude to such an idea considering the cost.&amp;nbsp;One will be surprised how inexpensive a pot with one of these flowers is in any flower market, let alone wholesale where a much more competitive price could be obtained.
Such planted flowers in pot would not only last longer in guest rooms but would also create the beautiful aromatherapy smell. And they could be differentiated by the type of aromatherapy: for instance in a suite, a lemongrass would be ideal in the living room with its fresh scent, while lavender would be most suitable for the bedroom in helping sleep.
to be continued on 12th July
&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>VERSACE apartments in a luxury residential tower in Beirut (Lebanon) </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/versace-apartments-in-a-luxury-residential-tower-in-beirut--lebanon_836.html</link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jul 2010 07:29:33 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/versace-apartments-in-a-luxury-residential-tower-in-beirut--lebanon_836.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			DAMAC Properties, a&amp;nbsp;major&amp;nbsp;private residential, leisure and commercial developer in the&amp;nbsp;Middle East&amp;nbsp;has announced the launch of DAMAC TOWER, a magnificent and exclusive new high-rise building set to open its doors in 2013 located in down town Beirut. DAMAC has tied...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			DAMAC Properties, a&amp;nbsp;major&amp;nbsp;private residential, leisure and commercial developer in the&amp;nbsp;Middle East&amp;nbsp;has announced the launch of DAMAC TOWER, a magnificent and exclusive new high-rise building set to open its doors in 2013 located in down town Beirut. DAMAC has tied up with VERSACE, the world-renowned Italian fashion house synonymous with glamour and luxury to provide exclusive interior design by VERSACE HOME. 

&amp;ldquo;DAMAC TOWER&amp;rdquo; - a high rise luxury tower will feature spacious private units resplendent with custom designed interiors. All the common areas including the health and fitness facilities, the concierge reception, and the main lobby will feature VERSACE HOME products.

In 2009, DAMAC joined forces with VERSACE HOME to launch the company&amp;rsquo;s first retail outlet in the UAE at The Dubai Mall &amp;ndash; the Emirate&amp;rsquo;s largest shopping mall.
&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>The NEW luxury brands </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/the-new-luxury-brands_835.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 06 Jul 2010 11:59:56 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Analysis]]></category>

        <guid isPermaLink="false">
        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/the-new-luxury-brands_835.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			The international financial crisis which is far from over in most parts of the world is set to have diverse lasting effects on fashion retail. Long considered mid range, brands such as LACOSTE, TOMMY HILFIGER, GUESS, CALVIN KLEIN, GANT&amp;nbsp;or...		]]></description>
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			The international financial crisis which is far from over in most parts of the world is set to have diverse lasting effects on fashion retail. Long considered mid range, brands such as LACOSTE, TOMMY HILFIGER, GUESS, CALVIN KLEIN, GANT&amp;nbsp;or MASSIMO DUTTI&amp;nbsp;are more and more regarded as premium brands and this is the case especially in emerging markets where consumers are constantly learning. The shop fittings, the merchandising, the atmosphere and the similaries in design of the products almost create a confusion among consumers who evidently identify in pricing as the only major difference. Thefore, more and more consumers&amp;nbsp;perceive these&amp;nbsp;brands as&amp;nbsp;premium or even luxury. 
&amp;nbsp;
For&amp;nbsp;example, there are hardly any differences between a HUGO BOSS store and&amp;nbsp; MASSIMO DUTTI one, from the fittings, furniture&amp;nbsp;to the&amp;nbsp;window displays. The similarity is even stronger when it comes to the products sold by the two brands which are mostly made in the same factories in Turkey, Mexico, Romania etc, using the same raw materials and finishes. &amp;nbsp; The same comparison is valid between a LACOSTE store and VILEBREQUIN one, both having almost identical furniture and displays. Take for instance RALPH LAUREN (POLO) and TOMMY HILFIGER the second being positioned lower than the first one. By using the same suppliers not only for their merchandise but also for the furniture, the two brands seem more and more alike, although differently positioned in the past. A third such striking&amp;nbsp;comparison is between GANT and PAUL &amp;amp; SHARK, whose collections and shops look more and more alike. 
&amp;nbsp;
The ebbing purchasing power but also a psychological desire against the all too familiar ''mix and match'' trend have contributed to the luxury positioning of these brands, with an increasing number of consumers going back to the ''total look'', which was a must a decade ago. This is not only a response to the mix and match trend but it also constitutes a very practical approach, wealthy consumers being able to afford more products for less money when shopping for these brands. In the past year,&amp;nbsp;I have often come accross very satisfied wealthy consumers leaving these shops with a stock of shoes, shirts of dresses, of different colours and styles. 
&amp;nbsp;
Are these consumers forming a new intermediate target segment of those who no longer buy luxury brands or is it just a timely matter till the crisis will be completely over? I believe this is a huge opportunity for these brands on how they position themselves and how many of them understand they can win by marketing more, promoting more, although their initial core strategy was lack of promotion. If tackled strategically, these new brands also have the opportunity to attract the traditional ''mix and match'' consumers, especially those who are growing dissatisfied with the poor quality of a garment from a mass market brand. I refer to ''mix and match'' as the look which includes an expensive luxury branded product, especially accessories such as shoes and bags and a mass market products, usually apparel (i.e. Hermes bag with an H&amp;amp;M shirt). 
&amp;nbsp;
Oliver Petcu        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>HUGO BOSS to launch custom made service and home collection</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/hugo-boss-to-launch-custom-made-service-and-home-collection_834.html</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jul 2010 10:18:11 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/hugo-boss-to-launch-custom-made-service-and-home-collection_834.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			Claus Dietrich Lahrs, the CEO of HUGO BOSS announced this week the German brand will launch ''su misura'' (custom made) collection in its leading flagship stores worlwide. The move comes as the brand is currently pursuing a more aggressive...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Claus Dietrich Lahrs, the CEO of HUGO BOSS announced this week the German brand will launch ''su misura'' (custom made) collection in its leading flagship stores worlwide. The move comes as the brand is currently pursuing a more aggressive expansion strategy internationally in order to counter the effects of the financial crisis. The ''su misura'' line will be available from Spring 2011.
Also this week, Hugo Boss announced the launching in 2011 of its first home collection with bed and bathroom accessories. The Hugo Boss home collection is licensed to French specialized company&amp;nbsp;Fremaux-Delorme. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>CHANEL and DIOR report a sales increase in haute couture</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/chanel-and-dior-report-a-sales-increase-in-haute-couture_833.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sat, 03 Jul 2010 05:25:44 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

        <guid isPermaLink="false">
        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/chanel-and-dior-report-a-sales-increase-in-haute-couture_833.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			The president of CHANEL has recently confirmed an sales increase betweek 20% and 30% for the couture line signed by Karl Lagerfeld, forecasting a positive rest of the year for 2010. He also said that many American and Russian...		]]></description>
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			The president of CHANEL has recently confirmed an sales increase betweek 20% and 30% for the couture line signed by Karl Lagerfeld, forecasting a positive rest of the year for 2010. He also said that many American and Russian wealthy clients are now returning after the crisis and there are several key new customers from Eastern Europe and Middle East.
Sidney Toledano, CEO of Christian Dior reported that over 80% of the haute couture collection presented in January was sold off the catwalk and there are more orders than the house can handle estimating an increase in haute couture sales&amp;nbsp;especially after the presentation of&amp;nbsp;the Fall/Winter&amp;nbsp;haute couture collection this&amp;nbsp;July. &amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Romanian fashion designer INGRID VLASOV makes breakthrough in Paris</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/romanian-fashion-designer-ingrid-vlasov-makes-breakthrough-in-paris_832.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Jul 2010 08:41:37 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/romanian-fashion-designer-ingrid-vlasov-makes-breakthrough-in-paris_832.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			After presenting this year,&amp;nbsp;in Spring, her collection during the official calendar of Paris Fashion Week, INGRID VLASOV has been selected for sale by Parisian exclusive store Maria Luisa, which marks a major recognition for the designer.&amp;nbsp;Her collection has also...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			After presenting this year,&amp;nbsp;in Spring, her collection during the official calendar of Paris Fashion Week, INGRID VLASOV has been selected for sale by Parisian exclusive store Maria Luisa, which marks a major recognition for the designer.&amp;nbsp;Her collection has also been praised by many critics and major magazines such as&amp;nbsp;L'Officiel.
Recently,&amp;nbsp;one of&amp;nbsp;dresses has been&amp;nbsp;worn by celebrity singer Lady Gaga at an event in Paris.&amp;nbsp;Ingrid Vlasov is the first Romanian fashion designer to have&amp;nbsp;graced the Parisian catwalks in more than ten&amp;nbsp;year, after the success of veteren Romanian fashion and costume designer&amp;nbsp;DOINA LEVINTZA. &amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>China's leading luxury market now reflected in latest LOUIS VUITTON collection </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/china-s-leading-luxury-market-now-reflected-in-latest-louis-vuitton-collection_831.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:48:36 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/china-s-leading-luxury-market-now-reflected-in-latest-louis-vuitton-collection_831.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			As China is rapidly growing into the most important luxury market worlwide, more and more international luxury brands incorporate Chinese themes in their collections.&amp;nbsp; Late last year Chanel&amp;rsquo;s debuted its pre-fall collection in Shanghai), and in the run-up to...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			As China is rapidly growing into the most important luxury market worlwide, more and more international luxury brands incorporate Chinese themes in their collections.&amp;nbsp; Late last year Chanel&amp;rsquo;s debuted its pre-fall collection in Shanghai), and in the run-up to the ongoing Shanghai World Expo saw ''China-only'' designs from Prada, Ferragamo and Chanel.
However, the recently unveiled Louis Vuitton spring-summer 2011 menswear collection takes a somewhat different approach than that&amp;nbsp;employed&amp;nbsp;by other fashion houses, adding design cues and materials that are&amp;nbsp;distinctively&amp;nbsp;Chinese while aiming these products at Western, rather than Chinese consumers. Quilted blazers were made of luminous silks, and whiskered Chinese dragons dressed up the leather totes and other accessories that are the historic trunk-maker&amp;rsquo;s main cash cow. Models sported temporary tattoos of Chinese zodiac signs &amp;mdash; sometimes intermingled with Vuitton&amp;rsquo;s interlocking LV symbols &amp;mdash; on their necks and calves, and their translucent button-down shirts were printed with similar tattoo designs.
Designer Marc Jacobs said in an interview: &amp;ldquo;China is obviously a great market and everyone talks about the modernity and the interest of it &amp;hellip; but I think probably the least appealing thing to the Chinese market is any kind of Asian reference,&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp; &amp;ldquo;It wasn&amp;rsquo;t about appealing from a business point of view.&amp;rdquo;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>UKRAINE's luxury market improving and set to recover by end of the year </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/ukraine-s-luxury-market-improving-and-set-to-recover-by-end-of-the-year_830.html</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:05:54 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/ukraine-s-luxury-market-improving-and-set-to-recover-by-end-of-the-year_830.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			The recently elected pro-Russia President of Ukraine seems to have had a positive effect on improving relations with Russia not only politically but also economically. Several key industrial investments have been re-started in Ukraine and GDP has seen a...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			The recently elected pro-Russia President of Ukraine seems to have had a positive effect on improving relations with Russia not only politically but also economically. Several key industrial investments have been re-started in Ukraine and GDP has seen a slight increase in the first five months of this year.
The upcoming 2012 Europa League Football Championships co-hosted by Ukraine seems to also add to the improvement of the economy. Two large five star hotels (Fairmont, Swissotel), each with approximately 500 rooms are currently under construction and are due to be finalized before the football championship.&amp;nbsp; Luxury hospitality in the capital city of Kiev still boasts highest rates in the entire Eastern European region and average occupancy remains at a good 65%.
A low cost and charter&amp;nbsp;airline with an investment of EUR 300 million is due to be launched&amp;nbsp;mid 2011, the investment being made of a group of Ukrainian and Russian investors.
Luxury auto, perfumery/cosmetics and travel are three of the sectors which have registered an average of 5% increase in sales compared to last year. Sales of fashion, accessories have remained stable, while jewellery and watches are yet to see any recovery of sales.
CPP        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Paris Men's Fashion Week for Spring Summer 2011 is praised by major international buyers</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/paris-men-s-fashion-week-for-spring-summer-2011-is-praised-by-major-international-buyers_829.html</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:05:36 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Review]]></category>

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        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			Cool is a ghetto. So Karl Lagerfeld lends his image to a bottle of Coke or is guest editor of the newspaper Lib&amp;eacute;ration, which saw a sales increase of 40 percent.
The Paris spring men&amp;rsquo;s shows, which ended on Sunday,...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Cool is a ghetto. So Karl Lagerfeld lends his image to a bottle of Coke or is guest editor of the newspaper Lib&amp;eacute;ration, which saw a sales increase of 40 percent.
The Paris spring men&amp;rsquo;s shows, which ended on Sunday, retain a reputation for creative freedom, though there seems to be a lack of bold thinking. For some designers, the hook of a single idea worked. Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Gar&amp;ccedil;ons reproduced the human skull as wallpaper prints on cotton, as mesh-embedded cutouts on the back of jackets, and as an inspiration for fake-leather blazers reduced to skeletal strips.
You imagine the thought process for a John Galliano show going something like, &amp;ldquo;Let&amp;rsquo;s do Charlie Chaplin and Luchino Visconti on the sands of the Lido!&amp;rdquo; The references are usually groaners &amp;mdash; and it doesn&amp;rsquo;t much matter since the results come out the same. Still, this time, Mr. Galliano&amp;rsquo;s mix of undersize jackets and oversize pants &amp;mdash; low in the crotch and at the waist and held up with suspenders &amp;mdash; made a sharp impression.
You sensed a little of this problem at the shows, and it was not a pretty sight. Stefano Pilati, the Saint Laurent designer, reverted to a drowsy Paul Bowles sexuality, with delicate young men in even more delicate-looking knits and high-waist shorts that rippled over skinny legs. If you saw a guy with a little fez tipped over his brow, what would you think? How fast can he set up my chair by the pool?
I wanted to like Riccardo Tisci&amp;rsquo;s laces for the Givenchy man. I really did. There was something interesting about the mock Victorian elegance he seemed to be working, without the reliance on literal references. And there&amp;rsquo;s a footballer&amp;rsquo;s bulk to his silhouette, which is at least a consistent point of view for him. And I certainly have no gripe with his skirts, which are actually shorts with a flap in front. Shorts that suggest skirts were a trend of the collections. Rather, my problem with Mr. Tisci&amp;rsquo;s clothes is that his process seems too heavy-handed, without enough perspective and finesse that might make the results just a little more real.
At Louis Vuitton, where singers Keziah Jones and The Black Eyed Peas hogged front row seats, designer Paul Helbers threw out designs inspired by New York City's bike messengers that were cut for functionality, with jackets short and trousers rolled up for protection.Sleeveless jackets, short jackets, waistcoats, low-slung pants and harem trousers were popular throughout the shows. Layering one's clothes, with shirts, tunics or T-shirts poking out at different lengths below jackets, was also a regular theme.Pants came in all lengths and shapes, as shorts, bermudas, above the ankle to show the shoe, rolled up, slim and baggy - but large and comfortable trousers seemed the flavour of the day.
France's whacky Jean Paul Gaultier put testosterone sailor-types in wide pants with gender-bending bustiers, Kenzo's explorers wore wide rumpled trousers for the Africa sun and even legendary British designer John Galliano sent his Napoleon Bonaparte-inspired models out in loose trousers.
In fact, years of skinny-silhouette domination seemed over this week when the style-setting house of Dior, always one of the most closely-watched shows, went for large rather than slim. Men's clothes, said Dior's 33-year-old star Belgian designer, Kris Van Assche, need to be &amp;quot;more comfortable, soft and modern for today's use.&amp;quot; Like others, Van Assche paraded wide fluid trousers worn with layers of tank tops and shirts and went for models with muscles and physique, rather than the sapling-thin often androgynous men favoured by his predecessor Hedi Slimane.
The look was fresh and slick, with lots of white especially&amp;nbsp;in the collections&amp;nbsp;of Raf Simons,Herm&amp;egrave;s, Ann Demeulemeester &amp;mdash; added to the fresher look. Mr. Wooster also liked the trend of sleeveless jackets and tops; it was a big theme at Lanvin, Dior, Rick Owens and Mr. Simons, who opened with a sleeveless scubalike jacket zipped over full white cotton trousers.
Kim Jones sent out a fine collection for Dunhill, emphasizing a slim, fluid fit and subtle shadings of gray. All in all, I thought V&amp;eacute;ronique Nichanian of Herm&amp;egrave;s seemed the most relaxed of anybody. She had those whites and creams, the season&amp;rsquo;s new-new double-breasted jacket and a nice slacker vibe. Whatever troubles men today, it was of no concern to her.
from IHT and The Daily Telegraph        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>SWISSOTEL to open luxury hotel in Kiev, Ukraine</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/swissotel-to-open-luxury-hotel-in-kiev--ukraine_828.html</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jun 2010 02:21:40 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/swissotel-to-open-luxury-hotel-in-kiev--ukraine_828.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			The future Swiss&amp;ocirc;tel Kiev will form part of the &amp;ldquo;Sky Towers&amp;rdquo;, a mixed use development comprised of twin towers of 34 and 47 storeys. Sky Towers is located in Peremogy Avenue, centrally positioned close to Kiev city centre and...		]]></description>
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			The future Swiss&amp;ocirc;tel Kiev will form part of the &amp;ldquo;Sky Towers&amp;rdquo;, a mixed use development comprised of twin towers of 34 and 47 storeys. Sky Towers is located in Peremogy Avenue, centrally positioned close to Kiev city centre and the main train station and is comprised of hotel facilities, serviced residences and grade A offices. The Swiss&amp;ocirc;tel Kiev is anticipated to welcome guests for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship and features 513 guestrooms and suites, 14 serviced residences, 4000 sqm&amp;nbsp;of conference space, as well as a 3000 sqm&amp;nbsp;SPA. 

&amp;ldquo;Following on from our successful Russian hotel in Moscow, Swiss&amp;ocirc;tel Krasnye Holmy, Swiss&amp;ocirc;tel Kyiv will be another significant step for us in our expansion into Eastern Europe,&amp;rdquo; according to Meinhard Huck, President of Swiss&amp;ocirc;tel Hotels &amp;amp; Resorts. &amp;ldquo;Kyiv is home to governmental ministries and authorities, but also to the mechanical engineering, aircraft industries, light and agricultural industries, as well as the state chemical industry. The Ukrainian metropolis is also one of the most important transport nodal points/centres of communication in Eastern Europe &amp;ndash; an environment in which superior quality international hotel chains are still in short supply.&amp;rdquo;
The hotel is developed by local real estate development holding KDD Group.
&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>DOLCE GABBANA opens in Moscow its largest store worldwide</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/dolce-gabbana-opens-in-moscow-its-largest-store-worldwide_827.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jun 2010 09:22:30 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/dolce-gabbana-opens-in-moscow-its-largest-store-worldwide_827.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			Situated in downtown Moscow,&amp;nbsp;the new DOLCE GABBANA store&amp;nbsp;covers a surface area of 1,085 square metres&amp;nbsp;on three floors. The distinct sections are separated by steel and mirrored frames and the d&amp;eacute;cor includes shiny and matt surfaces, while the range of...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Situated in downtown Moscow,&amp;nbsp;the new DOLCE GABBANA store&amp;nbsp;covers a surface area of 1,085 square metres&amp;nbsp;on three floors. The distinct sections are separated by steel and mirrored frames and the d&amp;eacute;cor includes shiny and matt surfaces, while the range of colours plays around with tones of beige and light grey. The Italian luxury brand already operates a store on the outskirts of Moscow in the very exclusive complex of Barvija Luxury Village. 

&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Jean Paul Galutier designs lingerie collection for LA PERLA</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/jean-paul-galutier-designs-lingerie-collection-for-la-perla_826.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jun 2010 03:40:41 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/jean-paul-galutier-designs-lingerie-collection-for-la-perla_826.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Designer Jean Paul Gaultier has designed a special collection for Italian luxury lingerie brand LA PERLA. The first pieces of the collection will be presented during Gaultier's haute couture show in Paris, on July 7th. Famous for designing lingerie...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Designer Jean Paul Gaultier has designed a special collection for Italian luxury lingerie brand LA PERLA. The first pieces of the collection will be presented during Gaultier's haute couture show in Paris, on July 7th. Famous for designing lingerie for Madonna, Gaultier has expressed his joy at being able to design such a collection. The new line will be available both in La Perla and Jean Paul Gaultier stores as well as select multibrand stores worldwide.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Mandarin Oriental executives see an improvement in luxury travel</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/mandarin-oriental-executives-see-an-improvement-in-luxury-travel_825.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jun 2010 03:11:36 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Analysis]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/mandarin-oriental-executives-see-an-improvement-in-luxury-travel_825.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			Luxury hotel chain Mandarin Oriental is planning on almost doubling its international presence in the next three years. The hotel investment and management group will grow from about 24 deluxe hotels and resorts currently, to about 42 in the...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Luxury hotel chain Mandarin Oriental is planning on almost doubling its international presence in the next three years. The hotel investment and management group will grow from about 24 deluxe hotels and resorts currently, to about 42 in the next 36 months,&amp;nbsp; Jill Kluge, group director of brand communications told Reuters at a media luncheon in New York.&amp;nbsp;
The group also confirmed its increased interest in the Chinese market, turning its attention on&amp;nbsp;a small but growing group of high-income Chinese travelers. &amp;quot;We are aware of how important China is going to become,&amp;quot; said Kluge, adding that hotels in Taipei, Milan, Moscow and Costa Rica are all under development.
This week, Mandarin Oriental announced it would manage a new luxury hotel in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The Doha location will help build the hotel chain's name recognition in the Middle East and there will be a &amp;quot;superior return&amp;quot; on the development, said Chief Marketing Officer Michael Hobson, in an interview. Hobson declined to be more specific on projections for financial returns.&amp;nbsp;
General managers of Mandarin Oriental locations in Barcelona, New York and Tokyo expressed a positive outlook on luxury business and leisure travel despite the fact that&amp;nbsp;travelers' enthusiasm is tempered by worries of another financial downturn. &amp;quot;People are traveling, but their durations are shorter,&amp;quot; said Christian Hassing, general manager at Mandarin Oriental Tokyo. &amp;quot;Travelers would allocate a week or 10 days. Now it's four to six days.&amp;quot;
And hotel customers are looking for deals, said New York Mandarin Oriental general manager Rudolf Tauscher. &amp;quot;It's all the old guests,&amp;quot; said Tauscher. &amp;quot;Just USD 200 less.&amp;quot;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>ARMANI teminates collaboration with ZEGNA</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/armani-teminates-collaboration-with-zegna_824.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jun 2010 05:36:50 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			The collaboration between Giorgio Armani SpA and Ermenegildo Zegna was&amp;nbsp;initiated in&amp;nbsp;2000&amp;nbsp;when a joint venture company called Trimil was established for the production and distribution of the ARMANI COLLEZIONI line. Mr Armani bought from Zegna their 49% stake, thus becoming...		]]></description>
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			The collaboration between Giorgio Armani SpA and Ermenegildo Zegna was&amp;nbsp;initiated in&amp;nbsp;2000&amp;nbsp;when a joint venture company called Trimil was established for the production and distribution of the ARMANI COLLEZIONI line. Mr Armani bought from Zegna their 49% stake, thus becoming sole shareholder of the company. The Armani Collezioni line will be produced through other third party&amp;nbsp;suppliers.&amp;nbsp;By taking full control of Trimil, the Armani Group also takes over the full distribution rights&amp;nbsp;for the Collezioni line in Italy, including San Marino and Vatican. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>VICTORIA's SECRET to open in London its first flagship in Europe</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/victoria-s-secret-to-open-in-london-its-first-flagship-in-europe_823.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jun 2010 09:40:12 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/victoria-s-secret-to-open-in-london-its-first-flagship-in-europe_823.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Leading American lingerie brand VICTORIA'S SECRET which is part of the Limited Brands Group has announced this week it will open in London its first flagship store in Europe. Covering a surface of 1.500 sqm, the store will be...		]]></description>
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			Leading American lingerie brand VICTORIA'S SECRET which is part of the Limited Brands Group has announced this week it will open in London its first flagship store in Europe. Covering a surface of 1.500 sqm, the store will be located on prestigious New&amp;nbsp;Bond Street. The opening is set for 2012 and further details&amp;nbsp;will be made public in&amp;nbsp;August this year.&amp;nbsp;The brand is currently available to European consumers only through internet sales.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>GUCCI GROUP files lawsuit againts Elisabetta Gucci over her planned hotel chain </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/gucci-group-files-lawsuit-againts-elisabetta-gucci-over-her-planned-hotel-chain_822.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sun, 27 Jun 2010 08:45:00 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

        <guid isPermaLink="false">
        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/gucci-group-files-lawsuit-againts-elisabetta-gucci-over-her-planned-hotel-chain_822.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			GUCCI Group has filed this week a law suit agains Ms Elisabetta Gucci and her partners who plan the development of EG Elisabetta Gucci Hotels. Like all the other heirs and members of the Gucci family, Ms Elisabetta Gucci...		]]></description>
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			GUCCI Group has filed this week a law suit agains Ms Elisabetta Gucci and her partners who plan the development of EG Elisabetta Gucci Hotels. Like all the other heirs and members of the Gucci family, Ms Elisabetta Gucci is forbidden to commercially use the Gucci name, which is entirely owned by Gucci Group. The first Elisabetta Gucci hotel, with 87 suites, is set to be open in Dubai, the designed&amp;nbsp;showcasing Italian brand Formitalia. &amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>FURLA shows positive results and expands men's line </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/furla-shows-positive-results-and-expands-men-s-line_821.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sun, 27 Jun 2010 08:18:49 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

        <guid isPermaLink="false">
        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/furla-shows-positive-results-and-expands-men-s-line_821.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			With a turnover of EUR 150 million in 2009 and a growth&amp;nbsp;of 7% in the first five months of&amp;nbsp;2010, premium Italian leather goods brand FURLA is among the Italian brands to have successfully weathered the&amp;nbsp;current international crisis.&amp;nbsp;The success of...		]]></description>
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			With a turnover of EUR 150 million in 2009 and a growth&amp;nbsp;of 7% in the first five months of&amp;nbsp;2010, premium Italian leather goods brand FURLA is among the Italian brands to have successfully weathered the&amp;nbsp;current international crisis.&amp;nbsp;The success of the company is also due to the good ratio of quality versus price, offering a price competitive range of bags.
The&amp;nbsp;company recently announced its plans&amp;nbsp;to increase the range of&amp;nbsp;its men's&amp;nbsp;products which currently accounts for&amp;nbsp;10% of&amp;nbsp;its overall business, estimating it would reach 20 to 25% in the next&amp;nbsp;five years. The&amp;nbsp;expansion&amp;nbsp;plans&amp;nbsp;of the brand include Brazil and&amp;nbsp;China, while in Italy, its flagship store in Rome's Via Condotti will be enlarged&amp;nbsp;to twice its current surface. &amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>SOFITEL to open in Damascus, Syria</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/sofitel-to-open-in-damascus--syria_820.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sun, 27 Jun 2010 08:05:31 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/sofitel-to-open-in-damascus--syria_820.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			French hotel group Accor has signed an agreement to&amp;nbsp;operate a five star hotel under the SOFITEL brand&amp;nbsp;in Damascus, the capital city of Syria.&amp;nbsp;The hotel is part of a larger mixed use tower building (offices, residential) which is set to...		]]></description>
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			French hotel group Accor has signed an agreement to&amp;nbsp;operate a five star hotel under the SOFITEL brand&amp;nbsp;in Damascus, the capital city of Syria.&amp;nbsp;The hotel is part of a larger mixed use tower building (offices, residential) which is set to be completed, in stages, by 2015. The hotel is developped through a strategic partnership between the Syrian Tourism Ministry and the largest Syrian private holding.
This is part of a series of new projects which the Accor Group pursues in the Middle East, Syria and Saudi Arabia being among the countries with the greatest potential, according to the company's development director. Sofitel operates&amp;nbsp;4 locations in the Middle East: one in Beirut (Lebanon), one in Dubai (U.A.E.) and three in Saudi Arabia.
Currently, there are two five star hotels in the capital city of Damascus, Syria - the Four Seasons and the Sheraton. Three &amp;nbsp;new five star hotels are currently under construction in Damascus: Moevenpick, InterContinental and Rotana (Yasmeen).        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>GUCCI launches strategically kids collection emphasizing its Italian origins </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/gucci-launches-strategically-kids-collection-emphasizing-its-italian-origins_819.html</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jun 2010 10:01:19 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/gucci-launches-strategically-kids-collection-emphasizing-its-italian-origins_819.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Italian luxury brand Gucci has offcially launched its kids collection this week, the event being marked with a major donation of USD 1 million to UNICEF. The success of the collection is assured not only by the notoriety of...		]]></description>
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			Italian luxury brand Gucci has offcially launched its kids collection this week, the event being marked with a major donation of USD 1 million to UNICEF. The success of the collection is assured not only by the notoriety of the Gucci brand but also by the fact that creative director Frida Giannini has confirmed the entire collection is made in Italy. The ''origins'' feature has proven to be a winning factor for all luxury brands which have been producing in their countries of origin. The first season of the Gucci kids collection will be Spring Summer 2011.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>FOUR SEASONS Prague presents restyled rooms</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/four-seasons-prague-presents-restyled-rooms_818.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Jun 2010 07:06:21 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/four-seasons-prague-presents-restyled-rooms_818.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			One of the highest rated Four Seasons hotel in Europe, the Four Seasons in Prague presented this week a set of rooms which have gone extensive restyling.&amp;nbsp;The newly restyled rooms maintain the same warmth and cosyness as the entire...		]]></description>
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			One of the highest rated Four Seasons hotel in Europe, the Four Seasons in Prague presented this week a set of rooms which have gone extensive restyling.&amp;nbsp;The newly restyled rooms maintain the same warmth and cosyness as the entire hotel. With this occassion, Four Seasons&amp;nbsp;Prague also launched a special summer promotion&amp;nbsp;offering&amp;nbsp;a EUR 75 credit&amp;nbsp;for stays till September 6th 2010.
Prague is the Central and Eastern European capital cities with the highest number of deluxe hotels,&amp;nbsp;the top players being Mandarin Oriental, Rocco Forte, Kempinski and Four Seasons.&amp;nbsp;It seems competition is constantly&amp;nbsp;driving each hotel to improve constantly, reason for the latest renovation of the Four Seasons property. &amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>HUGO BOSS to step up international expansion </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/hugo-boss-to-step-up-international-expansion_817.html</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:43:54 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/hugo-boss-to-step-up-international-expansion_817.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			HUGO BOSS CEO Claus-Dietrich Lahrs annouced this week plans to open 60 new stores every year in an effort to increase turnover.&amp;nbsp;Over a third of these new openings will be&amp;nbsp;in China. The company is also implementing a more&amp;nbsp;agressive&amp;nbsp;strategy for...		]]></description>
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			HUGO BOSS CEO Claus-Dietrich Lahrs annouced this week plans to open 60 new stores every year in an effort to increase turnover.&amp;nbsp;Over a third of these new openings will be&amp;nbsp;in China. The company is also implementing a more&amp;nbsp;agressive&amp;nbsp;strategy for its e-commerce, targetting&amp;nbsp;EUR 100 million in sales&amp;nbsp;till 2015.&amp;nbsp;
The annoucement comes as a surprise, especially considering HUGO BOSS has been among the brands which had&amp;nbsp;closed several stores in China this year&amp;nbsp;due to&amp;nbsp;poor sales.&amp;nbsp;Such aggressive expansion plan usually come with shortcomings such as&amp;nbsp;developping oversized stores, which&amp;nbsp;do not reflect the potential of the respective market or partnering with inexperienced franchisee partners.&amp;nbsp;Less performing&amp;nbsp;Hugo Boss operations in Central and Eastern Europe with Croatia (an oversized store)&amp;nbsp;while in&amp;nbsp;Ukraine and&amp;nbsp;Romania inexperienced local franchisees were to be blamed for the closure of Hugo Boss stores.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>EMPORIO ARMANI Cafe closes in Budapest, the store likely to follow suit</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/emporio-armani-cafe-closes-in-budapest--the-store-likely-to-follow-suit_816.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Jun 2010 05:56:53 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/emporio-armani-cafe-closes-in-budapest--the-store-likely-to-follow-suit_816.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			The EMPORIO ARMANI Cafe, part of the EMPORIO ARMANI store in Budapest closed earlier this week after less than one year in operation. As in most international locations, the EMPORIO ARMANI Cafe in Budapest has failed to present an...		]]></description>
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			The EMPORIO ARMANI Cafe, part of the EMPORIO ARMANI store in Budapest closed earlier this week after less than one year in operation. As in most international locations, the EMPORIO ARMANI Cafe in Budapest has failed to present an attractive and coherent restauration concept. The failure&amp;nbsp;of the concept&amp;nbsp;can also to be blamed on the decreasing awareness and reputation of the EMPORIO ARMANI brand, especially due to the fact most of the collections are made in Asia and the pricing level is quite high&amp;nbsp;in the quality/price ratio. &amp;nbsp;
Other EMPORIO ARMANI&amp;nbsp;stores which closed after less than a year of operation&amp;nbsp;were those in Sofia (Bulgaria) and Sao Paolo (Brazil). Recently, international luxury business media has been reporting that EMPORIO ARMANI is one of the worst performing luxury fashion brands in China, store closures being imminent.
EMPORIO ARMANI is the second line of the holding company GIORGIO ARMANI SpA. Most of its international locations are run through franchise agreements.Upcoming Emporio Armani store openings are Bucharest, Romania (September 2010) and Belgrade, Serbia (October 2010).
&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Suprising change in luxury consumer preferences - the smaller the logo, the more expensive</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/suprising-change-in-luxury-consumer-preferences---the-smaller-the-logo--the-more-expensive_815.html</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Jun 2010 05:16:47 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/suprising-change-in-luxury-consumer-preferences---the-smaller-the-logo--the-more-expensive_815.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			A study by University of Chicago presented this week in Paris by branding expert Jean-Lois Kapferer reveals an important change in luxury retailing. The researchers analyzed sales of 236 bags sold on the Louis Vuitton web site and 229...		]]></description>
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			A study by University of Chicago presented this week in Paris by branding expert Jean-Lois Kapferer reveals an important change in luxury retailing. The researchers analyzed sales of 236 bags sold on the Louis Vuitton web site and 229 bags sold on the Gucci web site. The results of the analysis highlighted that the bigger the logo displayed on the product, the cheaper it is and vice versa. The study has also identified that same trend in cars, namely Mercedes Benz, which displays a logo of 13 cm on the cheaper A class models while the more expensive cabriolet models of the E class display a logo of 5,5 cm. It remains to be seen whether these findings represent a long term change in consumer behaviour or a temporary attitude dictated by the crisis.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>GIVENCHY's haute couture line no longer on the catwalk  </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/givenchy-s-haute-couture-line-no-longer-on-the-catwalk_814.html</link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Jun 2010 09:23:27 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/givenchy-s-haute-couture-line-no-longer-on-the-catwalk_814.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			The current financial crisis has determined French luxury fashion house GIVENCHY to give up presenting its haute couture collections on the catwalks. Givenchy's designer Riccardo Tisci has annouced the haute couture collection will also be smaller, with only 10...		]]></description>
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			The current financial crisis has determined French luxury fashion house GIVENCHY to give up presenting its haute couture collections on the catwalks. Givenchy's designer Riccardo Tisci has annouced the haute couture collection will also be smaller, with only 10 looks. The presentation of the haute couture collection will be private and strictly limited to the clients of the couture line. Tisci also motivated this decision with the fact that many of the couture clients do not attend the large couture catwalk shows which attract a lot of publicity due to the privacy they want to maintain.
However, what hasn't been mentioned is the essential role the haute couture collections have on the awareness of the brand, especially for the mass produced products such as fragrances and cosmetics. In the case of GIVENCHY, the fashion house has a turnover at least ten times smaller than that of its fragrance and cosmetics division.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Syria's retail sector grows amid increasing demand and its luxury market makes significant advances</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/syria-s-retail-sector-grows-amid-increasing-demand-and-its-luxury-market-makes-significant-advances_813.html</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jun 2010 10:35:47 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Opportunities]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/syria-s-retail-sector-grows-amid-increasing-demand-and-its-luxury-market-makes-significant-advances_813.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			General RETAIL
A burgeoning&amp;nbsp;middle class, strong economic growth and the positive effects of market liberalisation are combining to create a retail renaissance in urban Syria, prompting a flood of foreign brands and overseas investment to the country.&amp;nbsp;The latest predictions from...		]]></description>
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			General RETAIL
A burgeoning&amp;nbsp;middle class, strong economic growth and the positive effects of market liberalisation are combining to create a retail renaissance in urban Syria, prompting a flood of foreign brands and overseas investment to the country.&amp;nbsp;The latest predictions from the Central Bank forecast growth for Syria's economy at a robust 5% this year, up from 4% in 2009. According to Syria's Central Bank governor, the majority of this growth will be generated from finance, services and tourism - all white-collar sectors benefitting from the government's ongoing liberalisation policy. Inflation is also set to fall to 3%, down from 4% in 2009, which will help further encourage middle class consumption.&amp;nbsp;

Even electronic retail is beginning to take off - the country's first online grocery store registered 2000 clients in its first three months, according to Syria Report, a local economic periodical. 

To accommodate this increased demand, investors from the Gulf in particular are looking to establish new, air-conditioned retail spaces in and around the Syrian capital. The Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim Properties (MAF) announced at the start of May that it would be investing $3.5bn across the Middle East on four new shopping malls. Of the four announced, the largest gross leasable area was reserved to the proposed Mall of Syria, to be located on the outskirts of Damascus. The Mall of Syria is expected to have a of 200,000 sq metres and is due to open in 2014. 

The potential for continuing expansion in the retail segment is sizeable but franchises and mall developers will have to work hard to recapture the local market, particularly since visa-free travel was recently permitted between Turkey and Syria at the start of the year, which has allowed increasing numbers of Syrians from the Aleppo region to take advantage of the various brands available in Turkish cities like Gaziantep, just a short distance from the Syrian border. According to the Financial Times, Syrians now make up 5% of 850,000 monthly customers in Gaziantep's Sanko Park shopping centre - a sure indication of the massively suppressed demand for franchise retail in the country.&amp;nbsp;
Inditex&amp;nbsp;Group signed a franchise agreement with a local&amp;nbsp;Syrian&amp;nbsp;company, which plans to open two&amp;nbsp;Zara&amp;nbsp;stores and&amp;nbsp;two Massimo Dutti by the end of this year.&amp;nbsp;The&amp;nbsp;main cities&amp;nbsp;targetted are&amp;nbsp;the capital of Damascus and Aleppo, the second largest city&amp;nbsp;in Syria.&amp;nbsp;Spanish rival Mango is already present since 2009 with two franchised locations in Damascus. &amp;nbsp;
LUXURY Market
Syria's luxury retail market is also set to grow considerably within the next two years, several top international brands being already present in multibrand (wholesale distribution) with some exploring the possibility of expanding in monobrand franchising. Bruno Magli and Fratelli Rosetti are among the latest luxury brands with a formal presence in the capital city of Damascus. Lebanese luxury retailer Aishti which already operates over&amp;nbsp;1.000 sqm of a luxury multibrand spaces within the shopping gallery adjacent to the Four Seasons Hotel is set to open a second location within the Old City, area which also benefits from the presence of THE KHAN (formerly Villa Moda Syria), a large luxury lifestyle destination which includes fashion and accessories collections of Dior, D&amp;amp;G, Ferragamo, Ralph Lauren, Gucci etc. The owners of THE KHAN have also announced they will be expanding the building with a dedicated luxury menswear store and a luxury boutique hotel by mid 2011. All these developments in luxury retail provide wealthy Syrians with an alternative to the traditional destination of Beirut. 
The luxury cars sector has also seen a significant increase this year, with PORSCHE opening at the end of May a showroom with service facilities in the capital city of Damascus. Other major luxury car brands with representation in Syria are BMW, Mercedes Benz and Audi, with BMW topping the list of the highest number of new cars sold in 2009. 
Hospitality is another sector which has seen the addition of three new five star boutique hotels, all of them opened this year in the Old City quarter of the capital Damascus. Most of these new developments are extensively renovated heritage buildings, which help establish Damascus as one of the most authentic Middle Eastern tourism destinations.&amp;nbsp;Syria's leading luxury hotel, The Four Seasons Damascus has also seen an increase in the number of locals frequenting its food and bar outlets, which provide the ideal venue for the social life of the rich and famous. Even exotic fare like sushi has been making a splash among the moneyed elite in the capital, with chains such as Lebanon's Sake opening branches in Damascus.&amp;nbsp;Other important new openings of premium food &amp;amp; beverage outlets in the capital of Damascus include two French restaurants are the franchise of the UAE based Shakespeare &amp;amp; Co. The growth of the hospitality sector is&amp;nbsp;not only driven&amp;nbsp;by the increased spending&amp;nbsp;power of the locals but also&amp;nbsp;by the 71% increase in foreign travellers visiting Syria in the first quarter of 2010, compared with the same period last year, as reported by the Syrian Ministry of Tourism. 

CPP has been covering Syria since 2008, issuing an yearly luxury market report which analyzes each luxury segment and highlights the luxury consumer profile.         ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Serbia's luxury market drops 15% in the first quarter of 2010 </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/serbia-s-luxury-market-drops-15--in-the-first-quarter-of-2010_812.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sun, 20 Jun 2010 09:44:33 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/serbia-s-luxury-market-drops-15--in-the-first-quarter-of-2010_812.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Despite the international financial crisis, Serbia remains one of the least affected luxury markets in Central and Eastern European region, registering an average overall drop of&amp;nbsp;15% in&amp;nbsp;the first quarter&amp;nbsp;of 2010 compared to the same period last year and in...		]]></description>
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			Despite the international financial crisis, Serbia remains one of the least affected luxury markets in Central and Eastern European region, registering an average overall drop of&amp;nbsp;15% in&amp;nbsp;the first quarter&amp;nbsp;of 2010 compared to the same period last year and in contrast with an average loss of 25% in Romania and 30% in Bulgaria. The most affected luxury market segments in Serbia&amp;nbsp;are:&amp;nbsp;fashion,&amp;nbsp;leather accessories and jewellery. Given the current conditions, it is very unlikely for the market to recover any time before the Christmas season.
Hospitality, SPA and watches&amp;nbsp;segments have&amp;nbsp;registered stagnant results. Unlike other countries in the region Serbia has not had any closures of important luxury outlets. The most important newcomer to the market has been Burberry which opened a franchised 350sqm&amp;nbsp;store.&amp;nbsp;
Last month, a contemporary fashion&amp;nbsp;multibrand&amp;nbsp;opened downtown Belgrade,&amp;nbsp;with a brand mix which includes: Gerard Darel,&amp;nbsp;Et Vous,Chie Mihara,Ambre Babzoe,Miss Sugar Cane&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Also last month, Belgrade saw the opening of HYDE, an ultra&amp;nbsp;stylish&amp;nbsp;champagne lounge&amp;nbsp;which has already been the venue for several fashion themed parties. By the end of this year,&amp;nbsp;Emporio Armani and D&amp;amp;G are set&amp;nbsp;to open monobrand stores, both with franchise operations.&amp;nbsp;
CPP        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>DOLCE GABBANA steal the limelight at Milan fashion week</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/dolce-gabbana-steal-the-limelight-at-milan-fashion-week_811.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sun, 20 Jun 2010 08:23:16 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			This edition of Milan fashion week has a special significance for Italian fashion power duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana who celebrate 2 decades of men's wear. Apart from the regular catwalk show presented during this weekend, the company...		]]></description>
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			This edition of Milan fashion week has a special significance for Italian fashion power duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana who celebrate 2 decades of men's wear. Apart from the regular catwalk show presented during this weekend, the company inaugurates a special exhibition in Milan's Palazzo Marino to mark the special occasion. The exhibit is a multimedia presentation&amp;nbsp;which reflects not only&amp;nbsp;Dolce Gabbana's 20 years of menswear design but also illustrates the vision of the designers for the future.
In a&amp;nbsp;rare interview to Italian daily Corriere de la Sera, the two designers have accepted to speak about how their split up as a couple in private life&amp;nbsp;has impacted the evolution of their company. While admitting to the hardship and suffering of their split in private life after more than 15 years, the duo attribute the continued success of their business to the way they have always regarded their company as their baby. ''While other work to succeed in life to provide a future for their families and children, we raised our company as our baby''. Today, the designers seem to have come to terms with their split in private life, although Stefano Gabbana says he is still single while Domenico Dolce is in a ''comfortable relationship'' as he himself says. In the interview they also speak about the huge influence David Beckham has had on their creative strategy, which has always been about making men love fashion and pay attention to the way they dress.
In their relatively short history, the Dolce Gabbana brand has always been about the endorsement of top celebrities. The inauguration of the 20 year restrospective was no short of celebrities, the event having been attended by Monica Bellucci, Juliette Binoche, Morgan Freeman etc.
However, depite the celebratory mood, the event comes amid continued tough times for the Dolce Gabbana company which has not weathered too well the current financial crisis with constantly falling results from the debut of the crisis. Hopefully, the relatively low impact of the&amp;nbsp;latest campaign of the brand featuring their long time friend Madonna, after just months of her Louis Vuitton campaign,&amp;nbsp;will provide the much needed wake up call for a change in the creative direction of the brand to be less celebrity driven and more anchored into quality and craftsmanship, two of the key features of those luxury brands which have been least affected by the crisis.
Oliver Petcu        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Why an increasing number of luxury brands fail in China?</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/why-an-increasing-number-of-luxury-brands-fail-in-china_810.html</link>
		<pubDate>Sun, 20 Jun 2010 08:04:04 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Analysis]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/why-an-increasing-number-of-luxury-brands-fail-in-china_810.html
        </guid>

		<description><![CDATA[
			The notoriety of a luxury brand does no longer suffice for the evolving consumer base in major emerging markets such as China. As they travel internationally, more and more Abroad, Chinese consumers&amp;nbsp;have become familiar with&amp;nbsp;Western&amp;nbsp;standard of customer service which...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			The notoriety of a luxury brand does no longer suffice for the evolving consumer base in major emerging markets such as China. As they travel internationally, more and more Abroad, Chinese consumers&amp;nbsp;have become familiar with&amp;nbsp;Western&amp;nbsp;standard of customer service which they do not always find in the local stores of the same brands. That is why, it is essential that luxury brands train their local staff by taking them to their native countries where they can experience the highest level of customer service in their flagship stores. This way, Chinese staff can also learn about the heritage of the brand as well as the manufacturing process and the specifics of the finishes.
Another important factor some luxury brands have been overlooking&amp;nbsp;in&amp;nbsp;China is the origin of the products. While in&amp;nbsp;Western markets, luxury goods consumers have become all too familiar with products&amp;nbsp;made in Asia,&amp;nbsp;for Chinese luxury consumers&amp;nbsp;a luxury branded product which is made in their home country is&amp;nbsp;becoming a drawback, some even perceiving the products as being counterfeited.&amp;nbsp;Luxury brands present in China, which have been ''affected'' by the Asian origin of their products are: MIU MIU, HUGO BOSS or EMPORIO ARMANI. Recently, it has come as a surprise that a major brand such as Hugo Boss had to close three shops in China and more closures are envisages for the near future. The Asian origin of their products is also to blame for the slow expansion of American leather accessories brand COACH. This also explains the explosive expansion in China of brands such as Salvatore Ferragamo&amp;nbsp;and Louis Vuitton which manufacture their products exclusively in their countries of origin.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;
Mention should also be made about the need for the international luxury brands to adapt to the fast changing profile of the Chinese consumers by refreshing the selection of products more often&amp;nbsp;that they do in mature markets such as Western Europe or USA.&amp;nbsp;One&amp;nbsp;of the winning formulas&amp;nbsp;in China seems to have been first implemented by Ermenegildo Zegna which supplies its store with new products three times as much&amp;nbsp;as&amp;nbsp;the regular seasons.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;
Oliver Petcu        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>GRAND HOTEL REX organizes WHITE WEEKEND a spectacular series of events </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/grand-hotel-rex-organizes-white-weekend-a-spectacular-series-of-events_809.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Jun 2010 08:04:05 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/grand-hotel-rex-organizes-white-weekend-a-spectacular-series-of-events_809.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Hosted by GRAND HOTEL REX, the WHITE WEEKEND is an innovative concept of a series of classy events, taking place over three days 22-25 July 2010 in Mamaia. &amp;nbsp; The event includes a spectacular fashion show by Fedor VOZIANOV,...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Hosted by GRAND HOTEL REX, the WHITE WEEKEND is an innovative concept of a series of classy events, taking place over three days 22-25 July 2010 in Mamaia. &amp;nbsp; The event includes a spectacular fashion show by Fedor VOZIANOV, the most acclaimed fashion designer in Eastern Europe, having been featured in several VOGUE editions including VOGUE Italia. On the second evening PAULA SELING will perform an exceptional live Jazz concert on the piano. A lavish seafood dinner is presented on the third evening, with various Mediterranean cuisines fusion.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>MARIELLA BURANI and MARELLA monobrands close in Bucharest (Romania)</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/mariella-burani-and-marella-monobrands-close-in-bucharest--romania_808.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:43:05 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/mariella-burani-and-marella-monobrands-close-in-bucharest--romania_808.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Less than two years from opening, the two monobrand boutiques of Mariella Burani and Marella in Bucharest, have closed this week. Located on leading highstreet Calea Victoriei, the two boutiques were operated under franchise by local luxury retailer ALSA...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Less than two years from opening, the two monobrand boutiques of Mariella Burani and Marella in Bucharest, have closed this week. Located on leading highstreet Calea Victoriei, the two boutiques were operated under franchise by local luxury retailer ALSA Group.
The Managing Director of the group motivates the two closures with the financial crisis as well as with the group's decision to concentrate on its profitable brands Ermenegildo Zegna, Max Mara, both operated in franchising. The company will develop by mid next year, a larger store location for Max Mara, implementing the latest concept of the store. Alsa Group will open the first Emporio Armani store in Romania,&amp;nbsp;operating it on a franchise&amp;nbsp;agreement with the Armani&amp;nbsp;Group. &amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>The Romanian luxury market has dropped by 25% in the first trimester of the year</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/the-romanian-luxury-market-has-dropped-by-25--in-the-first-trimester-of-the-year_807.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Jun 2010 09:13:06 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[Analysis]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			CPP Luxury Industry Management Consultants Ltd reports a drop of 25% in the Romanian luxury market in the first trimester of 2010, with the most affected sectors being: auto, boats, jewellery, fashion and travel. The segments that have registered...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			CPP Luxury Industry Management Consultants Ltd reports a drop of 25% in the Romanian luxury market in the first trimester of 2010, with the most affected sectors being: auto, boats, jewellery, fashion and travel. The segments that have registered lower drops are: hospitality, accessories, perfumes, watches, SPA and gourmet/organic. The drops are due to a number of factors:
&amp;nbsp;
- the decrease of buying power, especially due to the restrictive access to bank loans and leasin
- the prices in Romania are still higher than in other worldwide shopping destinations, plus many&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; brands are willing to offer considerably higher discounts in their flagship stores (jewellery, watches, car
- the decrease in the cost of accommodation and air travel for the main shopping destinations (i.e. many hotels in Milan or Paris offer rates 30% lower than the same period last year
- the highly mediatised possibility of over-taxation of the people with high income
- the investment factor &amp;ndash; many consumers buy products whose value will grow in time, choosing less seasonal products, as well as those made of quality materials (exotic leathers, etc)
&amp;nbsp;
We are also witnessing important changes in the behaviour and preferences of the luxury consumers:
&amp;nbsp;
- more and more people adopt the &amp;lsquo;mix and match&amp;rsquo; trend, renouncing the &amp;lsquo;total&amp;rsquo; look of an attire comprised only of luxury brands
- adopting an &amp;lsquo;anti-luxury&amp;rsquo; attitude; this is a phenomenon we see all over the world, with more and more consumers finding it acceptable to wear fake productsbrands that were considered premium before the crisis are now considered &amp;lsquo;luxury&amp;rsquo; (Tommy Hilfiger, Guess, Lacoste); previously the consumers of these brands would buy D&amp;amp;G, DSquared, Just Cavalli, etc
- less travelling, especially weekend break and compromising in the form of choosing a lower ranked hotel (4 instead of 5 stars), preferring to allocate the budget for shopping and entertainment (meals, clubbing, etc)
&amp;nbsp;
With regards to the fashion segment, the most affected is the women&amp;rsquo;s, where also there is a lower number of monobrand stores. The men&amp;rsquo;s fashion and accessories record lower drops due to their target: bankers, businessmen, lawyers, notaries, for whom these products are foremost a necessity. 
As for the luxury jewellery segment, the presence of the vast majority of brands in a multibrand system, implicitly with a more restricted selection and higher prices than abroad, has led to important drops in this segment.
&amp;nbsp;
The statement of one Romanian bank representative according to which there are 150,000 people with incomes of over 100,000 Euros is totally wrong. Not even the regional markets that have a higher number of incomes, such as Serbia, Poland or Ukraine don&amp;rsquo;t have more than 50,000 such people. According to CPP&amp;rsquo;s estimations, there are 35,000 people in Romania with an annual income of at least 100,000 Euros. 
&amp;nbsp;
CPP considers that the numerous statements made by the authorities on the over-taxation of some categories of luxury products will not bring about the expected effect, namely the collection of more taxes, on the contrary. More than 30% of rich Romanians already do their shopping abroad, and such measures will only make this percentage increase.         ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>EMPORIO ARMANI and HUGO BOSS among the worst perfoming luxury brands in China</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/emporio-armani-and-hugo-boss-among-the-worst-perfoming-luxury-brands-in-china_806.html</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:09:06 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			While most international luxury brands are thriving in China, opening new locations almost on a monthly basis, some brands&amp;nbsp;are underperforming. One such brand is&amp;nbsp;German HUGO BOSS which has closed three stores in China over the past&amp;nbsp;three months, mostly due...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			While most international luxury brands are thriving in China, opening new locations almost on a monthly basis, some brands&amp;nbsp;are underperforming. One such brand is&amp;nbsp;German HUGO BOSS which has closed three stores in China over the past&amp;nbsp;three months, mostly due to poor sales.&amp;nbsp;EMPORIO ARMANI, the second line of GIORGIO ARMANI SpA is also&amp;nbsp;reported&amp;nbsp;to register disappointing sales in its stores in China, most blaming the fact that&amp;nbsp;the majority of the products are made in Asia, including China and Chinese consumers often associate ''made in China'' with counterfeit products. It remains&amp;nbsp;to be seen how EMPORIO ARMANI will be adapting to the Chinese market to lure the&amp;nbsp;growing wealthy youngsters.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Tamara Mellon, the genius behind JIMMY CHOO </title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/tamara-mellon--the-genius-behind-jimmy-choo_805.html</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Jun 2010 01:20:07 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>

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        	http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/tamara-mellon--the-genius-behind-jimmy-choo_805.html
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		<description><![CDATA[
			Tamara Mellon, founder and chief creative officer of Jimmy Choo, has recently been honored&amp;nbsp;by Queen Elisabeth II&amp;nbsp;being named Officer of the British Empire, in recognition of her contributions to the fashion industry. She is one of the few&amp;nbsp;select invitees...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Tamara Mellon, founder and chief creative officer of Jimmy Choo, has recently been honored&amp;nbsp;by Queen Elisabeth II&amp;nbsp;being named Officer of the British Empire, in recognition of her contributions to the fashion industry. She is one of the few&amp;nbsp;select invitees to the British Queen&amp;rsquo;s birthday. In a statement, Mellon expressed her delight at the accolade: &amp;ldquo;I am so thrilled to be receiving this great honour and to be recognized in this way. I am grateful to everyone at Jimmy Choo &amp;mdash; and our customers around the globe &amp;mdash; for helping make our success possible. While our brand has global reach, the roots and heritage of Jimmy Choo are uniquely British, so I am especially pleased and proud of this honour.&amp;rdquo;
Ms Mellon began her career at Phyllis Walters Public Relations&amp;nbsp;and in 1990 she&amp;nbsp;was hired by British Vogue as accessories editor. Recognizing the potential for development of high-end designer accessories, Mellon approached bespoke shoe-maker Mr Jimmy Choo with the idea of launching a ready-to-wear shoe company. As co-founder of the Jimmy Choo Company, Tamara secured funding from her father, for the creation of her business, and contracted with&amp;nbsp;manufacturers&amp;nbsp;in Northen Italy. By 2001, Jimmy Choo had over 100 wholesale clients including Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman, and the collections accounted for over 50% of the production of several of these factories. From the early days of her business, Ms Mellon has demonstrated an incredible sense of understanding the needs of modern women and how to&amp;nbsp;market products into&amp;nbsp;becoming&amp;nbsp;instant trends.
Disagreements over creative direction and business strategy led to a split between Ms Mellon and Mr Choo. Mid 2001, Ms Mellon named Sandra Choi&amp;nbsp;as creative director and Mr Choo's wife's niece to be on her side which later led to Mr Choo selling his 50% stake in the company for a low &amp;pound;10 million in 2001. Sandra Choi's switch in loyalty had often been interpreted as a betrayal of her uncle's trust.
The design collaboration between Tamara and creative director, Sandra Choi led to an immediate demand from other top stores. The Motcombe Street store was followed by stores in New York, Las Vegas and Beverly Hills. In April 2001, the expansion of Jimmy Choo took a step forward with the announcement of a new partnership with Equinox Luxury Holdings Ltd. Acquiring Mr Choo&amp;rsquo;s share of the ready to wear business; Equinox&amp;rsquo;s Chief Executive Robert Bensoussan became CEO of Jimmy Choo. This transaction enabled Jimmy Choo to achieve outstanding results, with the introduction of handbag and small leather goods collections.
In November 2004, with the company valued at &amp;pound;101 million, Hicks Muse announced the majority acquisition of Jimmy Choo &amp;mdash; yet another significant move for the future development of the company. In 2007, Ms Mellon&amp;nbsp;was included&amp;nbsp;on the Sunday Times Rich List where she&amp;nbsp;was ranked as the 751st richest person in the U.K with an estimated wealth of &amp;pound;99 million. She is also ranked as the 64th richest woman in Britain.
One of the major breakthroughs was the Sex and The City tv series which had a definite contribution in establishing Jimmy Choo as a most desirable iconic shoe brands. Many top international celebrities have been wearing Jimmy Choo shoes on the red carpets of major events such as the Oscars.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Samsung Group in pole position to buy Gianfranco Ferre</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/samsung-group-in-pole-position-to-buy-gianfranco-ferre_804.html</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:17:01 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			The auction for the bankrupt Italian luxury brand GIANFRANCO FERRE starts today, with calls for formal bids. The deadline for submitting offers is July 6th with a sale transaction expected to take place before the beginning of August 2010....		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			The auction for the bankrupt Italian luxury brand GIANFRANCO FERRE starts today, with calls for formal bids. The deadline for submitting offers is July 6th with a sale transaction expected to take place before the beginning of August 2010. South Korean SAMSUNG Group is reported to be the favourite bidder, followed by Italian private equity firm Palladio Finanziaria.&amp;nbsp;Sources close to the&amp;nbsp;administrators of the Ittierre Group, parent company of Gianfranco Ferre&amp;nbsp;estimate the value of the Ferre company&amp;nbsp;at EUR 300 million.        ]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>DAMIANI reports further losses</title>
		<link>http://www.cpp-luxury.com/en/damiani-reports-further-losses_803.html</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:21:11 +0300</pubDate>
        <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
			Italian luxury jewellery brand DAMIANI&amp;nbsp;reported&amp;nbsp;earlier this week&amp;nbsp;negative results, its&amp;nbsp;net loss having widened in the year ending March 31, 2010 to 18.2 million euros from a loss of 4.7 million euros a year ago. Damiani's sales fell 2.7 percent at...		]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
			Italian luxury jewellery brand DAMIANI&amp;nbsp;reported&amp;nbsp;earlier this week&amp;nbsp;negative results, its&amp;nbsp;net loss having widened in the year ending March 31, 2010 to 18.2 million euros from a loss of 4.7 million euros a year ago. Damiani's sales fell 2.7 percent at current exchange rates to 145.8 million euros. The decrease comes mostly from the wholesale which is the main distribution channel of the brand internationally.        ]]></content:encoded>
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