Louise Vuitton Cuts Prices in Japan to Boost Sales:
"LVMH, the world's largest maker of luxury goods, lowered retail prices for its Louis Vuitton brand in Japan by 7 percent yesterday to boost sales . . . The price cuts apply to nearly all items sold, including bags, watches, apparel and shoes, at the company's 56 stores in Japan . . . Louis Vuitton sales fell 7 percent in Japan in the first nine months of the year, the report said."
Louis Vuitton has never cut its prices. Ever. They won't even put anything on sale. It's always been "Our products are so deliciously hot and desirable that consumers will pay anything to get their hands on what we sell!" But hey, times are tough all over.
Maybe they wouldn't have to resort to cutting prices if they had something more to offer than just endless variations on a logo:
Matthew Williamson is Next In Line for H&M:
"H&M's tradition of bringing in guest designers has been a big hit for the group, which is contending with a tough environment for retailers. Williamson will start with a women's range at some stores on April 23, followed by men's and women's summer clothes to be offered from all H&M outlets from mid-May."
Matthew Williamson just recently stepped down from being head designer for the Emilio Pucci line so that he could focus on his own namesake brand. His high-concept designs are a best-kept secret among stick-thin celebrities and socialites with eating disorders (and they're about the only ones who can afford them, too), but creating a limited edition line for fast-fashion H&M should definitely lift his profile among mainstream consumers. A video clip for the most recent Matthew Williamson collection is below:
High End Shoppers Rein in the Spending:
"Spending Pulse, which estimates retail spending using receipts from MasterCard and other forms of payment reports that sales of what they categorise as 'luxury goods' fell 21.1 per cent in the first two weeks of November compared with the year 2007 . . . Stephen Sadove, chief executive of Saks, an American luxury department store chain, says: 'I don't think any of us anticipated that high-end customers were going to fall off as dramatically as they have.'"
Meanwhile, "Ad pages at the top luxury magazines fell 22 percent year over year for the December issues, according to Media Industry Newsletter. Vogue, for example, dropped from 284 pages last December, to 221 pages this December, while Food & Wine went from 160 pages to 126, according to the newsletter."
We probably won't be seeing advertising spectacles like the clip below for at least a few years:
In related news, luxury companies still hope China can help them survive losses in the West: "'It is estimated that China will grow 8%, lower than a previous 11% originally estimated, but it is far from recession,' Versace Chief Executive Giancarlo Di Risio said at the Milano Fashion Global Summit 2008 . . . Versace, which recently said it expects limited effects from the global financial crisis on its sales, expects China to surpass Japan as its biggest single market in Asia."
Though I'm not so sure that counting on China for an economic goose on the bum is really the smartest move in the playbook: "China's manufacturing shrank by the most on record and export orders plunged, adding to evidence that recessions in the U.S., Europe and Japan are dragging down the world's fastest-growing major economy."
Marc Jacobs pays $1 Million for Bribery Charges:
"Designer Marc Jacobs will soon have one million less dollars after he and his company have agreed to pay a fine to the city of New York stemming from his connection to bribery charges in securing a regular spot at the 26th Street Armory for his fashion shows . . . New York's attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, said that tough action had been taken to protect the reputation of the fashion industry. 'New York City is a global epicentre for fashion and cultural events, and we will not allow corruption and greed to tarnish one of our most lucrative industries.'"
James Jackson, the manager of the Armory who demanded the bribes from parties interested in snagging the prime location for public or private events, is facing up to 15 years in prison.
Sex and the City Sequel is a Go:
"Sarah Jessica Parker has confirmed plans for a Sex And The City movie sequel in 2010, but she and writer/director Michael Patrick King are struggling to pick a storyline . . . 'We've had very general conversations about the idea. That's the big hurdle: the idea. The studio is very enthusiastic, which is lovely and seductive. We're at the place where Michael has a wealth of stories so now it's, 'We think we have this story and how do we put this together and are we completely sure that it's the right thing to do?'"
If we're still slogging through an economic recession in 2010, when the film is scheduled to be released, the shop-til-you-drop ethos of SATC might prove to be just the escape that fashion-friendly movie audiences will be craving. Clip below from the filming of SATC -- some random spectator on the street filmed them filming the movie:
In related news, Selling upscale items during an economic downturn: "Many experts believe that the economic pain of the deepening recession could fall disproportionally on ... marketers of high-end perfumes, trendy clothing or sleek fashion accessories . . . A study by Bain & Company released in October found signs of a slowdown in the personal luxury goods sector, which includes shoes, jewelry and fashion, with sales falling 3 percent to 7 percent in 2009 if current trends continue . . . 'This is not a time to panic,' Alexandra Gillespie, who launched her own FLR Group for luxury marketing after a stint as senior vice president of Gucci, said. 'This is a time to define and redefine the brand.'" Sales in elite luxury houses are said to have dropped from $225 billion last year to $172 billion this year.
And remember all those articles just six months ago predicting the death of the "IT" handbag and the birth of the "IT" shoe trend? Well, shoe sales have stumbled, while classic bags, fragrance and homeware sales are up. "Everyone got it wrong about shoes," says Averyl Oates, buying director at Harvey Nichols. "We thought they were going to be the new It bags. We overdid it. The mags overdid it. The buyers overdid it."
A video clip below of the shoes that started a (fizzled) revolution:
4 Comments
From what I've heard, LV prices in Japan are 30% higher than they are in the USA, so I would definitely say they are due for a reduction.
And when is Matthew Williamson going to resuscitate the dearly departed MW Incense. Hmm? That was an inexcusably poor decision.
said:
30% higher?!! Holy S**t -- it's not like those bags are cheap to begin with. What's kind of funny about the price cut is that it's happening at the same time that the Yen is really starting to pick up steam against other world currencies.
That, in itself, would have provided a good amount of relief for Japanese consumers, but it definitely shows that sales for LV are in trouble when they have to toss in a price cut on top of the favorable currency exchange.
And I still can't figure out why MW canceled the original incense, or won't re-release it. It obviously has a following, and its return would be greeted with rapture in the blogs, so it makes zero sense to just lock it in the back of a dark closet and throw away the key, especially now that incense fragrances are all the rage.
Wasn't the original designed by Lyn Harris (of Miller Harris)? I mean -- cult following, designed by a perfumer with high regard among perfume fans and peers, trendy incense formula . . . what could go wrong? Nothing like burying the cash cow.
Yeah, MWI and Doblis. Head-scratchers for sure. You'd think they'd be willing, even anxious, to sell expensive bottles of fume that perfumistas are clamoring for. But according to carmencanada on POL there are not enough of us to make it worth their while, which I find difficult to believe but there you have it.
As for the Japanese prices, I found that out when shopping at the Ala Moana mall in Honolulu last January. I noticed there were lots of signs in Japanese and Japanese SAs in the shops. I also noticed there was a Loewe boutique, the Spanish leathergoods company - they only have one boutique in America, and it's in Honolulu, which I thought was odd - why not New York? I asked their SA, and she's the one who told me all the Japanese come to Honolulu to buy designer goods because they're 30% cheaper here. Blew me away.
said:
Okay, what you just said has supplied the missing piece to a jigsaw puzzle in my brain.
This past summer, while we were staying in Maui, we'd get visitors and take them shopping at some posh shopping mall in Wailea. While cruising through the Fendi store, one of the sales girls pulled out a special, limited edition handbag that cost a small fortune and said that Fendi only made a few of them and carefully doled them out to various regions of the world -- she beamed as she said that they were the ones who got the single United States allotment.
I was, like, "Wha? A little store in Maui? Why?" I couldn't understand how they got preference over New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc. But now it makes sense.
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