New Campaign Fights Counterfeit Fashion

Source: CBS News

                                                           Photo: Favim


An association of 75 French luxury brands has launched a campaign against knockoff designer products, warning people in seven European countries of the high costs of fake goods to the industry — and potentially to buyers and sellers.


The anti-counterfeiting group, Comite Colbert, put up posters Wednesday in Paris featuring photos of fake phones, shades, watches and horse skin handbags next to printed warnings of potential high fines and even jail time. One reads: "A bet on the wrong horse can be very expensive." Another advises, "Buy a fake Cartier, get a genuine criminal record."


Though it is a global phenomenon, counterfeiting is especially rampant in France, the capital of the luxury and cosmetics industries, which employs some 131,000 people, and is home to the world's premier fashion shows.


Read the full article at CBS News...

Rothschild And Rockefeller Wealth Unite

Source: Chicago Tribune

John D. Rockefeller Jr., left, and John D. Rockefeller, who dealt with the Rothschilds more than a century before Wednesday's deal.


Two of the most storied names in global finance are linking up, with Europe's Rothschild banking dynasty agreeing to buy a stake in the Rockefeller group's wealth and asset management business to gain a long-sought foothold in the United States.


Rothschild's London-listed RIT Capital Partners said on Wednesday it was buying a 37 percent stake in Rockefeller from French group Societe Generale's private banking arm, for an undisclosed sum.


The transatlantic union brings together David Rockefeller, 96, and Jacob Rothschild, 76 - two family patriarchs whose personal relationship spans five decades.


"We are combining, on a macro level, two well-recognized names and families who have a long history of wealth creation and responsible stewardship," Rockefeller Chief Executive Reuben Jeffery said in an interview.


Read the full article at the Chicago Tribune...

David Beckham For Elle Magazine UK

Source: ELLE

Soccer star David Beckham lands the July 2012 cover of ELLE Magazine UK. 

This makes David the first male to ever grace the cover of ELLE Magazine...ever!

‘David Beckham is a national hero,’ ELLE Editor in Chief Lorraine Candy said. ‘He is an icon and Elle is known for featuring icons on its cover. This is a first for us on the newsstand and I believe he is loved by men and women alike.’


Learn more about the cover story at ELLE...

Lux News: Lower-Income Affluents Return

Source: Diamonds

                                                    Photo: China.org.cn


U.S. consumers who are defined by Unity Marketing as ''high earners not rich yet,'' or HENRYs, have returned to the luxury goods marketplace, according to the retail consultancy.


Unity Marketing considers HENRYs to have annual incomes of $100,000 to $249,999 and found their spending on luxury goods rose 11 percent in 2011 compared with 2009. It is important to note that up until that point, HENRYs had largely been ''missing in action'' since the great recession, according to Unity Marketing.


Additionally, since the ultra-affluent set, or those with incomes of $250,000 or more, reduced luxury spending by 30 percent year on year in 2011, HENRYs appeared on the scene to pick up some of that slack.


Read the full article at Diamonds...

Burger King’s Luxury Truffle In Honk Kong

Source: My Fox DC

                                                Photo: Wall Street Journal


Burger King is aiming to please Hong Kong's famously sophisticated palettes with a luxury twist on its iconic flame-broiled patties.


The American fast food giant recently unveiled a black truffle burger in Hong Kong, according to The Wall Street Journal. The new menu offering seeks to lure customers in a competitive market where high-end food items such as gold-flecked tofu and caviar-topped dim sum are commonplace.


Burger King said it launched the premium burger to present "a taste of royal delicacy" to its Chinese customers, the WSJ said.


The move comes on the heels of similar steps from industry rivals to boost business in Asia, as a growing class of wealthy middle-class consumers fuels the region's appetite for luxury.


Read the full article at My Fox DC...

Facebook's Overnight Millionaires Begin Spending Spree

Source/Photo: Fox Business

Facebook’s $104 billion initial public offering on Friday transformed thousands of young people into instant millionaires – as well as a few billionaires – and already the booming luxury market in Silicon Valley is experiencing an upswing.


Multi-million dollar mansions and $100,000 Porsches are flying off local shelves in the Palo Alto, Santa Clara and Menlo Park areas of California. And the charge of luxury living is being led by a group of young entrepreneurs and techies as well as investors and venture capitalists that have scored famously from Facebook’s Nasdaq debut.


The sudden wealth has already seeped into the local economy, causing sales of high-end cars like Porches and Bentleys to soar, and penthouses to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars above listing prices.


Read the full article at Fox Business...

Russia Regains Luxury Status

Source: RT

                                                                        Photo: Telegraph


Russia is returning to the list of top luxury markets, according to consulting company Bain&Co. With sales of high-end items set to grow by up to 20% in 2012, the country is now snapping at the heels of China – the most luxury-addicted nation.


Russia’s growth will be a large factor in helping the world market grow to 4% in 2012. "The forecast for this year is quite optimistic,” Alla Verber, Vice President at Mercury, told Vedomosti daily.


Through 2009 to 2011 Russia’s high-end market had been growing at an average of 5% annually, after a drop by the same 5% in 2009. This helped the country recover its position in the world arena after being scrubbed from the list of the 10 biggest luxury markets by the recent financial turmoil.


Read the full article at RT...

In Yemen, Eating Is A Luxury Millions Struggle To Afford

Source: Daily Star

For almost half of Yemen’s 22 million people, eating has become a luxury they can’t always afford. On a bad day, Umm Ahmad and her family of five (pictured), who live in Sanaa’s shanty-town district of Al-Sunaina, go without any food at all.


In the past year alone, according to the latest U.N. report, the cost of basic foodstuffs has surged by between 40 and 60 percent and the price of always scarce drinking water has risen by 200 percent, adding to growing inflation.


Unemployment rates have also soared, and 10 million Yemenis, out of a total population of about 22 million, struggle to put food on the table, the U.N. says.


The popular uprising that ousted veteran leader Ali Abdullah Saleh and the months of political unrest that followed have crippled the government’s already weak and corrupt institutions.


Read the full article at Daily Star...

Tom Cruise 'Rocks' Up W Magazine

Source: W Magazine

Check out Tom Cruise on the cover of W Magazine June 2012.

The surprisingly sexy photos are all about his newest film "Rock of Ages," set to hit theaters June 15th. 

Tom Cruise talks to W Magazine about the film, why he decided to do a musical after so many years, and all the sexed up scenes from Rock of Ages.

See photos below and log on to W Magazine for more information. 

Luxury Expertise - Bentley's New Partner In The Netherlands

Source: The Auto Channel

                                                    Photo: Bentley Motors

Bentley is off to a new flying start in the Netherlands, creating a partnership with Pon, a renowned company with over 60 years’ expertise in the prestige car market. The new Bentley dealership, located in Leusden, offers a full range of sales and after-sales services.


Bentley owners and enthusiasts now have a new destination in the Netherlands. The renowned distributor and service company, Pon, is the British luxury car maker’s new partner in the Dutch market. Pon’s Automobiel-handel is a part of Pon Holdings, one of the largest family-owned businesses in the Netherlands, and draws from 60 years of experience in the luxury car segment.


The Netherlands is an important market for Bentley and sales are on the increase with a strong start to 2012. Today, Bentley has an impressive new model line-up, including the new Continental GT and GTC and the recently announced powerful and highly efficient V8 model.


Read the full article at The Auto Channel...