categories

The Bulletin
Video
Spotlight
For and Against
Digital Leaders
Reports
Features
Words & Numbers
Luxury Leaders
Speaker's Corner
Postcard from...
Editor's Note
The Latest
Roundtable
Prime Listings
Prime Source

archives

May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
  • Luxury Leaders
    - 26 Apr 2012
    - by Sophie Doran

    Vanessa Friedman, FT Business of Luxury Summit 2012

    4945_391_medium

    The Financial Times fashion editor tells Luxury Society what’s in store for the upcoming FT Business of Luxury Conference in Marrakech

    One of our priorities at Luxury Society is to bring you exclusive opportunities to engage with each other and with thought leaders from our industry and elsewhere. What better a place for our members to connect than one of the most important conferences in our calendar? The annual FT Business of Luxury Summit.

    For the fourth year running, Luxury Society has partnered with this prestigious event, to bring our membership together and discuss the most pressing issues in our industry, led by some of the most influential figures in both luxury and lifestyle. As the official business network of the conference, we are delighted to announce a specially discounted rate exclusively for Luxury Society members to attend the upcoming FT in Marrakech, Morocco on May 30 – June 1.

    Read more » Comments (0)
  • Luxury Leaders
    - 19 Oct 2011
    - by Sophie Doran

    Suzy Menkes, IHT Hot Luxury Conference 2011

    4278_saopaulo_medium

    The International Herald Tribune’s fashion editor tells Luxury Society what’s in store for the upcoming IHT Hot Luxury Summit in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

    One of our priorities at Luxury Society is to bring you exclusive opportunities to engage with each other and with thought leaders from our industry and elsewhere. What better a place for our members to connect than one of the most important conferences in our calendar?

    For the third year running, Luxury Society has partnered with the International Herald Tribune’s prestigious luxury summit, to bring our membership together and discuss the most pressing issues in our industry, led by some of the most influential figures in our industry.

    Read more » Comments (0)
  • Luxury Leaders
    - 21 Sep 2011
    - by Sophie Doran

    Dr Ulrich Bez, CEO, Aston Martin

    4183_-7412b_medium

    Dr Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston Martin, feels that the word luxury is used too freely these days but through sacrifice of the ordinary, his beloved brand has become the epitome of it.

    A reference to Aston Martin feels somewhat incomplete without at least one mention of James Bond. As early as 1959, author Ian Fleming prescribed his dashing 007 with a DB Mark III, for his adventures in Goldfinger. Flash forward half-a-century and not only is the DB series still Bond’s car of choice, but Aston Martin have introduced over twenty new models in just a decade, dealerships have expanded to reach forty-two countries and the Aston brand has re-invigorated its reputation in competitive motorsport.

    The architect of the company’s modern era, Dr Ulrich Bez, has been widely credited with transforming the brand from a low volume, small-scale, and somewhat neglected subsidiary of Ford, to the profitable, world-renowned, independent manufacturer of high performance cars that it is today. The Doctorate of Engineering graduate joined as CEO in 2000, after time as a business adviser to Ford Motor Company and twenty years in product design and development roles at Porsche, BMW and Daewoo.

    Read more » Comments (2)
  • Luxury Leaders
    - 17 Aug 2011
    - by Robb Young

    Robert Gaymer-Jones, CEO, Sofitel

    4013_sofitel-robert-gaymer-jones_medium

    Sofitel’s Worldwide CEO Robert Gaymer-Jones tells us why he shuttered scores of hotels to get the brand’s positioning right and why even the Arab Spring uprising doesn’t deter his upcoming expansion plans

    It has been four years since Robert Gaymer-Jones was first ushered in as COO and charged with repositioning Sofitel into a brand with exclusively five-star hotels at the very top end of the luxury market. Most observers at the time agreed that it was a bold and daring strategy for Sofitel’s parent company, Accor Group.

    Accor not only bestowed an unprecedented amount of autonomy on the new division but also on its principal brand architect, Mr. Gaymer-Jones. Beyond the development of a finely-tuned identity, there was a vast amount of hands-on work to be done. Renovations, retraining schemes, the building of sub-brands and, perhaps most painful of all, hotel closures were all on his daily agenda.

    Read more » Comments (0)
  • Luxury Leaders
    - 20 Jul 2011
    - by Sophie Doran

    5 Minutes With ... John Hunt, CEO, Wally Yachts

    3869_john_hunt_-_biog_shot_medium

    John Hunt, Chairman and CEO of Wally Yachts, tells us that one of his major roles is to keep an inherently innovative organisation focused on today

    There is much more to John Hunt than his role as Chairman and CEO of Wally Yachts. The serially successful entrepreneur and venture investor has created and co-created companies, with interests as diverse as digital communications, wine production, e-commerce software, espresso bars and luxury resorts.

    Starbucks acquired the UK espresso bar he co-founded, Seattle Coffee Company, in 1998 as their European launch platform. Shortly after the web agency he founded, Syzygy, went public in Germany at €200 million. His holding company, Archimedia, launched in January 2010, was a founding investor in online ventures Betfair and Made.com and in November of the launch year, committed a significant investment to the growth and development of Wally.

    Read more » Comments (0)
  • Luxury Leaders
    - 6 Jul 2011
    - by Sophie Doran

    5 Minutes With ... Bernd Beetz, CEO, Coty

    3847_beetz-jpg_567641_medium

    Bernd Beetz, CEO of Coty, is confident the business will continue to grow, but warns of an economic storm looming on the horizon

    As the fragrance licensee of Cerruti, Vera Wang, Chloé, Vivienne Westwood, Jil Sander and Marc Jacobs, Coty is the world’s largest fragrance company, reporting annual revenues in excess of $4 billion in 2010. The Reimann family owned conglomerate is increasingly becoming known for its strength in M&A, completing five independent deals last year alone.

    Bernd Beetz began his career with Procter & Gamble, going on to lead LVMH’s revitalisation of Cosmetics and Perfume as the CEO of Parfums Christian Dior. Mr Beetz joined Coty as chief executive officer in 2001 and is largely credited with the company’s double-digit sales growth in each of the last five consecutive years and a double in profitability.

    Read more » Comments (0)

keywords

Members opinion

  • Karen Weiner Escalera Generation Y: Luxury's Most Buoyant Market by Karen Weiner Escalera 3 May 2012
  • Isa Lavs Luxury Shopping in the UK: How the Market Continues to Grow by Isa Lavs 1 May 2012
  • Marina Cozzika South Africa’s Luxury Consumers Buck International Trends by Marina Cozzika 25 Apr 2012
  • Sophie Maxwell Has Luxury Brand Diversification Gone Too Far? by Sophie Maxwell 18 Apr 2012

Recently published

  • LVMH Sets ‘Green Week’

    WWD - 21 May 2012 10:28

  • Construction of 44 metre sustainable superyacht well underway in China

    Superyacht Times - 21 May 2012 07:04

  • Dubai jewellery expo in Italy tieup

    Trade Arabia - 21 May 2012 06:50

  • Trouble in the Great Mall of China?

    Financial Times - 21 May 2012 04:15

  • Global brands can generate jobs in India: Montblanc

    Economic Times - 21 May 2012 03:55

Featured Members

  • Atsushi Iwaya Atsushi Iwaya

    General manager, Giorgio Armani Japan
    Japan

  • Jill Davison Jill Davison

    VP, Corporate Communications, American Express Publishing
    United States

  • Norimitsu Fujii Norimitsu Fujii

    Chief Marketing and Sales Officer, Moncler Japan
    Japan

  • Eliana Kokotos Eliana Kokotos

    Owner & CEO, Elounda SA
    Greece