Louis Vuitton Throws Austerity Aside at New London Store

Bloomberg’s Linzie Janis reports on the opening of Louis Vuitton’s revamped store in London.

Louis Vuitton’s Retail Masterclass

How Louis Vuitton’s London ‘Maison’ offers a glimpse at some new rules in luxury retail

When Louis Vuitton opens a store, it has a happy knack of getting people’s attention. The brand’s new London flagship is no exception. CEO Yves Carcelle has ensured that the store, which is estimated to cost $43m, has received its money’s worth in attention. The 15,000 sq ft ‘Maison’ manages to be a coherent brand statement while catering to Vuitton’s numerous factions of fans. How was this achieved? The store’s architect Peter Marino’s master plan was to imagine the store as the home of a collector who loves only the finest and rarest things in life, with retail and art mingling seamlessly.

China’s Endless Appetite for Haute Hospitality

China’s luxury hotel industry is brimming with international optimism

On the 118th floor of Hong Kong’s tallest building, Ritz-Carlton is currently completing a 312-room hotel. Another 285-room Ritz-Carlton is due to open in the Pudong area of Shanghai next month. The group, which had only one hotel in China in 2006, plans to have eight by the end of this year. The Middle East may have seen significant growth in luxury hotels in recent years, but it’s now being outpaced by China.

Lisa Tully: Director of Marketing, Trump Hotel Collection

On catering to the next generation of luxury travellers

NEW YORK – The Trump dynasty might not be your average family, but when it comes to business, it’s certainly instilled with family values, says Lisa Tully. As director of marketing for The Trump Hotel Collection, Tully has carved out a distinctive role for her brand within the Trump Organization portfolio. Established just over two years ago, the Trump Hotel Collection aims at a new, younger generation of luxury consumers, and part of the strategy has been positioning Donald Trump’s three grown children – Don, Jr., Ivanka, and Eric – as its poster men and women for the brand.

Versace Moves Luxury Phone Goalpost

The firm’s ultra-luxe mobile is expected to ignite new technological innovation at the top-end of the sector

As Versace prepares to launch its ultra luxury mobile phone next month, the fashion house might just spark a shake-up in the sector. Phones at the highest end of the spectrum have continued to perform well in recent years, despite refusing to bow down to every new technological innovation.

The superior quality offered by makers such as Vertu and Tag Heuer has been enough of a differentiator from the average gadget enhanced mobile phone.Offering a kind of authenticity unavailable elsewhere in the mobile phone sector, these phones are elevated above the functional By hand-stitched leather casing, perfect weighting, crystal screens and a high level craftsmanship. They are not designed to compete with smartphones, more likely to serve instead as an exquisite second phone to a Blackberry or iPhone user. The Versace Unique, however, is expected to cause ripples in the mobile industry once it’s launched at Paris Couture week next month.

The Flash-sales Market Hits the Wall

Steven Dennis, President of SageBerry Consulting—and former head of strategy and corporate marketing at Neiman Marcus, asks if it’s the end of the party for cut-price luxury merchandise.