GRAND OPENING – Christian Dior Taipei 101 Tower Opening Event on March 24th 2012

Reaching 508 meters, the Taipei 101 was, for four years, the world’s tallest building. One of the most recognizable, too, thanks to its structure that recalls a pagoda roof. Inside: the boutique. In the windows, the most recent haute couture collection captures the limelight, set before large colored panels carved to mimic the models they back. In the store itself, neutral tones let the collections take the starring role: the leather goods and their fearless colors, the refined timepieces settings. Subtle touches of gold leaf add a warmly modern touch to the precision black and white Dior Homme spaces.

Shoes, ready-to-wear, eveningwear, VIP dressing rooms: the salons are as much intimate spaces as they are public ones, playing on tones of gray in turns deep and light. What’s offered turns out to be a veritable journey, a voyage of awakening that becomes even more so as one discovers the art along the way, specially created for the store: a Chinese woodblock covered in gold leaves by Claude Lalanne here, a Véronique Rivemale mirror there, a video installation by Oyoram on the stairway, an Elisabeth Garouste table somewhere else. The monumental staircase is an experience in itself. A wall of images recalls the rotunda of the Avenue Montaigne store in Paris, projected images of Mr. Dior and of Paris emerging as constants in the vaporous passing of time. Where are we? When are we? In Taipei, unquestionably. But in Paris, too. In any case, unmistakably chez Dior.

Marking the opening March 24th, 2012, of the Christian Dior store in Taipei, a look back at the décor of these historic spaces: In 1946, when Christian Dior decided to open his own couture house, he called upon Victor Grandpierre to transform the interior of the mansion at 30, avenue Montaigne. The two men had met in Cannes, a few years before, and they shared the same passion for the Belle Epoque: the years surrounding the turn of the last century. “Our tastes gelled perfectly in the shared quest for our childhood paradise”, Christian Dior explained in his memoirs. The timing was extremely short, with only a few weeks remaining before the inaugural show of the house of Dior on February 12, 1947. “White woodwork, lacquered white furniture, gray drapes, doors of beveled glass panes, bronze sconces…” – the décor was chic, classic, almost neutral. In reality, it was actually the perfect, distraction-free backdrop to give center stage to the fashions the couturier was preparing to unveil.

What better than gray and white to set off fiery reds, floral prints, and dense embroideries? To make the impressive volume of the dresses appear even more so necessitated a décor of refined purity. That’s how Victor Grandpierre conceived of the haute couture salons: as a jewel box. He was also responsible for designing the small boutique, and the white Dior boxes that still remain the same color today. Next it was the turn of the suite bearing the couturier’s name at the Plaza in New York, then another boutique in Caracas… And, in 1955, came the opening of the big Paris store, adjacent to the historic salons. “In a few days, Victor Grandpierre had created in the new space a boutique that was Louis XVI, Belle Epoque, and very 1955″, Christian Dior stated. In other words: a synthesis of nearly two centuries of decoration in France! “And conforming on all fronts to what I desired”, he added. These days it’s Peter Marino who creates the house’s stores. On Monday, in this magazine, you’ll be able to discover the Taipei one.

By ANDREA JANKE @andreajanke

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Everyone in the luxury industry understands that China now stands for luxury. Which is why the demand to target the Chinese luxury market is essential for sustainability and growth. A recent hotspot for capturing the most desired target audience is China’s online retailers which is also causing major controversy.

According to China Daily, China’s online retailers are now providing cheaper access to foreign luxury products than ever before. However, some businesses operating in the sector have had to face criticism from the very brands they carry.

Gucci, Swarovski and other luxury brands recently claimed that several Chinese business-to-customer (B2C) retailers, including the well-known Tmall, 360buy and Dangdang, are not authorized to sell their products online.

“We receive our goods from overseas distributors. All of the luxury items we sell are genuine,” said a 360buy customer service representative when asked about the source of their products.

Online retailers have seen booming sales of luxury goods, largely because they sell them for far lower prices than China’s brick-and-mortar stores. A small Swarovski pendant can be purchased on 360buy for 450 yuan ($71), or sixty percent of the 720-yuan price tag typically seen in stores.

However, it is the low prices that have attracted attention to these companies. Swarovski recently announced that it has the right to take legal action against Chinese online retailers if they are found to be selling products illegally in China.

“High-end brands are strict and organized in the way they administer their authorization,” said an employee of a Shenzhen-based luxury B2C retailer who identified herself as Zhao Ting.

Zhao said few of China’s online retailers have received authorization for the direct purchase and sale of luxury goods.

MosnarCommunications.com wonders will this impact the credibility of luxury brands? Truly, luxury is a perception but value is the authority of a luxury brand’s credibility. The entry into the Chinese luxury market must be strategic and a planned approach. However, Western entry into the online Chinese luxury market was something we thought of when the demand to target China became a desire of every major luxury brand player worldwide.

What we examined was the credibility of value and unlike the brick and mortar store concept online is vastly different. So in 2010, we quietly launched Chineseluxurybrands.com and did nothing with it but just let it sit. Likely, because we knew this day was coming. Our main focus has been to study the Chinese luxury market from a worldwide perspective.

Expect big things from Chineseluxurybrands.com in the near future! We have not had an official launch date or a design development for what the website will look like. The site you see is simply a placeholder over under construction.  In addition  Chineseluxurybrands.com will focus on credibility and mobile marketing to reach a global audience.

If you would like advertising inclusion for this project and content marketing inclusion please contact Ann@mosnarcommunications.com . As always we will only offer this to a select few exclusive luxury brands.

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Join Pam Danziger, the president of Unity Marketing, on Thursday November 10 at 12 p.m. EST to learn the 10 essential values every luxury brand has to deliver and how to these values work for your brand.  Branding is a long-term proposition.  It is an investment in the future of your business.  To build a luxury brand, it takes time to repeatedly convey a consistent value message that resonates with your target customer.  There is no such thing as a “pop up” luxury brand.

With the national economy still in a precarious position, luxury brands must emphasize the “luxe” to draw the attention of the affluent consumer, the nation’s heavy lifter segment that accounts for 20 percent of households but over 40 percent of spending.  To be successful, you need proven strategies tailored to your marketing needs.

How Do You Position Your Brand to Attract These Affluent Consumers?
Unity Marketing Has the Answers.

In this 60-minute webinar, you will learn:
•How to satisfy the youth passion for luxury indulgence through brand positioning
•How to think beyond features and benefits to “buzz”
•What ten brand attributes that every brand has to have to attain ‘luxury’ status in the consumers’ eye
•The five ‘hot button’ words that translate into quality for luxury goods
•How to think beyond product to deliver branding experiences for your customers

Danziger, the author of ”Putting the Luxe Back in Luxury”, will host this exclusive webinar, which will include actionable strategies drawn from case studies of successful luxury brands, plus plenty of time for Q&A.

The webinar will inspire you with innovative new ideas and concepts that are grounded in luxury consumer research

This webinar is appropriate for wide range of professionals in the luxury market.  Specifically:

•Brand managers who are responsible for well established heritage brands, as well as marketers interested in learning how to give luxury status to their fledgling brand.
•Advertising professionals will find this webinar useful to help ground their work with new research insights into the mindset of the luxury customers.
•Retailers will appreciate this session both to help them position their store as a destination for luxury consumers, but also to learn to sell their luxury goods and services more effectively.

The webinar will last approximately 60 minutes.  Subcription fee is $249, and covers an unlimited number of attendees at your site.  Subscribers will also receive a copy of the detail slides used in the presentation.  The recorded webinar will also be stored for an additional 30 days if you want to listen again or can’t make the live broadcast.  Finally, your subscription fee can be applied as credit toward the purchase of any Unity Marketing report.

About Pam Danziger and Unity Marketing

Pamela N. Danziger is an internationally recognized expert specializing in consumer insights for marketers targeting the affluent consumer.  She is president of Unity Marketing, a marketing consulting firm she founded in 1992. Pam received the Global Luxury Award for top luxury industry achievers presented at the Global Luxury Forum in 2007 by Harper’s Bazaar.

Pam gives luxury marketers “All Access” to the mind of the luxury consumer. She uses qualitative and quantitative market research to learn about their brand preferences, shopping habits, and attitudes about their luxury lifestyles, then turns these insights into actionable strategies for marketers to use to reach these high spending consumers. Unity Marketing is the voice of the luxury consumer for such clients as PPR, Diageo, Tempur-Pedic, Google, Swarovski, Constellation Wines, Luxottica, Orient-Express Hotels, Italian Trade Commission, Marie Claire magazine, The World Gold Council, and The Conference Board.

Follow Pam on Twitter @ www.twitter.com/PamDanziger

Pam’s latest book is Putting the Luxe Back in Luxury:  How new consumer values are redefining the way we market luxury (Paramount Market Publishing, 2011).  Her other books include Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience, published by Kaplan Publishing in October 2006;  Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses-as well as the Classes, (Dearborn Trade Publishing, $27, hardcover) and Why People Buy Things They Don’t Need: Understanding and Predicting Consumer Behavior (Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2004).

This press release was original distributed by Diamonds.Net copyright reserved.

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According to an AdAge article, during the past decade, the Hispanic $110,000-plus households grew 221% compared to 87% for total U.S. $100,000-plus households. This has increased the penetration of Hispanic households among the total $100,000-plus households in the U.S. from 3.7% to 6.5% during that time.

So, believe they are out there, but it is your job to go out and find them.
Here are some of the key tips shared during the council meeting:

1. Do it IN CULTURE: Understand the key affluent target. While Hispanic marketing tends to focus on the Mexican population which makes over 60% of the total U.S. Hispanics, when it comes to the affluent, a great percentage of them are concentrated in Miami and New York who are typically of South American and Caribbean decent. According to the Census Bureau, over 50 percent of Hispanic affluent are foreign born. 45 percent of affluent Hispanics live in five major metropolitan areas: Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston and Chicago. The economic and political issues in countries like Venezuela and Colombia have brought many immigrants to South Florida, and also in recent months Texas has seen an unprecedented influx of wealthy Mexicans settling in cities like Houston and San Antonio. Also keep in mind common truths about Latinos around cultural pride, the importance of family and a spirit of tenacidad are important emotional queues.

2. Do it IN CONTEXT: Speak with Relevancy. Relevancy refers to a company’s ability to properly contextualize its messaging and approach to successfully reach a target. Relevancy is key to identify the right partnerships, events and a primary audience. This is why a deeper understanding of the four key Latino Affluent sub-segments is critical to succeed. These can be summarized as: unacculturated immigrant small-business owners who earn over $750,000 a year in sales, bicultural immigrant entrepreneurs earning more than $150,000 a year, young educated immigrant professionals averaging over $175,000 a year, and older U.S.-born Hispanic businessmen averaging over $250,000 or more.

3. Do it in LANGUAGE: Beyond Soccer, Telenovelas and Spanish only. As mentioned above, the key sub-target calls for a different approach to messaging and media mix. While language tends to get minimized into a translation of an English tagline, this audience requires a level of sophistication in line with their level of education, aspirations and key drivers. For example, this past June Telemundo partnered with Giorgia Armani Beauty for an elegant event at the W in South Beach with celebrities and Armani’s makeup artist Tom Quinn, The event brought a glamorous sense of relevancy to their Club de Noveleras with top starts and the iconic participation of Armani as a partner. This was certainly an upscale take at bringing beauty, luxury and the passion for Telenovelas together with relevancy. From premium events like the Kentucky Derby to luxury publications like Ocean Drive en Español, brands must take into consideration how the message is constructed and most important, where it gets shared.

Will you boost your luxury business with Latinos? For the category and in times of economic trouble, this may be the only source of new business and incremental growth.

Source

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The world’s top luxury goods makers like Louis Vuitton, Canali, Jimmy Choo, among others, will be the biggest gainers if the government opens up single brand retail to 100% foreign direct investment. Currently, foreign companies can invest only up to 51% FDI in single brand retail firms, forcing them to tie-up and depend on their Indian franchises.

This is a positive signal by the government and brands will now have a far greater appetite to invest in the country, says Tikka Shatrujit Singh, chief representative in Asia for French luxury firm LVMH. “It’s never too late to open up.”

This is expected to provide the push for a number of new brands to come into the country. “Brands that want to come in directly into the country have been waiting,” says Sanjay Kapoor, managing director of Genesis Luxury, which represents luxury brands like Canali, Jimmy Choo and Bottega Veneta in India. Existing luxury brands in the country too want to expand across the country to leverage the large market in the country. The size of the Indian luxury market was estimated at $4.76 billion in 2009 and is expected to triple to $14.7 billion by 2015. As incomes rise across the country and the number of high networth individuals increase, awareness about luxury brands too is on the rise.

Currently, foreign companies can invest only up to 51% FDI in single brand retail and go through local partners. In most cases, their local franchise also sells competing brands from different outlets, where sometimes there is a conflict of interest. Now, they will surely have an option to come on their own.

Source/ Read More

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LUXURY BRANDS ON THE RISE

All luxury brands appearing in Interbrand’s report were able to increase their respective brand values by striking a delicate balance in 2011: They each leveraged their iconic status and simultaneously engaged new consumers in unique and relevant experiences.

Corporations such as Louis Vuitton (#18), Gucci (#39), Hermès (#66), Cartier (#70), Tiffany (#73), Armani (#93) and Burberry (#95) all saw their respective brand values increase this year – a tremendous business achievement considering the world’s tumultuous economic conditions. Each of these luxury brands put a renewed focus on quality, craftsmanship and an increased emphasis on digital brand strategy.

Most notably, Burberry (#95) increased its brand value by 20%, making the British luxury retailer one of the top risers in this year’s report. While luxury brands performed well across the board, Burberry bested them all by focusing on its core competencies in fashion, digital innovation and global expansion.

Source/ Full Report

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After leading Birks & Mayors Inc. for more than 15 years as President and Chief Executive Officer, Tom Andruskevich announced today his plans to resign from the Company in the spring of 2012 after a successor has been named. Mr. Andruskevich joined the Company in his current capacity in June 1996.

In commenting on the announcement, Lorenzo Rossi di Montelera, Chairman of Birks & Mayors, said, “Tom’s contributions to the Company’s growth and stability have been extraordinary. He has overseen our development and expansion, stabilizing and repositioning Birks as the premier luxury jewelry brand in Canada, and acquiring and integrating US jeweler Mayors, which he rebranded as the premier luxury retail jeweler in the Southeastern U.S. He has led the Company to a greatly improved financial condition after a period of challenge in the sector. Tom’s history of success in turn-around situations as well as his leadership skills and sophisticated financial experience have worked very well for us; he has our great appreciation and respect. His legacy here will be substantial.”

Dr. Rossi said that the Company’s Board and Mr. Andruskevich have been working together in a search for a successor and to ensure that the transition will be smooth and seamless. At the Board’s request, Mr. Andruskevich agreed to continue as Vice-Chairman of the Board after the transition is complete and to serve on the Board’s Executive Committee.

Following is an excerpt of a letter sent by Mr. Andruskevich to Birks & Mayors employees today:

“Dear Colleagues:

I’m writing to tell you that I have decided to leave my current position with Birks & Mayors this coming Spring. The Board and I have been working together for some time to find the right successor, and I have been asked to stay on as Vice-Chairman, which I am pleased to do.

I am leaving because as an enthusiastic student of business, I want to pursue Board positions and advisory roles for luxury brands and other high-end companies, where much of my marketing and financial skills have been honed over a 30-year period.

I am enormously proud of what we have been able to accomplish, as I believe you know. Our current financial position is a tremendous feat in the recent economic environment. I believe it stands as a tribute to the ability, discipline and commitment to which all of you contribute each and every day.  The team we have built is strong, and the Company is stable and poised for further growth. This is a good time to transition to new leadership that will guide Birks & Mayors through its next chapter in history. The opportunities that lie ahead for Birks & Mayors are indeed great as we look to the further development of the Birks brand and product assortment as well as our expansion plans abroad.

When I look back on these last 15 years, I think of the impact we had – together – on this great Company. How together we turned around Birks, re-merchandised our product assortment and re-designed and rebuilt our stores. We repositioned our brand with fresh advertising, marketing and merchandising initiatives. We built state-of-the-art information technology systems, enabling world class financial reporting.  This also helped us develop internal controls and corporate governance that we believe are best practices for a public company like ours.

We acquired Mayors in 2002 and Brinkhaus in 2007, and we successfully integrated these companies with Birks. We turned Mayors around in two short years; and then hit a brick wall during the 2008 and 2009 recession. It was challenging, but we all pulled together and got through it. Now we believe we are well positioned to grow and achieve new heights.

You, my colleagues and friends, are the heart and soul of this Company. As I have frequently said, you are the ones who bring our brands to life. You put a face on all the reasons we’ve been so successful. You and your predecessors have created 132 years of trust and heritage that our Company and its brands enjoy today. You must always remember the important role each and everyone of you play in our success.

YOU are what I will miss most!

Finally, I want to say what an honor it has been to have led a company like Birks & Mayors and to have had the opportunity to impact these iconic brands. I want to thank our Board of Directors and Shareholders for their support.  Special tribute goes to our Chairman, Lorenzo Rossi di Montelera, for his guidance and partnership over these years.  He has always been unwavering in his passion for the Birks brand and was ever steady during the more difficult times.  His friendship means a great deal.”

About Birks & Mayors Inc.
Birks & Mayors is a leading retailer with 61 luxury jewellery stores in Canada and the United States. The Company operates 32 stores under the Birks brand in most major markets in Canada and 26 stores under the Mayors brand in Florida and Georgia, two retail locations in Calgary and Vancouver under the Brinkhaus brand, and one retail location in Orlando under the Rolex brand. Birks was founded in 1879 and developed over the years into Canada’s premier retailer, designer and manufacturer of fine jewellery, timepieces, sterling and plated silverware and gifts. Visit www.birks.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains certain “forward-looking” statements concerning the Company’s performance and strategies, including, that the Company is poised for further growth and to achieve new heights and the intent to further develop the Birks brand and product assortment as well as expansion plans abroad. Because such statements include various risks and uncertainties, actual results might differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and no assurance can be given that the Company will meet the results projected in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the following: (i) economic, political and market conditions, including the economies of the U.S. and Canada, which could adversely affect our business, operating results or financial condition, including our revenue and profitability, through the impact of changes in the real estate markets (especially in the state of Florida), changes in the equity markets and decreases in consumer confidence and the related changes in consumer spending patterns, the impact on store traffic, tourism and sales; (ii) the impact of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, increases in commodity prices and borrowing costs and their related impact on the Company’s costs and expenses; and (iii) the Company’s ability to maintain and obtain sufficient sources of liquidity to fund its operations, to achieve planned sales, gross margin and net income, to keep costs low, to implement its business strategy, maintain relationships with its primary vendors, to mitigate fluctuations in the availability and prices of the Company’s merchandise, to compete with other jewelers, to succeed in its marketing initiatives, and to have a successful customer service program. Information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 8, 2011 and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this statement or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Eva Hartling
Director, Public Relations & Events
Birks & Mayors Inc.
1-514-823-7022
ehartling@birksandmayors.com

SOURCE BIRKS & MAYORS INC.

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PPR Luxury Group announced August 18th, 2011, the appointment of Michele Sofisti as CEO of SOWIND Group. He will be seconded by Stefano Macaluso, Managing Director for Girard-Perregaux, and Massimo Macaluso, Managing Director for JeanRichard and the Manufacture, whos stay their current position. He will also continue  to serve as Chief Executive Officer GUCCI Group Watches and Jewellery, and Member of the board of Directors of GUCCI Timepieces Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Japan.

An expert of the Haute Horlogerie industry, Michele Sofisti joined GUCCI Group Watches as Strategic Advisor 2009. He was promoted to CEO 2010 after helping successfully reposition GUCCI’s product offering within the watchmaking market.

Commenting on this annoncement, Francois-Henri Pinault, CEO of PPR and President of Sowind Group, said: “I am pleased to welcome Michele Sofisti to this new role. Michele has strong management expertise within the high-end watchmaking segment. I am confident that he will be able to develop Sowind Group’s growth on the international market, just as he is successfully doing currently at GUCCI Group Watches.”

Michele Sofisti commented: “I am delighted to be offered the opportunity to further develop this high-end watchmaking manufacture, which includes such a prestigious brand as Girard-Perregaux. I am looking forward to work alongside Monica Macaluso and with Stefano and Massimo Macaluso to bring Sowind’s growth potential to full frution.”

 Girard-Perregaux – Cat’s Eye – High Jewellery, Tourbillon with Gold Bridge is pre-selected in the category ‘Jewellery and Artistic Crafts watch’ ‘for the 2011 Edition Grand Prix d’Horlogeries de Geneve

The awards ceremony of the 2011 Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix will be take place on Saturday, 19th November, 2011 at Geneva, Grand Theatre.

Girard-Perregaux presents a rare creation that combines the jeweller’s art with the Brand’s watchmaking virtuosity: the Cat’s Eye Tourbillon Haute Joaillerie (Price: 490’000 CHF). Featuring the oval silhouettes that is caracteristic of the collection, the Cat’s Eye Tourbillon Haute Joaillerie is set entirely with baguette-cut diamonds. Given the exceptionally strict criteria used to select each of the 287 diamonds and the extreme precision required for the cutting, adjustement and setting of every stone, this stunning array of almost 20 carats demands over 700 hours of patient work.

The dedication of the Manufacturer’s craftsmen is expressed in the myriad scintillations of every detail of the case, right down to the crown, which is set with twelve baguette-cut diamonds and adorned with an exceptional rose-cut diamond. This style of cut – of Baroque origin and used on rare stones – was a symbol of nobility and owes its name to the rose effect produced by the 24 facets of the diamond.

The dial of the Cat’s Eye Tourbillon Haute Joaillerie matches the geometry of the case to perfection and reveals the Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon with gold Bridge, itself a symbol of the Brand’s watchmaking expertise. The Tourbillon, composed of 72 parts all contained within a diameter of one centimetre and weighing just 0.3 grammes, has been decorated and assembled entirely by hand.

About Michele Sofisti

Michele Sofisti has extensive experience in the watchmaking industry. Before creating Sofos Management, his own activity devoted to international strategy, marketing and management consulting, in 2005, Michele Sofisti was President of Swatch AG (Switzerland) for five years. He also served as President of Fred Jewellers and Christian Dior watches at LVMH, following his inital experience in the Swatch Group as Vice-President and the President of OMEGA SA. He began is career as a Geologist, the entering Ferrari where he was promoted as CEO of Ferrari Germany. An Italian national, Michele Sofisti earned a degree in Geology from the University of Parma.

About Sowind Group

Based in La-Chaux-de-Fonds, Sowind Group is a Swiss Haute Horlogerie group that includes the Girard-Perregaux and JeanRichard brands, and also Sowind Manufacture, which develope and produces a complete portfolio of high-end watch movements (more than 100 variants) and collections of mechanical watches. The R&D Centre is the cornerstore of the Group and concentrates a large part of investments. Girard-Perregaux traces its origins back to 1791, and the 220 years of history of the brand are marked by numerous inventions that combine design with state-of-the-art technology, such as the renowned “Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges” created by Constant Girard in the 19th century. Girard-Perregaux operates worldwide with 500 hgh prestige sales outlets and 11 boutiques in Asia, the United States and Europe. JeanRichard, a brand dedicated to Daniel JeanRichard (who pionered watchmaking in the Swiss Jura Mountains during 17th century) presents an always innovative interpretation of traditional watchmaking. Since July 5 2011, PPR Luxury Group has become majority shareholder of Sowind Group with 50.1% of the shares, 49.9% being owned by the Macaluso family.

 Editorial by ANDREA JANKE / ANDREA JANKE Finest Accessories

Follow Andrea by Twitter @andreajanke

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No secret that Cartier is the leading luxury brand in China. Which the Asian luxury market growth presents an open opportunity for luxury brands to expand. Cartier seemingly gets it when it comes to brand recognition and identity focus.

The established luxury brand is one of the world’s oldest luxury jewelers and watchmakers started in Paris in 1847. Cartier is ranked as the No. 1 luxury brand in China but it was not an overnight success. Cartier started targeting the China luxury market actually 10 years ago, which proves that building brand awareness and credibility is essential for sustainability.

The luxury brand does not intend to stop at just the China luxury market they plan to move to other regions, not just mainland China but also Hong Kong, Macao, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Singapore. A solution to compensate for troubled regions experiencing economic problems such as the United States and Europe.

Is your luxury brand preparing to target the luxury markets in Asia and the Middle East? Using the World Wide Web can put you that much closer to capturing interest in your luxury brand from these growing luxury markets. Social media engagement and networking is necessary to build a global luxury brand.

Unlike Louis Vuitton who announced that they were going into the hospitality arena by branding Louis Vuitton hotels. Cartier is taking a different route and staying away from branding as a hotel. Even turning down sweet offers to have hotels in the Middle East with the Cartier sign, Cartier brand hotels, and receiving royalties.

CEO Bernard Fornas, Cartier

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The word is out that Rolls-Royce is planning on targeting the younger generation of wealthy consumers. I must admit when I think of Rolls-Royce I don’t traditionally think of cool or even a younger wealthy driver for that matter. However, with the right strategic planning and approach the concept could be a favorable one.

Rolls-Royce will need to engage the young and rich. Consider this when Sean “Diddy” Combs gifted his son a Maybach for his 16^th birthday he also added a chauffer. Typically, a Rolls-Royce is not a car that you drive but is driven for you. The twenty something generation like to be in control of the wheel so Rolls will need to engage them by introducing the young and rich to the lifestyle concept of driving and riding in a Rolls-Royce. Make it a lifestyle experience.

This is when understanding the difference between traditional vs. contemporary luxury counts. Rolls-Royce should seek to engage the young rich online and build credibility first to win their trust. The world is waiting and can’t wait to see how kool younger Rolls-Royce will be like.

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