Counterfeits get sophisticated: how to spot fakes | Source: WSJ

The Finer Art of Faking It (WSJ)
“The prices of the imitators are rising, confusing customers who are looking for the real deal at a discounted price. Still, the higher-priced fakes are just a fraction of what a real item would cost…  To fight back, more brands are turning to authentication devices into their merchandise.”

The Has-Beens of the Fashion Industry? (Huffington Post)
“There’s a sentiment on the fringes of the fashion industry that is picking up steam and now fully seeping into the industry’s most coveted position: the inside… Big city fashion weeks and major trade shows are not what they once were.”

Digital startup: Editd (Guardian)
“As well as crawling retail sites across the web to gather details on stock, prices and sizes, Editd monitors mentions on Twitter, Facebook and blogs, aggregates data from key catwalk and trade shows and adds a sprinkle of secret sauce that captures public ‘mind share’. The result is a bespoke dashboard digitising the age-old mood board.”

LVMH wins EU clearance for Bulgari takeover (Reuters)
“French luxury group LVMH  secured EU approval on Thursday for its 3.7-billion-euro ($5.24 billion) purchase of Italian peer Bulgari to boost its presence in emerging markets… The acquisition will help LVMH…  improve margins and better compete with bigger watch and jewellery companies.”

Fashion Return (Vogue UK)
“Former Gucci and Valentino creative director Alessandra Facchinetti is returning to the fashion world, with a new label in association with Pinko. The brand, called Uniqueness, aims to build a collection in a new way – interacting with customers and eschewing the traditional fashion seasons.”

Brooks Brothers: Made in America | Source: Brooks Brothers

Made in America: A hook for wealthy shoppers (Ottawa Citizen)
“The Made-in-America label has undergone a deluxe makeover. Everyone from Brooks Brothers to the Olsen twins is using it to hawk luxury goods… ‘There is a customer that appreciates that the product is made in the United States and is willing to pay for the difference.’”

My-wardrobe boosts foreign dress effort (FT)
“‘The past 12 months and first quarter of 2011 has been a pivotal time for my-wardrobe.com. Not only have we seen phenomenal growth in the UK market, but we have already seen a significant rise in sales across Europe as we lay the foundations for our international expansion.’”

Luxury brands and Social Media (North Jersey)
“Having 4 million Facebook fans or more doesn’t amount to much unless the online interactions also boost the bottom line. ‘Ultimately, this is about social commerce… Social networking is nice, but social commerce is much better, and that’s where we need to get to.’”

LVMH denies attempts to destabilize Hermès (Reuters)
“Puech dismissed efforts by LVMH Chief Executive Bernard Arnault to strike a conciliatory tone regarding the Hermès approach. ‘After six months, we are the target of incessant attacks of the kind we’ve never seen in 174 years, even though LVMH says its approach to us is friendly… With friends like these, who needs enemies?’”

The Mexican fans Ralph Lauren could do without (Guardian)
“Sometimes, the market gets away from the marketers… For the Mexican children who see narcos as role models, the Polo look becomes something to imitate, and knock-off versions are readily available and widely worn. This is the sort of success a label would happily do without.”

Christian Siriano for Send The Trend | Source: Send The Trend

Because, Obviously, Everyone Needs a Stylist (WSJ)
“Now, a crop of new e-commerce sites are trying to cash in on regular consumers’ desires for a Hollywood-type stylist experience of their own. The sites combine the Internet’s powers of customization with the cachet of stylists to attempt to match of-the-moment products to shoppers’ personal preferences.”

Fashion hunts for talent in new growth phase (Reuters)
“The fashion industry is entering a new growth cycle with a bigger focus on customers’ price, quality and style expectations than in the mid-2000s, prompting brands to renew their design teams… ‘It is when business is good that fashion brands can take important decisions and change designers, not when times are difficult.’”

Indian Fashion Portal Gets $16 Million Funding (WSJ)
“Exclusively.in’s business idea is to make Indian designer wear accessible through an online membership-based portal, and conduct daily sales that price these items at off-the-rack discount prices… With this round of funding, the company will expand to the U.K., Canada and even head to the shores of India this summer.”

Hermès’s Anti-Takeover Plan Is Safe (The Cut)
“The French court assigned to rule over ADAM’s case postponed the hearing until after the shareholder meeting, effectively (and passive-aggressively) dismissing their appeal. Colette Neuville, ADAM’s president, said they’re dropping it: ‘There is not much point in pursuing the issue.’”

Reflections on the Spirit: An interview with Riccardo Tisci (Jessica Michault)
“To understand what makes Riccardo Tisci tick there are only two things you need to know. He is deeply religious and his family means everything to him. These are the twin pillars on which the 36 year old designer has built a solid creative foundation.”

Jane Pratt | Source: Crain's

Jane Pratt, Unbound and Ready for the Web (NY Times)
“With verticals on fashion; beauty; sports; entertainment; DIY; technology; New Agey; and Sex, Sex, Sex and Love, xoJane.com is the latest chapter in the Jane Pratt story, a saga that began almost 25 years ago… For now, Ms. Pratt is engaged in what is the struggle for celebrity editors (see: Brown, Tina): how to reinvent or reconfigure her personal brand for the digital age.”

All your brand needs is three little words (Marketing Week)
“It might seem like a minor detail, but what sets Polet apart from bog standard marketers is his appreciation for brevity… When Polet arrived at Gucci he recognised immediately that each of the brands was unsure of its own identity. So he set about working with each team to capture the essence of each brand with one clear proviso: no more than three words.”

LVMH’s Plan to Convert a Parisian Icon for Shopping and Social Good (Forbes)
“Renderings show that the spaces will include a department store, a separate Louis Vuitton boutique, 280,000 square feet of shops and 215,000 square feet of office space. This consumers’ mecca will coexist with 95 units of affordable housing and a day care… The good news is that the complex should create approximately 2,400 jobs. Look for completion around the middle of 2014.”

Richemont net profits surge 79 percent (FT)
“Richemont, the world’s second-biggest luxury goods group by sales, demonstrated the surging demand for expensive watches, apparel and accessories with sharply higher sales and earnings for its business year to the end of March… ‘We are actually facing more demand than we can cope with,’ said Richard Lepeu, deputy chief executive.”

The Twitter Trap (NY Times)
“Basically, we are outsourcing our brains to the cloud. … my inner worrywart wonders whether the new technologies overtaking us may be eroding characteristics that are essentially human: our ability to reflect, our pursuit of meaning, genuine empathy, a sense of community connected by something deeper than snark or political affinity.”

Savigny Luxury Index March 2011 | Source: Savigny Partners

LONDON, United Kingdom — This month’s Market Pulse shows a continuing upward trend for luxury and fashion stocks versus the MSCI World market benchmark, erasing any lingering doubts about the return of the luxury consumer.

Big news

• Luxury brands have had an excellent start to the year reporting strong Q1 results. Double digit sales growth has been fuelled by continued strong growth in China and economic recovery in the US and Europe

• The Savigny Luxury Index made a big jump mid-April when Burberry and bellwether LVMH announced better than expected results, prompting share price increases amongst their European peers

… Continue Reading