Luxe Life
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Jay-Z's J Hotels Construction on Hold
Continue reading… 8 CommentsHip-hop mogul Jay-Z has been stung by the recession. The hit maker sank money into J Hotels, acquiring a $66 million plot to build a luxury hotel in New York City. The purchase included the property plus air rights. Construction on the venture has been halted because of a serious lack of funding. One of Jay-Z's partners, Charles Blaichman, told the New York Times, "Even the banks who want to give us money can't."
Jay-Z also recently sold his Rocawear clothing line to Iconix Brand Group for over $200 million.
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New Year's Resolutions for the Luxury Market
Continue reading… 6 CommentsWhen wealthy consumers feel the need to conceal their lavish purchases in plain paper bags and avoid public shame by attending underground shopping parties, it's obvious that all is not well for the luxury goods and services market. Once considered well insulated from economic downturns, the luxury market has received a brutal beating this year, with sales plunging 34.5 percent over last year. Here are some ways the ailing industry can resuscitate itself and land firmly on its feet:
1. Reduce inventory.
Smart luxury brands should dramatically reduce their production, says Bob Schwartz, interim CEO of Portero, an online auction-based marketplace for luxury merchandise. "The smart luxury brands have this approach built into their DNA; they know scarcity and brand protection is value," says Schwartz. "Selling more is not success. The ones who floated up with the market don't have this in their DNA, nor do they have a lasting brand to stand behind . . . they will thrash around offering deals and wither away."
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Luxury Sales See Huge Declines This Holiday Season
Continue reading… 0 CommentsDespite retailers' attempts to attract shoppers with deep discounts, the final week of holiday shopping was pretty much a bust. The culprits: a dismal economy coupled with poor weather, according to MasterCard's SpendingPulse 2008 Holiday Wrap-Up Report. Retailers' sales fell as much as 4 percent during the holiday season. "It's probably one of the most challenging holiday seasons we've ever had in modern times," said Michael McNamara, vice president of Research and Analysis at MasterCard Advisors.
The luxury category—jewelry in particular—had the biggest year-over-year declines, with sales down by more than 34 percent over last year, according to the SpendingPulse report. Excluding jewelry, luxury sales declined more than 21 percent, says the report.
I shopped around Georgetown last Tuesday for some last-minute gifts. I braced myself for crowds but saw very few shoppers for this time of year and navigated my way through each store effortlessly. How much shopping did you do in the past week—if any?
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Yankees Hit With $26.9 Million Luxury Tax
Continue reading… 1 CommentNot only did the New York Yankees fail to make the playoffs this season, they've been slapped with a $26.9 million luxury tax by the commissioner's office. The luxury tax is to be paid by January 31.
According to Major League Baseball: "Having exceeded the payroll ceiling for several years, the Yankees were taxed at the compounded rate of 40 percent over the $155 million.
By comparison, the Tigers, the only other team hit with a luxury tax liability, surpassed the threshold for the first time and were taxed at a rate of 22.5 percent.
This newest assessment brings the Yankees' luxury tax total to $148.3 million in the six seasons since it was implemented. That figure represents 90 percent of the total paid into the kitty—with the only other contributions having been made by the Red Sox (a total of $13.9 million in four seasons) and the Angels ($927,000 in 2004).
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Luxury Hotels Offer Special Packages for Presidential Inauguration
Continue reading… 8 CommentsBetween 4 million and 5 million visitors are expected to visit Washington during the four-day inaugural celebration next month. You may be one of the fortunate ones who've snagged accommodations at one of the area's best luxury hotels, which are offering special packages for the inauguration bash:
The Ritz-Carlton's Politically Correct Package: This package, priced at a cool $50,000, mixes luxury with philanthropy, which is a good thing if you're trying to justify spending that much dough during a recession. A portion of the proceeds will go to a charity of the guest's choice. For four nights, guests will stay in a luxury suite; have access to a 24-hour, on-call chauffeur in a luxury hybrid vehicle; be outfitted in a designer dress or luxury tuxedo courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue; and receive a "Heart of the Nation" pendant, which retails for $8,000. More important, the package includes seating at the inaugural parade, two tickets to the official inaugural ball, and—my favorite—a private dinner for two specially prepared by chef Eric Ripert.
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Celebrities Donate Big Money for Inauguration Party
Continue reading… 7 CommentsI just received an invitation—to sign up—for tickets to attend the Virginia Inaugural Ball, featuring Gov. Tim Kaine, Sen. Jim Webb, and Sen.-elect Mark Warner. General admission tickets, which cost $200, are already sold out, but if I donate $10,000, I'll receive four tickets to the Blue Dominion Reception and six tickets to the Inaugural Ball. Don't think I'll be attending either.
But a slew of celebrities are sure to party with the prez. The Presidential Inaugural Committee today released its contributors list, which allows users to view, sort, and search real-time information on all donors who've contributed over $200 to the 2009 PIC. The committee says it doesn't accept individual contributions in excess of $50,000.
Some of the celebrities who donated $50,000 individually include: Jamie Foxx, Halle Berry, Ron Howard, Samuel Jackson, Sharon Stone, and Robert Zemeckis.
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Rich Pawn Their Belongings
Continue reading… 2 CommentsPawnshops—loan companies that take items as collateral—have always gotten a bad rap. This stereotypical image often comes to mind: A seedy store stuffed with broken belongings in an unsafe area of town often catering to derelicts and criminals. But with the credit crunch, pawnshops are seeing renewed life. More cash-strapped Americans are pawning their belongings—from diamond rings and necklaces to iPods, televisions, and even boats. As a result, pawnshops across the country are seeing their businesses grow and are attracting a broader range of clients, including the well heeled.
From Reuters: " 'Banks aren't lending, so people are coming here for short-term loans against collateral like diamonds, watches, and other jewelry,' said Jordan Tabach-Bank, CEO of Beverly Loan Co, self-described 'pawnbroker to the stars.' . . . 'I do see my share of actors, writers, producers and directors,' he said, but also cited more visits from white-collar professionals and especially business owners struggling to meet payroll obligations . . . We still do the five-, six-figure loans to Beverly Hills socialites who want to get plastic surgery but never have we seen so many people in desperate need of funds to finance business enterprises,' he added."
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Louis Vuitton Cancels Tokyo Flagship Store
Continue reading… 2 CommentsThe world's largest luxury goods conglomerate has been stung by the global economic slowdown. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA has abandoned its plans for a Louis Vuitton flagship store in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district, proving that even the strongest international luxury brands can't weather the downturn. The store was due for completion in 2010, said an official for the developer, Hulic Co.
Growing up in the '80s, I remember Japan being the most concentrated source of revenue for luxury brands. Louis Vuitton. Gucci. Hermes. It's a country that's always been renowned for its thirst for luxury goods. Japan has been a major market area for LVMH, which has 56 stores in the country. So I'm surprised by the company's latest announcement.
But at the same time, I'm not.
Japanese consumers are increasingly forgoing luxury brands for smaller-ticket items and trading down for designerlike goods at chain stores such as H&M and Zara. According to a luxury study by Bain & Co., Japan's luxury market, which is 12 percent of the global total, is already in a luxury goods recession and is expected to decline by 7 percent this year, vs. a 2 percent decline in 2007.
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Holiday Gift Guide: Luxury Edition
Continue reading… 4 CommentsThere are only a few more days left until Christmas, and you may be among the 41 million consumers who haven't started their holiday shopping. According to the National Retail Federation's 2008 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, the average person had completed 47.1 percent of his or her holiday shopping by the second week of December, versus the 52.6 percent average completed by the same time last year. Only 8 percent of consumers say they have completely finished their shopping. If you're guilty of procrastinating with your holiday shopping—and money's no object—here are a few luxury gift ideas to consider.
Your niece is one stylish girl. This holiday season she can be a trendsetter in her Chuck Taylor All Star sequined sneakers. These spunky sneakers come in silver, blue, magenta, and black. $84.99.
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Kathleen Fuld: Shopping in Secret
Continue reading… 4 CommentsHow does Kathleen Fuld, wife of former Lehman Brother's CEO Richard Fuld—who has been widely criticized for pushing Lehman Brothers into bankruptcy and creating a global financial panic—go about her holiday shopping? With discretion, says The Daily Beast.
"Last week, Kathleen Fuld stopped by the Hermès boutique on Manhattan's Madison Avenue to buy some holiday gifts. As she paid for her purchases, she vetoed the store's signature orange bag and asked for a plain white one instead.
It's become a common request, a Hermès employee told The Daily Beast. Sales associates at this temple of good taste have gotten used to passing out plain white shopping bags to clients eager to hide their $10,000 Birkin habits in the current economic environment."
The Daily Beast reports that Mrs. Fuld has been a regular client since the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. She visited the boutique once a week and spent $5,000 or $10,000 each time.
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14 Ways Nannies Can Market Themselves
Continue reading… 6 CommentsThings haven't been looking so good for the affluent, especially the most powerful and wealthy investors who've incurred massive losses caused by Bernard Madoff's giant Ponzi scheme. And don't forget the flood of reports that Wall Street banks and other firms are eliminating tens of thousands of jobs. Last week, I wrote about how dual-career, upper-class couples who've been affected by the economic downturn are increasingly tightening their budgets and cutting back on household operating costs, which may include the nanny. U.S. News asked Stephanie Felzenberg, editor of the Best Nanny Newsletter, to share her best advice for nannies who want to market themselves and stand out from the pack:
1. Standout Résumé. The résumé remains the most important way for nanny candidates to market themselves. To stand out among a pile of others, caregivers should include a photo of themselves on their résumé. Including a photo playing or posing with children will help parents take notice. The résumé should be printed on high-quality paper. Nanny candidates should spell check and proofread the résumé to make sure the grammar is perfect and the meaning is clear.
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Boeing 787 Dreamliner Delayed Until 2010
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Do you remember in Casino Royale when the evil Le Chiffre plots to blow up an airplane in Miami to cause an airline's stock to crash? Well, Boeing's recent announcement that it will delay deliveries of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner is by no means comparable with a terrorist plot, but it did send the airline's stock falling by 3.384 percent, to $40.27 a share, on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. Shares of the company have ranged between $36.17 and $90.38 over the past 52 weeks.
Several companies have put in orders for the 787, but they will just have to wait. Again. For the fourth time. Boeing said yesterday that it's delaying the schedule for the Dreamliner program by six months because of the damaging strike by machinists and a slew of production problems.
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Laying Off the Nanny in Hard Times
Continue reading… 1 Comment"Marlene has been a member of our family for the past 19 months," reads an urgent Craigslist posting from Brooklyn, N.Y. "I was recently laid off so we are looking for a new family for her." With the number of jobless claims jumping by 58,000 to a 26-year high of 573,000, according to Labor Department reports today, an increasing number of families are reining in spending by laying off the household help. It's a tough choice to make, especially if the nanny has become an integral member of the family. But the decision is also difficult for families who have to adjust their lifestyles; parents may not be used to doing their own dishes, shopping for groceries, or picking up the children from school.
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5 Luxury Websites Worth Looking Into
Continue reading… 1 CommentStreet Peeper: So, street style may not be synonymous with luxury, but visiting this site might make you think otherwise. Street Peeper is an international street fashion photo site, featuring urban style from cities including Amsterdam, Berlin, Sydney, Jakarta, San Francisco, and New York. Think: Givenchy bag, YSL leather jacket, Chloe dress, and Nike sneakers.
20Ltd: If you're looking for super rare ("once sold out, they'll never be created again"), eclectic, limited edition design pieces, as well as fine art photography, this sleek, online shop is a perfect place to peruse. Check out the stunning photography of Matt Siber and Robert Van Der Hilst, my personal favorites.
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‘The Dark Knight’ on Blu-ray
Continue reading… 4 CommentsMy fiancé purchased a Samsung LN52A650 last month for a pretty amazing deal at the ailing Circuit City, but we're still looking into a Blu-ray player to complement our massive LCD TV. (Prices are getting better and better.) We hope to snag one sooner rather than later because The Dark Knight DVD and Blu-ray Disc finally hit store shelves today!
Warner Home Video is expected to ship more than 1 million Dark Knight Blu-ray Discs to retailers today. This bests Iron Man, which sold more than 500,000 copies during its first week, according to Video Business. Growth in the action genre makes sense; these particular movies appeal to gamers, especially those who own Sony PS3 game consoles, which include a built-in Blu-ray player. It's also likely that some PS3 owners will make The Dark Knight their first Blu-ray purchase.
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Flying High With Flexjet Expert Guide Jet Card
Continue reading… 1 CommentI just got back from a weekend trip to Florida, and although the air travel left me largely unscathed, I'm still dumbfounded by the extra fees for checking my luggage and in-flight beverages, the soiled napkin left in my seat pocket, and the uncomfortably cramped seats with barely any legroom. (Tight for me, but worse for the 6-foot-2 man to my right, knees crunched into his seat pocket, cursing his job for playing a "cruel joke" on him.)
If you have the means to upgrade—and I don't mean a mere bump to first class—a private jet may be your cup of tea. Better yet, take advantage of Bombardier Flexjet—which offers a turnkey program that allows individuals or companies to purchase a share in a Bombardier business jet at a fraction of the full ownership cost but with a twist.
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Luxury Retailers Attract Customers With Rare Discounts
Continue reading… 7 CommentsWhen a luxury retailer cuts prices too steeply, it threatens its brand's image of luxury and exclusivity. But with global luxury goods sales expected to decline by 3 percent to 7 percent in 2009, according to a recent Bain & Co. study, it's no wonder luxury retailers are being forced into a corner. They're slashing prices so severely that they end up looking like discount outlets.
Slate's Daniel Gross took a walk down Fifth Avenue and saw the carnage for himself. In his excellent column, Gross ruminates on the desperate holiday shopping season and is baffled by Bergdorf Goodman's lowbrow sales technique:
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Si Newhouse Denies Anna Wintour Retirement Rumor
Continue reading… 0 CommentsLife imitates art (à la The Devil Wears Prada) where delicious rumors run amok about the gilded age of Vogue editor Anna Wintour drawing to a close, and a chic, French counterpart taking the reins. With Men's Vogue scaling back to two issues per year, Teen Vogue's advertising pages—a key indicator of a magazine's health—down 10.2 percent, Vogue's 9.6 percent decline in its advertising pages, and the annual supplement Fashion Rocks on hiatus until 2009, it's no wonder there's been hot speculation about Wintour being forced out. The economic downturn and Wintour's $2 million annual salary could also be added to the checklist of items working against the iconic editor. And to pour salt on fresh wounds, Condé Nast chairman Si Newhouse reportedly met with French Vogue editor Corine Roitfeld to discuss the final details of her move to New York. All told, Condé Nast chairman Si Newhouse has blown off the speculation, saying "this is the silliest rumor I ever heard and there is no truth to it" to the WSJ. A spokesperson from Condé Nast confirmed with U.S. News that there are no changes to Ms. Roitfeld's role.
Vogue isn't the only magazine to suffer from the economic crisis. WWD reports double-digit drops through 2008 for many of the Condé Nast magazines: "Other Condé Nast titles hit by double-digit declines included Glamour (down 12.4 percent); W (12.7 percent), Lucky (11.3), Teen Vogue (10.2) and GQ (11.5)."
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Nakheel Cuts 500 Jobs, a Sign of the Times
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Even in the midst of the global economy's current frailty, international hotelier Sol Kerzner couldn't help himself. Late last month, Kerzner, along with Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairmen of Dubai real estate development company Nakheel, threw a three-day, multimillion-dollar gala to coincide with the opening of the Atlantis Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. The opulent celebration was chock-full of heavy-hitting celebrities including Michael Jordan, Quincy Jones, Robert De Niro, and Charlize Theron. It included a spectacular lighting and pyrotechnics display as well as a private performance by singer Kylie Minogue. To top it off, renowned chefs such as Nobu Matsushisa and Michel Rostang prepared signature dishes for the 2,000 guests.
Such extravagance, however, doesn't match the recent news that Nakheel cut 500 jobs and scaled back some of its projects. Government-controlled Nakheel said in a statement that the 15 percent reduction in its global workforce is a result of the global financial crisis: "We have the responsibility to adjust our short-term business plans to accommodate the current global environment. The redundancies are indeed regrettable, but a necessity dictated by operational requirements which are in turn dependent on demand."
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5 Ways to Afford Private Schooling in Hard Times
Continue reading… 2 CommentsMy sister and I were fortunate to attend a nationally respected private high school in Pittsburgh. We participated in a five-day-a-week boarding program and had access to a forward-thinking curriculum, diverse community, and teachers who were not only mentors but friends. It's an experience that helped shape our formative years and allowed us to mature academically, socially, and emotionally. That was the early 1990s.
Today, as my fiancé and I contemplate having children in the near future, we often talk about the benefits of private schools. He has taken a tour of my sprawling high school's campus and sees how my experience there has positively influenced who I am today. We both believe that education is the greatest gift that you can give your child. But according to a survey by the National Association of Independent Schools, the average median cost of private school tuition was a hefty $15,763 during the 2006-2007 school year. And, with the economy on the brink of recession, how will we be able to afford private schooling?
