Loewe Spring/Summer 2012 | Source: Her World Plus

LVMH Profit Meets Estimates, Sees 2012 Growth (Bloomberg)
“LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (MC), the world’s largest maker of luxury goods, reported full-year profit that met analysts’ estimates and said it’s “well- equipped” to maintain growth in 2012. Net income rose 1 percent to 3.07 billion euros ($4 billion) in 2011, the Paris-based maker of Zenith watches said today.”

In cities, clothes maketh the man (China Daily)
“Cosmetics are not the only luxury goods attracting increasing numbers of Chinese men. More than 76 percent of urban males bought clothes in 2010, with 24 percent regarding clothes as ‘important purchases’, according to Chinese market researchers CTR.”

Luxury Flash Sales Sites Regroup After Layoffs (BetaBeat)
“Mass flash sales—deep discounts that expire usually after one to three days—had been touted as the first real innovation in e-commerce in years, and start-ups that applied the flash-sales phenomenon to the luxury market had investors salivating. But the former venture capital darlings suddenly seemed to be hemorrhaging employees.”

Polo Puzzle: What Goes Into a $155 Price Tag? (WSJ)
“Every piece of clothing has a story: There’s far more to a $155 polo shirt than a yard of fabric, four buttons and a length of thread. The tale of a KP MacLane polo shirt offers a rare look inside the planning and global transactions behind the clothes people wear.”

Following A Legend (Vogue)
“The film, entitled Bill Cunningham New York, profiles the visionary 81-year-old taking pictures on an old Nikon camera of its best dressed residents. Directed and produced by Richard Press, the documentary features anecdotes from New York’s biggest names, from Anna Wintour to best-selling author Tom Wolfe.”

Benetton Unhate campaign | Source: Foto Telegraf

Benetton to make decision on delisting (FT)
“The Benetton family will decide at a board meeting on Wednesday whether to delist the Italian knitwear group known for its brightly coloured jumpers after the company posted another plunge in profits as it struggles to compete with Inditex and H&M.”

Luxury Companies That Can Bring You Closer to the Good Life (Money Morning)
“A lot of consumers are hurting right now, but you wouldn’t know that looking at the earnings of major luxury companies. Many luxury companies like LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Hermès, and Coach Inc had a stronger-than-expected 2011 campaign.”

Bright Young Things (Vogue)
“The British Fashion Council has announced the launch of International Fashion Showcase – a platform for international emerging designers – which will take place during London Fashion Week. Nineteen embassies and cultural institutes across London will display work from over 80 rising designers, spanning the world from Belgium to Botswana.”

The Finnish Fashion Blogger Who Landed A Deal With Diesel (Business Insider)
“Sandra Hagelstam, 24, is the founder of the hot fashion blog 5inchdesandup.com. She started blogging to create a daily log of what she wears… ‘(The blog) has opened up doors for me I never would have imagined in terms of being able to design my own collection and collaborate with others.’”

Divided they stand: the new extremists (Telegraph)
“This may look like a classic case of Roundhead versus Cavalier. Or Minimalist meets Maximalist. But that’s too simplistic.Neither Mary Katrantzou or Osman Yousefzada can be that easily pigeonholed.”

Giorgio Armani Fall 2012 | Source: IHT

Military, Front and Center (IHT)
“Is it the bitter, battling winter following the Arab spring that has created a march of the military in men’s fashion? A soldierly influence was an undercurrent in the winter 2012 Milan men’s show, which closed Tuesday. The idea of smartening up and shaping up may be a response to Europe’s gloomy economic situation”

LVMH fund looks to stitch a deal with Fabindia (Business Standard)
“The last word in luxury is wooing the most marquee ethnic wear chain in India. L Capital Asia, the private equity arm of the world’s biggest luxury conglomerate, LVMH Group, is in discussion with Fabindia, to acquire a minority stake in the retailer.”

French luxury firms seeking Italian menswear – Armani (Reuters)
“French luxury groups are on the prowl for promising Italian menswear brands after France’s PPR bought Italian tailor Brioni this month, fashion doyen Giorgio Armani said on Tuesday adding that his business was not for sale.”

Organizers Settle Dispute Over Fashion Week Dates (On the Runway)
“Just as the men’s runway collections came to a close in Milan on Tuesday, organizers of the shows in New York and London announced that they have settled, for now, a dispute over the dates of the women’s runway shows planned this September. The New York and London collections will not overlap with those of Milan, as had been risked by a standoff between the cities over when the season should begin.”

What it takes to be a teenage editor-in-chief on the web (BBC News)
“Tavi Gevinson started her first blog ‘Style Rookie’ when she was 11. She was shopping at thrift stores, taking pictures of her outfits and writing about music, images and movies that inspired her… Now Tavi is 15 and has started her own web magazine for teenage girls, RookieMag.com, that counts 4 editors and 40 writers, illustrators and photographers.”

Savigny Luxury Index December 2011 | Source: Savigny Partners

LONDON, United Kingdom — While the luxury industry entered 2012 with an overall outlook that remain uncertain, the sector remained resilient.

Big news

• The Savigny Luxury Index (SLI) lost 2.6 percent in December, whilst the general market index MSCI gained 3 percent over the period.  The cause for this divergence was a temporary sell-off in luxury stocks in mid-December.  Two factors contributed to this: the Italian sovereign debt crisis prompting an exodus from Italy-based stocks and the finalisation of Hermès’ defensive structure, which sent its share price down 7 percent in the days following the announcement.

• Despite treacherous capital market conditions, Michael Kors’ listing in New York on 15^th December was a resounding success.  Kors sold more shares than expected, achieving a valuation of close to $4 billion, or 3.8x LTM sales.  Shares jumped 25 percent on their debut and have since climbed a further 8 percent.

• In contrast, the listing of Chinese jeweller Chow Tai Fook in Hong Kong on 9^th December was received with lukewarm interest, which may be attributable to high valuation expectations.

• A Swiss court ruled that Swatch Group can cut down deliveries of watch parts to third parties from next year.  This will create supply issues for a number of watch brands and has already prompted luxury groups such as PPR and LVMH to snap up small watch component manufacturers.

App Icons | Source: Blogversity

Online retailing: The mobile allure (FT)
“The transparency and convenience of ‘mobile commerce’ have given Americans the upper hand over retailers, according to Mr Thompson, who echoes the connect-and-inspire ideology of Silicon Valley when he says: ‘The consumer ultimately holds all the power.’ Indeed, for many traditional retailers, rising competition from the internet has capped sales growth, squeezed profit margins and forced them to re-evaluate how they use their store space.”

LVMH stake in Hermès reaches 22.3 pct (Reuters)
“The world’s biggest luxury group, LVMH, has increased its stake in leather bag maker Hermès to 22.3 percent and now has 16 percent of voting rights, according to a statement from France’s AMF stock market regulator. LVMH, which previously held 21.4 percent of its smaller rival, plans to continue buying Hermès shares ‘according to circumstances and the market situation,’ LVMH said in a filing to the AMF.”

Brand power helps Nike beat estimates (Reuters)
“Nike Inc’s quarterly results beat Wall Street estimates, as its swoosh logo attracted shoppers, especially in emerging markets, despite higher prices. Nike shares were up 3 percent at $96.65 in after-market trade on Tuesday, after closing at $93.63 on the New York Stock Exchange. Worldwide futures orders for the Nike brand, a closely watched measure of demand in coming months, grew 13 percent to $8.9 billion at the end of the quarter.”

Founder with an eye for design (FT)
“One of Mr Totterman’s ideas at the start of the business, was to ask Jean Paul Gaultier, the French fashion designer, if Inspecs could distribute Gaultier-branded spectacles in the UK. ‘At the time we had no design function – we were reliant on other people’s products and we felt we needed a big name if we were to get anywhere. To our surprise [Mr Gaultier] said, ‘Yes.’”

Sophie Theallet on Running a Fashion Business (Thread NY)
“Sophie Theallet worked under masters like Azzedine Alaïa and Jean Paul Gaultier in Paris before decamping to New York City to start her own label, which launched in 2007. Since then, she has racked up acclaim — including the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award, which she won in 2009 — and has dressed everyone from Jessica Alba to Michelle Obama.”