Prada Confident for Year as Quarterly Profit Beats Estimates [women handbags]
Prada SpA reported third-quarter profit that beat some analysts’ estimates and said it’s confident of maintaining growth over the year as demand for its luxury shoes and apparel shows no sign of slowing.
Net income rose 75 percent to 93.6 million euros ($125 million) in the three months ended Oct. 31, compared with the year-earlier period, the Milan-based luxury-goods maker said today on its website. The average of two analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for profit of 89.9 million euros. Revenue advanced 33 percent to 596.1 million euros.
Prada, which in June sold shares in Hong Kong’s biggest initial public offering this year, plans to open about 80 stores annually over three years as Asian shoppers splurge on leather handbags and other luxury items. The owner of the Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s and Car Shoe brands is confident of the Asian market, Deputy Chairman Carlo Mazzi said in September. Personal luxury-goods sales may rise 12 percent in the Asia-Pacific region in 2011, excluding currency swings, Bain & Co. estimates.
“We have no signs regarding any decrease in demand for our products,” Mazzi said today by phone. While it’s necessary to be prudent amid economic difficulties, “we are confident to maintain the same level for the full year,” he said.
Prada rose 3.1 percent to HK$35.45 at the 4 p.m. close of trading in Hong Kong today. The earnings were released after markets closed. The shares have fallen 10 percent since the June IPO, while LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA has declined 4.5 percent and Cie. Financiere Richemont SA has slid 11 percent.
Sales Growth
Prada follows rivals including LVMH and PPR SA in predicting sustained demand for luxury items amid Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis. Burberry Group Plc’s Chief Executive Officer Angela Ahrendts said this month the British company can weather any fallout by focusing on wealthy clients in cities such as New York and Hong Kong. Still, Tiffany & Co., the luxury jewelry retailer, said today that sales growth will slow to the “low-teens” in percentage terms in the fourth quarter.
Prada said the pattern of retail sales in November is in line with previous months. Retail sales climbed 39 percent in the quarter and 36 percent in the nine months through October, the 98-year-old company said. While Prada is ready to react to defend profitability, “we remain highly confident about the potential of the luxury market,” it said.
Third-quarter sales rose 50 percent in the Greater China region, including Hong Kong and Macau, and 45 percent in the Far East, Prada said. Europe and Italy, where sales grew 33 percent and 27 percent, respectively, are still performing “quite well,” Finance Director Donatello Galli said on a conference call. North American sales increased 24 percent.
Net income rose 75 percent to 93.6 million euros ($125 million) in the three months ended Oct. 31, compared with the year-earlier period, the Milan-based luxury-goods maker said today on its website. The average of two analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for profit of 89.9 million euros. Revenue advanced 33 percent to 596.1 million euros.
Prada, which in June sold shares in Hong Kong’s biggest initial public offering this year, plans to open about 80 stores annually over three years as Asian shoppers splurge on leather handbags and other luxury items. The owner of the Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s and Car Shoe brands is confident of the Asian market, Deputy Chairman Carlo Mazzi said in September. Personal luxury-goods sales may rise 12 percent in the Asia-Pacific region in 2011, excluding currency swings, Bain & Co. estimates.
“We have no signs regarding any decrease in demand for our products,” Mazzi said today by phone. While it’s necessary to be prudent amid economic difficulties, “we are confident to maintain the same level for the full year,” he said.
Prada rose 3.1 percent to HK$35.45 at the 4 p.m. close of trading in Hong Kong today. The earnings were released after markets closed. The shares have fallen 10 percent since the June IPO, while LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA has declined 4.5 percent and Cie. Financiere Richemont SA has slid 11 percent.
Sales Growth
Prada follows rivals including LVMH and PPR SA in predicting sustained demand for luxury items amid Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis. Burberry Group Plc’s Chief Executive Officer Angela Ahrendts said this month the British company can weather any fallout by focusing on wealthy clients in cities such as New York and Hong Kong. Still, Tiffany & Co., the luxury jewelry retailer, said today that sales growth will slow to the “low-teens” in percentage terms in the fourth quarter.
Prada said the pattern of retail sales in November is in line with previous months. Retail sales climbed 39 percent in the quarter and 36 percent in the nine months through October, the 98-year-old company said. While Prada is ready to react to defend profitability, “we remain highly confident about the potential of the luxury market,” it said.
Third-quarter sales rose 50 percent in the Greater China region, including Hong Kong and Macau, and 45 percent in the Far East, Prada said. Europe and Italy, where sales grew 33 percent and 27 percent, respectively, are still performing “quite well,” Finance Director Donatello Galli said on a conference call. North American sales increased 24 percent.
Meet a master [women handbags]
It's a Monday morning, "catching-up day" at Occhicone Fine Leather Goods on Port Chester's North Main Street. Which is why the gold-handled front door stays locked as the village's downtown revs to life and a fretful female peers in and raps a distress signal on plate glass. Which is why a few women sneak in through the shop's back door to drop off shoes that can't wait another day for the healing hands of Occhicone.
It's family here, this business. They won't give you the boot even when they're closed.
At the front counter, Rosa and Anna Occhicone – mother and daughter – sort through and tag women's suede and leather boots. From a long Gucci box Rosa pulls a pair of sleekly stylish, calf-high brown boots. The sales slip reads "$1,295" – leather from a golden calf perhaps.
It's an alteration job for the Saks Fifth Avenue store up the road in Greenwich. "We have to make them an inch and a half bigger," Rosa says. Big bucks, big calves. Saks, Neiman Marcus, Michael Kors, they all send their high-end leather goods to this shop in Port Chester.
"They can run up to $10,000," Anna says. "It's crazy." Then there's the austerity-budget pair from TJ Maxx she lifts from the counter. They fix all kinds at Occhicone Fine Leather Goods.
Giuseppe Occhicone, the shop's 81-year-old master, emerges through a curtain from a crammed workroom where a dozen well-trained employees catch up on orders at sewing machines and work benches. He calls himself "leather crafter and cobbler." Giuseppe – after half a century in America, some call him "Joe''– turns well-tanned alligator hides and ostrich skins into handbags for which customers will pay a few or several thousand dollars. They pay handsomely too to walk in his shoes. You want a nice belt to hold up those Armani slacks, he'll make it for you.
"When I was 14, I made my first pair of custom shoes," he says. That was for a lady in Andretta, the village in Italy where Giuseppe was a fifth-generation cobbler in his family. "I learned the trade from my father and my father learned the trade from his father."
At 17, he left his defeated and war-ravaged country for Venezuela. He found a job in a shoe factory and studied accounting at night school, then balanced the company books with his handed-down leather trade. In 1960, he arrived in New York City.
It's family here, this business. They won't give you the boot even when they're closed.
At the front counter, Rosa and Anna Occhicone – mother and daughter – sort through and tag women's suede and leather boots. From a long Gucci box Rosa pulls a pair of sleekly stylish, calf-high brown boots. The sales slip reads "$1,295" – leather from a golden calf perhaps.
It's an alteration job for the Saks Fifth Avenue store up the road in Greenwich. "We have to make them an inch and a half bigger," Rosa says. Big bucks, big calves. Saks, Neiman Marcus, Michael Kors, they all send their high-end leather goods to this shop in Port Chester.
"They can run up to $10,000," Anna says. "It's crazy." Then there's the austerity-budget pair from TJ Maxx she lifts from the counter. They fix all kinds at Occhicone Fine Leather Goods.
Giuseppe Occhicone, the shop's 81-year-old master, emerges through a curtain from a crammed workroom where a dozen well-trained employees catch up on orders at sewing machines and work benches. He calls himself "leather crafter and cobbler." Giuseppe – after half a century in America, some call him "Joe''– turns well-tanned alligator hides and ostrich skins into handbags for which customers will pay a few or several thousand dollars. They pay handsomely too to walk in his shoes. You want a nice belt to hold up those Armani slacks, he'll make it for you.
"When I was 14, I made my first pair of custom shoes," he says. That was for a lady in Andretta, the village in Italy where Giuseppe was a fifth-generation cobbler in his family. "I learned the trade from my father and my father learned the trade from his father."
At 17, he left his defeated and war-ravaged country for Venezuela. He found a job in a shoe factory and studied accounting at night school, then balanced the company books with his handed-down leather trade. In 1960, he arrived in New York City.
Wisconsin agency scrambles to keep up with concealed carry permit requests [rolex uhren watches]
Wisconsin's concealed carry law isn't even a month old, but thousands of your friends and neighbors already have permission to pack heat, and they're buying up the hardware to do it.
Wisconsin became the 49th state to allow residents to carry concealed weapons this month. Questions about liability still linger, but gun sales have increased across the state, and the state Justice Department has been deluged with so many permit requests it's already scrambling to keep up.
"Long time coming," said Matt Slavik, 58, of Brookfield. He hand-filed applications for himself and his wife at the Justice Department's Capitol office on the morning of Nov. 1, the first day the new law was in effect. He said he got permit No. 20 in the mail two days later; his wife got No. 86 a day after him. "It's been wonderful, just to put the sidearm on as I start the day. I just keep it underneath my shirt, and nobody knows. It's very comfortable."
The National Rifle Association had pushed concealed carry legislation in Wisconsin for most of the last decade but kept running into former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle's veto. Republicans took control of the Legislature and the governor's office last year, though, and made concealed carry one of their top priorities. Gov. Scott Walker finally signed a bill this summer.
Under the law, state residents 21 or older who pass a background check and can prove they have taken firearms training can obtain a permit to carry concealed. Private property and business owners can choose whether to allow concealed weapons.
In the four weeks since the law took effect, gun sales have jumped. The Justice Department's handgun hotline, a number gun sellers can call to initiate background checks on would-be gun buyers, had received 7,355 calls between Nov. 1 and Monday; the line has averaged about 6,550 calls per month throughout the year. The record for monthly calls is 7,859.
Roger Wendling, owner of Monsoor's Sport Shop in La Crosse, estimates he's seen a 25 to 30 percent increase in handgun sales this month. Some of the more popular models have been .38-caliber Sig Sauers and Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolvers, both small, snub-nosed weapons that are easy to hide.
About 70 percent of the concealed carry clientele have been women, he said. They've leaned toward revolvers with laser sights and handbags with special compartments for hidden weapons, he said.
The state Justice Department, meanwhile, is wading through tens of thousands of permit requests. As of Tuesday, the agency had received 44,443 applications, approved 13,085 and issued 12,708 permits.
The agency had rejected about 3,000 requests, said Brian O'Keefe, administrator of DOJ's Law Enforcement Services Division. The reasons have varied, from not being a Wisconsin applicant to missing basic application information like date of birth or failing to enclose the $50 application fee.
Wisconsin became the 49th state to allow residents to carry concealed weapons this month. Questions about liability still linger, but gun sales have increased across the state, and the state Justice Department has been deluged with so many permit requests it's already scrambling to keep up.
"Long time coming," said Matt Slavik, 58, of Brookfield. He hand-filed applications for himself and his wife at the Justice Department's Capitol office on the morning of Nov. 1, the first day the new law was in effect. He said he got permit No. 20 in the mail two days later; his wife got No. 86 a day after him. "It's been wonderful, just to put the sidearm on as I start the day. I just keep it underneath my shirt, and nobody knows. It's very comfortable."
The National Rifle Association had pushed concealed carry legislation in Wisconsin for most of the last decade but kept running into former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle's veto. Republicans took control of the Legislature and the governor's office last year, though, and made concealed carry one of their top priorities. Gov. Scott Walker finally signed a bill this summer.
Under the law, state residents 21 or older who pass a background check and can prove they have taken firearms training can obtain a permit to carry concealed. Private property and business owners can choose whether to allow concealed weapons.
In the four weeks since the law took effect, gun sales have jumped. The Justice Department's handgun hotline, a number gun sellers can call to initiate background checks on would-be gun buyers, had received 7,355 calls between Nov. 1 and Monday; the line has averaged about 6,550 calls per month throughout the year. The record for monthly calls is 7,859.
Roger Wendling, owner of Monsoor's Sport Shop in La Crosse, estimates he's seen a 25 to 30 percent increase in handgun sales this month. Some of the more popular models have been .38-caliber Sig Sauers and Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolvers, both small, snub-nosed weapons that are easy to hide.
About 70 percent of the concealed carry clientele have been women, he said. They've leaned toward revolvers with laser sights and handbags with special compartments for hidden weapons, he said.
The state Justice Department, meanwhile, is wading through tens of thousands of permit requests. As of Tuesday, the agency had received 44,443 applications, approved 13,085 and issued 12,708 permits.
The agency had rejected about 3,000 requests, said Brian O'Keefe, administrator of DOJ's Law Enforcement Services Division. The reasons have varied, from not being a Wisconsin applicant to missing basic application information like date of birth or failing to enclose the $50 application fee.
Putney fairy godmother is closing in on her 1m charity donation target [women handbags]
A Putney fairy godmother is closing in on her 1m target to donate to charity.
Charlotte Grobien, 59, has already donated 825,000 to charity after building three houses from scratch and renting out two apartments in Roehampton..
The philanthropist raises money by building, developing and selling houses then donating 100 percent of the profits to charity.
She is currently developing three cottages in Woking, Surrey which will go on sale in January - with hopes to sell them for 340,000 each.
Mrs Grobien said: "I enjoy the outcome of going along to the charity and handing the cheque. I want my heart to beat when I write the cheque.
"The feel good factor is immense, and the knowledge that one is able to positively affect the lives of those who are in need is humbling.
"I might be a "handbag developer", but the profits I generate will never go towards this season's Louis Vuitton."
Mrs Grobien said she sees everything from start to finish, whilst maintaining relationships with the charities.
She was first given the idea to set up Give it Away after she added an extra floor to her home in Putney, and watching property development programmes on television.
Work began in 2003 when she bought three plots of land for more than 1m, which was largely borrowed from the bank.
Over 14 south London charities have received money, including disabled children's charity Small Steps based in Putney and the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon
Little Prince rising to prominence [watches]
If only Claudio Marchisio's Turinese accent was stronger, it would make the stereotype of 'local lad done good' jump out of the page at you. The Juventus midfielder, though, while retaining several of the peculiar traits of his origin, has matured too steadily on and off the pitch to be cast in the role of someone whose imagination and dreams barely stretched beyond the confines of Chieri, the small town right outside Turin where he was born in January 1986.
As the youngest in a Juventus-supporting family, a young Marchisio would dream of one day donning the famous black-and-white shirt, following in the footsteps of his favourite player, Alessandro Del Piero, whose poster adorned a wall in his bedroom. Along with the rest of his season-ticket holding family, Marchisio was in the uncomfortable, poorly-sighted stands of the now demolished Stadio Delle Alpi on that early December day in 1994 when Del Piero scored one of the most memorable goals in the recent history of Italian football.
By that time, Marchisio was already a member of Juventus' youth system, where he wore the No. 10 shirt as a tribute to Del Piero. His ambition to be like Alex stretched to becoming a striker, but his coaches detected something else: that his strong running, stamina and body type were more conducive to a career in midfield.
Evidence of that came in 1998, when a 12-year-old Marchisio, wearing that No. 10 jersey a couple of sizes too big, galloped from one end of the muddy pitch to the other, exchanged a quick one-two with Paolo De Ceglie and lobbed the goalkeeper with a sweet touch. When later shown footage from that goal (recorded by his father) during a show hosted by Juve's in-house TV channel, Marchisio almost broke down in tears at the thought of having come so far since that day.
Kids scoring wonder goals against overmatched opponents, though, are a dime-a-dozen and it is a testimony to his attitude, determination and work ethic that Marchisio made the transition to professional player and, now, a regular member of the Juventus starting midfield.
His place had been threatened during the summer. As soon as Antonio Conte began installing his system - be it 4-4-2 or 4-2-4 - and Juventus signed Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal (who looked like the ideal central midfield partner for the former Milan passmaster), insiders started wondering what would happen with Marchisio, who had just extended his contract to 2016. They should not have worried.
Marchisio had, after all, been a jack-of-all-trades for Juventus and Italy for a number of years already. His multidimensional skills have worked both for and against him, as coaches felt free to move him around in order to accommodate players with lesser qualities in their own positions.
As an example, during the 2009-10 season, when Ciro Ferrara was in charge, Marchisio played either on the left or on the right of a three-man midfield in a 4-3-1-2, was a nominal left winger several times in a 4-4-2 and also partnered Felipe Melo in central midfield in the same formation.
Marcello Lippi used him in left midfield in the only two matches Marchisio started in the ill-fated - and badly coached - 2010 World Cup campaign, and when the current season dawned doubts over his best position arose again. "He's a superb central midfielder, and that's where he will play. He can also play wider but only in an emergency. End of the story," was how Conte replied to several questions on the matter, and you could picture the player himself nodding in agreement.
As the youngest in a Juventus-supporting family, a young Marchisio would dream of one day donning the famous black-and-white shirt, following in the footsteps of his favourite player, Alessandro Del Piero, whose poster adorned a wall in his bedroom. Along with the rest of his season-ticket holding family, Marchisio was in the uncomfortable, poorly-sighted stands of the now demolished Stadio Delle Alpi on that early December day in 1994 when Del Piero scored one of the most memorable goals in the recent history of Italian football.
By that time, Marchisio was already a member of Juventus' youth system, where he wore the No. 10 shirt as a tribute to Del Piero. His ambition to be like Alex stretched to becoming a striker, but his coaches detected something else: that his strong running, stamina and body type were more conducive to a career in midfield.
Evidence of that came in 1998, when a 12-year-old Marchisio, wearing that No. 10 jersey a couple of sizes too big, galloped from one end of the muddy pitch to the other, exchanged a quick one-two with Paolo De Ceglie and lobbed the goalkeeper with a sweet touch. When later shown footage from that goal (recorded by his father) during a show hosted by Juve's in-house TV channel, Marchisio almost broke down in tears at the thought of having come so far since that day.
Kids scoring wonder goals against overmatched opponents, though, are a dime-a-dozen and it is a testimony to his attitude, determination and work ethic that Marchisio made the transition to professional player and, now, a regular member of the Juventus starting midfield.
His place had been threatened during the summer. As soon as Antonio Conte began installing his system - be it 4-4-2 or 4-2-4 - and Juventus signed Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal (who looked like the ideal central midfield partner for the former Milan passmaster), insiders started wondering what would happen with Marchisio, who had just extended his contract to 2016. They should not have worried.
Marchisio had, after all, been a jack-of-all-trades for Juventus and Italy for a number of years already. His multidimensional skills have worked both for and against him, as coaches felt free to move him around in order to accommodate players with lesser qualities in their own positions.
As an example, during the 2009-10 season, when Ciro Ferrara was in charge, Marchisio played either on the left or on the right of a three-man midfield in a 4-3-1-2, was a nominal left winger several times in a 4-4-2 and also partnered Felipe Melo in central midfield in the same formation.
Marcello Lippi used him in left midfield in the only two matches Marchisio started in the ill-fated - and badly coached - 2010 World Cup campaign, and when the current season dawned doubts over his best position arose again. "He's a superb central midfielder, and that's where he will play. He can also play wider but only in an emergency. End of the story," was how Conte replied to several questions on the matter, and you could picture the player himself nodding in agreement.
Interview: Fiona Fraser, designer, director and farmer [watches]
WHEN she's not hanging out in Manhattan's upmarket stores promoting her new luxury Scottish goods brand, Fraser Balgowan, Fiona Fraser is likely to be tussling with a tup on the Highland farm she works with her husband Ewan.
A third generation deer stalker and farmer, he has a flock of black-faced sheep that make the couple's working lives a 24-hour affair and with Ewan out stalking six months of the year, Fiona is a hands-on farmer too, as well as being managing director and design director of Fraser Balgowan.
Launched this summer and billed as "Scotland's newest luxury brand", the company sells bags and hampers and aims to reflect a Highland way of life and the quality products and skills available. Bestsellers include a deerskin bag and iPod cover and the buzzwords are "heritage, craftsmanship, authenticity and luxury".
"We are working with very high quality and traditional materials. Also, we have ethics and are passionate about where our materials come from. What makes what we do special is the story behind it. We always wanted to create a luxury brand that reflects the lifestyle, traditions and heritage of where we live. It's a way of life for us. We don't stop at 5pm," says Fraser.
Hailing from Perthshire, Fraser, 36, met her husband Ewan, 45, when she moved to Laggan to work with Highland Council and kept a horse on his field.
"He used to help at the livery stable from time to time," she says, "and the rest is history."
The horse is history now too (although he's gone to a happy home) as Fraser's commitment to her new business meant devoting herself to it 24/7.
"It's been very busy. I have just come back from a week in New York where Saks Fifth Avenue invited me to an event and included our luxury men's hamper in their display. I was promoting our new Heritage Collection and met with Saks buyers and Brooks Brothers too and they have asked me to submit designs to be considered for their next autumn winter collection," she says.
"Saks have started their own private label men's collection so it's with a view to our designs becoming part of that but we are very keen it's co-branded as we want to build up our own name. Our new Heritage Collection is something we hope will sell well internationally with luxury retailers on America's East Coast, and in Russia, China and Europe. We always thought it would be an international business because Ewan has a lot of foreign shooting guests and we've gone down well with them."
After identifying a gap in the market for quality souvenirs, the company uses textiles bearing the best Scottish names, such as Johnston's of Elgin, Begg's of Ayr, Lovat Mill, Shorts, and also Todd & Duncan, of Hawick. These mills also produce materials for Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren. Hides from Laggan are among the deerskin used to make the bags, along with tweed from the Borders and produce grown locally. The hampers are even packed with surplus sheepskin from the Fraser farm.
"If we can keep the business in Scotland and achieve a fair price for the farmers, weavers and tanners, that's great. At the same time we're showing how beautiful the Highlands are," says Fraser.
"A lot of those materials are in danger of going to waste because they're not that marketable. I couldn't bear that. It's hugely important we do this right and have integrity. We're not just doing it to make money. It's more important than that. It's to preserve a way of life and skills."
At present, the Frasers are happy to plough all profits back into the business and have invested a significant amount of their own money.
Working for Highland Council, Fraser's experience is in rural development and community support so she knew the area well before joining Ewan on the farm. "I was involved in the Cairngorms National Park and parliamentary inquiries and everything from Rock Ness to the Glen Doe renewable energy project. This job is a culmination of everything I have done before; marketing, business development and strategy, enterprise and planning. But I wasn't a farmer's wife so it was quite a learning curve!"
Throw in sheep dipping and being chief cook and bottle washer on a Highland farm and you can see why Fraser enjoys the occasional jaunt over the pond.
"New York is a complete contrast to life here. It takes me a week to come back down to earth. But Laggan is beautiful and that's why people have a real fascination with the landscape. It evokes something romantic for them."
A third generation deer stalker and farmer, he has a flock of black-faced sheep that make the couple's working lives a 24-hour affair and with Ewan out stalking six months of the year, Fiona is a hands-on farmer too, as well as being managing director and design director of Fraser Balgowan.
Launched this summer and billed as "Scotland's newest luxury brand", the company sells bags and hampers and aims to reflect a Highland way of life and the quality products and skills available. Bestsellers include a deerskin bag and iPod cover and the buzzwords are "heritage, craftsmanship, authenticity and luxury".
"We are working with very high quality and traditional materials. Also, we have ethics and are passionate about where our materials come from. What makes what we do special is the story behind it. We always wanted to create a luxury brand that reflects the lifestyle, traditions and heritage of where we live. It's a way of life for us. We don't stop at 5pm," says Fraser.
Hailing from Perthshire, Fraser, 36, met her husband Ewan, 45, when she moved to Laggan to work with Highland Council and kept a horse on his field.
"He used to help at the livery stable from time to time," she says, "and the rest is history."
The horse is history now too (although he's gone to a happy home) as Fraser's commitment to her new business meant devoting herself to it 24/7.
"It's been very busy. I have just come back from a week in New York where Saks Fifth Avenue invited me to an event and included our luxury men's hamper in their display. I was promoting our new Heritage Collection and met with Saks buyers and Brooks Brothers too and they have asked me to submit designs to be considered for their next autumn winter collection," she says.
"Saks have started their own private label men's collection so it's with a view to our designs becoming part of that but we are very keen it's co-branded as we want to build up our own name. Our new Heritage Collection is something we hope will sell well internationally with luxury retailers on America's East Coast, and in Russia, China and Europe. We always thought it would be an international business because Ewan has a lot of foreign shooting guests and we've gone down well with them."
After identifying a gap in the market for quality souvenirs, the company uses textiles bearing the best Scottish names, such as Johnston's of Elgin, Begg's of Ayr, Lovat Mill, Shorts, and also Todd & Duncan, of Hawick. These mills also produce materials for Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren. Hides from Laggan are among the deerskin used to make the bags, along with tweed from the Borders and produce grown locally. The hampers are even packed with surplus sheepskin from the Fraser farm.
"If we can keep the business in Scotland and achieve a fair price for the farmers, weavers and tanners, that's great. At the same time we're showing how beautiful the Highlands are," says Fraser.
"A lot of those materials are in danger of going to waste because they're not that marketable. I couldn't bear that. It's hugely important we do this right and have integrity. We're not just doing it to make money. It's more important than that. It's to preserve a way of life and skills."
At present, the Frasers are happy to plough all profits back into the business and have invested a significant amount of their own money.
Working for Highland Council, Fraser's experience is in rural development and community support so she knew the area well before joining Ewan on the farm. "I was involved in the Cairngorms National Park and parliamentary inquiries and everything from Rock Ness to the Glen Doe renewable energy project. This job is a culmination of everything I have done before; marketing, business development and strategy, enterprise and planning. But I wasn't a farmer's wife so it was quite a learning curve!"
Throw in sheep dipping and being chief cook and bottle washer on a Highland farm and you can see why Fraser enjoys the occasional jaunt over the pond.
"New York is a complete contrast to life here. It takes me a week to come back down to earth. But Laggan is beautiful and that's why people have a real fascination with the landscape. It evokes something romantic for them."
Exotic Leather's Enduring Charm [watches]
If diamonds are forever, a crocodile handbag is for a lifetime, at least.
This month, a rainbow of Birkin, Kelly and Constance handbags go under the hammer at one of Christie's regular auctions of vintage Hermès where, at previous sales, winning bids have approached 50,000, or $80,000, for designs in rare exotic skins: crocodile, alligator, python, ostrich and lizard.
"You might assess exotic leathers in the same way as fine jewelry, where the precious nature of the raw materials and skilled handcraftsmanship give the piece an intrinsic value independent of trends," said Simon Longland, fashion accessories general merchandise manager at Harrods.
Despite the economic downturn, and with prices that can soar over $30,000 for a crocodile handbag, Harrods has seen a year-on-year increase in sales in this department, Mr. Longland said.
Besides housing concessions of the major brands — Hermès, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo and Gucci — Harrods buys collections from independent specialists like Lana Marks, Nancy Gonzalez and Zagliani.
Last year, Zagliani opened its first boutique on Sloane Street in London to cope with demand for its soft, pleated designs that this season will come in newly developed finishes including rubberized crocodile and hand-printed, serigraphed python.
Harrods's current top seller is a Nancy Gonzalez crocodile clutch, available in a myriad of colors for 995, or $1,600 — "very good value," Mr. Longland said.
The niche brands appeal to connoisseurs looking for unique design and willing to pay for the quality of the skins, he added.
Harrods has been steadily expanding its offering in exotics. In 2009 they became the exclusive retailer of Analeena, an accessories line designed by a former buyer for Hermès, Lina Hamed. This month they will introduce Ethan K, a collection of crocodilian clutch bags by Ethan Koh, 24, a fourth-generation exotics artisan from Singapore and a recent London College of Fashion graduate.
Ms. Hamed sources the "grade one" crocodile crusts (the term used for untreated crocodilian skins) for her Analeena accessories from Hermès, which owns two of the five major exotics tanneries, as well as their own crocodile farms in Australia.
She takes care of the dyeing and finishing of the crusts herself — a do-it-yourself response to the difficulties of obtaining the color and size of skins that she requires.
"I mix and match colors I bought at Homebase, paint them on paper and send those to my tannery," said Ms. Hamed. The sherbet-hued skins are then sent to ateliers in Florence to be made into shoppers, clutches and totes featuring palladium or rose gold hardware, that will said for 4,000 to 10,000.
"People that already have the Hermès bag that costs 36,000 come to me and might end up buying three bags in different color combinations," Ms. Hamed said, adding that one client has at least 20 of her signature geometric clutches. In total she sells about 200 crocodile bags a year.
Introducing Analeena during the recession was not the biggest challenge for Ms. Hamed. Despite a good relationship with Hermès, obtaining the skins proved most difficult.
In 2009, farmers of Crocodylus niloticus and Alligator mississippiensis stopped collecting eggs to avoid a predicted oversupply of skins to a luxury market suffering under financial crisis, C.T. Koh, father of Ethan Koh, wrote in a recent e-mail.
Mr. Koh is the owner of Singapore-based Heng Long International, a company founded by his grandfather in the early 1950s and generally recognized as one of the top-five crocodile skin tanneries in the world. Last month, LVMH paid $123.9 million for a controlling share in the family-run company.
In 2010, that market experienced a quick recovery, and suddenly orders for goods including high-end watches (and their crocodile straps), handbags and other accessories increased. "Skins were in strong demand again, resulting in pressure and price increases of 20 to 40 percent, depending on the species," Mr. Koh said.
This month, a rainbow of Birkin, Kelly and Constance handbags go under the hammer at one of Christie's regular auctions of vintage Hermès where, at previous sales, winning bids have approached 50,000, or $80,000, for designs in rare exotic skins: crocodile, alligator, python, ostrich and lizard.
"You might assess exotic leathers in the same way as fine jewelry, where the precious nature of the raw materials and skilled handcraftsmanship give the piece an intrinsic value independent of trends," said Simon Longland, fashion accessories general merchandise manager at Harrods.
Despite the economic downturn, and with prices that can soar over $30,000 for a crocodile handbag, Harrods has seen a year-on-year increase in sales in this department, Mr. Longland said.
Besides housing concessions of the major brands — Hermès, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo and Gucci — Harrods buys collections from independent specialists like Lana Marks, Nancy Gonzalez and Zagliani.
Last year, Zagliani opened its first boutique on Sloane Street in London to cope with demand for its soft, pleated designs that this season will come in newly developed finishes including rubberized crocodile and hand-printed, serigraphed python.
Harrods's current top seller is a Nancy Gonzalez crocodile clutch, available in a myriad of colors for 995, or $1,600 — "very good value," Mr. Longland said.
The niche brands appeal to connoisseurs looking for unique design and willing to pay for the quality of the skins, he added.
Harrods has been steadily expanding its offering in exotics. In 2009 they became the exclusive retailer of Analeena, an accessories line designed by a former buyer for Hermès, Lina Hamed. This month they will introduce Ethan K, a collection of crocodilian clutch bags by Ethan Koh, 24, a fourth-generation exotics artisan from Singapore and a recent London College of Fashion graduate.
Ms. Hamed sources the "grade one" crocodile crusts (the term used for untreated crocodilian skins) for her Analeena accessories from Hermès, which owns two of the five major exotics tanneries, as well as their own crocodile farms in Australia.
She takes care of the dyeing and finishing of the crusts herself — a do-it-yourself response to the difficulties of obtaining the color and size of skins that she requires.
"I mix and match colors I bought at Homebase, paint them on paper and send those to my tannery," said Ms. Hamed. The sherbet-hued skins are then sent to ateliers in Florence to be made into shoppers, clutches and totes featuring palladium or rose gold hardware, that will said for 4,000 to 10,000.
"People that already have the Hermès bag that costs 36,000 come to me and might end up buying three bags in different color combinations," Ms. Hamed said, adding that one client has at least 20 of her signature geometric clutches. In total she sells about 200 crocodile bags a year.
Introducing Analeena during the recession was not the biggest challenge for Ms. Hamed. Despite a good relationship with Hermès, obtaining the skins proved most difficult.
In 2009, farmers of Crocodylus niloticus and Alligator mississippiensis stopped collecting eggs to avoid a predicted oversupply of skins to a luxury market suffering under financial crisis, C.T. Koh, father of Ethan Koh, wrote in a recent e-mail.
Mr. Koh is the owner of Singapore-based Heng Long International, a company founded by his grandfather in the early 1950s and generally recognized as one of the top-five crocodile skin tanneries in the world. Last month, LVMH paid $123.9 million for a controlling share in the family-run company.
In 2010, that market experienced a quick recovery, and suddenly orders for goods including high-end watches (and their crocodile straps), handbags and other accessories increased. "Skins were in strong demand again, resulting in pressure and price increases of 20 to 40 percent, depending on the species," Mr. Koh said.
Gangsta grandma on the subway, loco at the White House [watches]
Caroline Regidor writes: ”I'm packing lead in here,” the elderly woman said to the younger one, her face set in a snarl. Gangsta grandma rummaged through her handbag as if she were looking for a gun. She had plopped down next to me. I couldn't help myself. Curiouser and curiouser, I peered down. All I could see were tissues stuffed into a side pocket. She didn't unzip the main section of her bag all the way. She may have been bluffing. But then again …
The younger woman was unperturbed. “I'm gonna respect you ‘cos you old,” she said from across the aisle. “But next time you better watch where you're going. And you'd better watch where I'm going too.”
I kept looking at the woman's bag, which she held tightly on her lap. She continued to hold her palm open over one lumpy section of it, as if she were indeed making sure she knew the exact location of her gun. Judging from the creases on her face, she was at least sixty. A fashionable one at that, with chunky gold earrings, shades, skinny jeans and ankle boots. The other woman was dressed in the same way. They could've been mother and daughter.
Our fellow passengers ignored the conversation as if it were white noise. Not knowing what to do, I tried to appeal to the passenger sitting across from me, communicating silently, now what? Do I get up from my seat so I'm not in the line of fire? Pretend like nothing's happening, like everyone else? He was sitting next to the younger woman so was in a similarly precarious situation. Unlike me, he was nonchalant. Just another day on the subway.
I chose herd mentality over panic. I tried to relax and decided to stare at the map overhead, a line of dots showing the stops of the 2 train line. I consciously avoided the shaded eyes of both women, struck by the irrational fear that they might collectively direct their anger at me. Images of the two women whipping out guns out of their streetwear handbags and shooting me, execution style, flitted in and out of my mind. Alert and observant, I realised I was the lone Asian in the carriage until the train arrived at Wall Street, when finance workers embarked. That fact probably made me stand out as a target for at least five minutes. Yikes.
I was jumpier than normal because only the day before, on my way home from the supermarket, I walked past a couple of kids who, from a distance, appeared to be goofing around. Then one drew a sharpened wooden stake up against the other's neck. Where did that come from? I thought. That boy must have brought that weapon with him. It's premeditated. They're not just two hyperactive kids jostling each other. I passed them hurriedly, not wanting to interfere and risk having that stake pointed in my direction.
These random acts of violence in fact happened about two weeks ago. Since then, I've had to pack up my place in Brooklyn (the sublease expired), spent a week in Washington DC and moved into my new place in the Upper East Side. Yes, the two events contributed to my decision to move to a safer neighbourhood in Manhattan. Also the apartments in the hip areas in Brooklyn are ridiculously overpriced, and I have to go to Brooklyn for work anyway, so can still hang with my new friends there. So why not live in a nabe where it's overpriced for reasons more substantial and diverse than proximity to awesome bars?
On more current events, the number one news item lately is the tattooed and seemingly mentally unstable Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez. He's suspected of shooting at the White House last week, using an AK-47.
As I said, we just visited DC last week. My husband and I caught up with our buddy Rich, a DC local and ex-military guy. We also made friends with an Air Force veteran who now works at the Pentagon. (We met him and his wife at a bar in the Willard Hotel, a stone's throw away from the White House. Interesting side note: lobbyists used to meet with government higher-ups in the hotel's lobby, to do their wheeling and dealing, and Washingtonians believe this is how the term lobbyist was coined.)
Our friends' combined knowledge on the security detail around government buildings is impressive. Besides which, I saw firsthand how the Secret Service make their presence felt around the White House grounds. There's nothing secret about it. Only crazies would try anything stupid.
So. Whether you're in the high-security surrounds of the White House or on the New York subway or above ground on the gritty streets, the threat of violence is real and imminent in the US. There's nowhere to hide.
Suddenly, to me, Australia, with its less liberal gun laws, seems the more attractive country to live in. Of course, it doesn't have the Guggenheim where I saw what I thought was the most original jazz/dance/boxing production last Sunday, nor will my husband run into Matthew Broderick while getting a coffee in Sydney, or see Samuel L Jackson on stage; not to mention experiences like a real autumn when the trees display the boldest shades of burnt oranges and reds, and Salvation Army workers dancing to Feliz Navidad on the footpaths (with bells on!).
The younger woman was unperturbed. “I'm gonna respect you ‘cos you old,” she said from across the aisle. “But next time you better watch where you're going. And you'd better watch where I'm going too.”
I kept looking at the woman's bag, which she held tightly on her lap. She continued to hold her palm open over one lumpy section of it, as if she were indeed making sure she knew the exact location of her gun. Judging from the creases on her face, she was at least sixty. A fashionable one at that, with chunky gold earrings, shades, skinny jeans and ankle boots. The other woman was dressed in the same way. They could've been mother and daughter.
Our fellow passengers ignored the conversation as if it were white noise. Not knowing what to do, I tried to appeal to the passenger sitting across from me, communicating silently, now what? Do I get up from my seat so I'm not in the line of fire? Pretend like nothing's happening, like everyone else? He was sitting next to the younger woman so was in a similarly precarious situation. Unlike me, he was nonchalant. Just another day on the subway.
I chose herd mentality over panic. I tried to relax and decided to stare at the map overhead, a line of dots showing the stops of the 2 train line. I consciously avoided the shaded eyes of both women, struck by the irrational fear that they might collectively direct their anger at me. Images of the two women whipping out guns out of their streetwear handbags and shooting me, execution style, flitted in and out of my mind. Alert and observant, I realised I was the lone Asian in the carriage until the train arrived at Wall Street, when finance workers embarked. That fact probably made me stand out as a target for at least five minutes. Yikes.
I was jumpier than normal because only the day before, on my way home from the supermarket, I walked past a couple of kids who, from a distance, appeared to be goofing around. Then one drew a sharpened wooden stake up against the other's neck. Where did that come from? I thought. That boy must have brought that weapon with him. It's premeditated. They're not just two hyperactive kids jostling each other. I passed them hurriedly, not wanting to interfere and risk having that stake pointed in my direction.
These random acts of violence in fact happened about two weeks ago. Since then, I've had to pack up my place in Brooklyn (the sublease expired), spent a week in Washington DC and moved into my new place in the Upper East Side. Yes, the two events contributed to my decision to move to a safer neighbourhood in Manhattan. Also the apartments in the hip areas in Brooklyn are ridiculously overpriced, and I have to go to Brooklyn for work anyway, so can still hang with my new friends there. So why not live in a nabe where it's overpriced for reasons more substantial and diverse than proximity to awesome bars?
On more current events, the number one news item lately is the tattooed and seemingly mentally unstable Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez. He's suspected of shooting at the White House last week, using an AK-47.
As I said, we just visited DC last week. My husband and I caught up with our buddy Rich, a DC local and ex-military guy. We also made friends with an Air Force veteran who now works at the Pentagon. (We met him and his wife at a bar in the Willard Hotel, a stone's throw away from the White House. Interesting side note: lobbyists used to meet with government higher-ups in the hotel's lobby, to do their wheeling and dealing, and Washingtonians believe this is how the term lobbyist was coined.)
Our friends' combined knowledge on the security detail around government buildings is impressive. Besides which, I saw firsthand how the Secret Service make their presence felt around the White House grounds. There's nothing secret about it. Only crazies would try anything stupid.
So. Whether you're in the high-security surrounds of the White House or on the New York subway or above ground on the gritty streets, the threat of violence is real and imminent in the US. There's nowhere to hide.
Suddenly, to me, Australia, with its less liberal gun laws, seems the more attractive country to live in. Of course, it doesn't have the Guggenheim where I saw what I thought was the most original jazz/dance/boxing production last Sunday, nor will my husband run into Matthew Broderick while getting a coffee in Sydney, or see Samuel L Jackson on stage; not to mention experiences like a real autumn when the trees display the boldest shades of burnt oranges and reds, and Salvation Army workers dancing to Feliz Navidad on the footpaths (with bells on!).
ouis Vuitton Circus Window Display 2011 [women handbags]
"Louis Vuitton is very familiar with this magical universe. The inventiveness of the Maison's founders and the skill of its craftsmen were so well known in the circus world that it would appear that Houdini, the famous conjurer who defied every security mechanism in the late 19th century, even decided against confronting the – said to be impregnable – locks on Louis Vuitton trunks. Documents of the time show that the mime artist Kita always had his customised trunk to hand,even on stage."
The windows launching this Friday, November 18th, feature a mannequin walking a tight rope, and a painted elephant balancing on a ball swings to showcase the bag. It's very cute so I urge you to go visit your boutique. Lovee it!!!!
The windows launching this Friday, November 18th, feature a mannequin walking a tight rope, and a painted elephant balancing on a ball swings to showcase the bag. It's very cute so I urge you to go visit your boutique. Lovee it!!!!
Tamara Mellon could launch a lifestyle brand [women handbags]
The founder and chief creative officer of high-end footwear label Jimmy Choo has remained silent since her resignation from the company was revealed on Sunday, November 13.
Mellon is scheduled to leave Jimmy Choo at the end of this month, with WWD Tuesday reporting sources have claimed funding is lined up for a Tamara Mellon brand.
Another industry source added that Mellon's ambitions had always reached further than Jimmy Choo, which was sold to the luxury goods group Labelux back in May.
London-born Mellon had always been at the front of the footwear brand, which was founded in 1996 and has branched into handbags, eyewear and perfume, even modelling in its advertising campaigns.
In an interview with UK publication The Telegraph last year, Mellon had spoken about the importance of an all-encompassing company.
"We have a wish list. There's a lot of growth out there -- in Asia, especially China -- and a lot of new product lines. This isn't just about shoes and bags, it's about a whole lifestyle -- the Jimmy Choo woman," she said at the time.
As creators such as Tory Burch and Tom Ford have proven, lifestyle brands can be highly lucrative. Ford, previously creative director of Gucci and YSL, launched the Tom Ford brand in 2005, which now boasts men's and womenswear, a cosmetics and fragrance line and an eyewear license.
Meanwhile, former Vera Wang employee Burch launched her own fashion label in 2004. Specialising in caftans, sequined cardigans, tunics, swimwear, jewellery, handbags, shoes, and sunglasses, the lifestyle brand has become closely associated with television show Gossip Girl, where Tory Burch products often appear.
It was also revealed on Sunday that Jimmy Choo's chief executive officer Joshua Schulman will also be departing the company after the transition period into 2012. Schulman has not commented on his plans for the future.
"I have nothing to announce now. I'm going to take my time to explore new opportunities. I'll be working with the Jimmy Choo team in the meantime, and helping to ensure an orderly transition," he is quoted as saying.
Mellon is scheduled to leave Jimmy Choo at the end of this month, with WWD Tuesday reporting sources have claimed funding is lined up for a Tamara Mellon brand.
Another industry source added that Mellon's ambitions had always reached further than Jimmy Choo, which was sold to the luxury goods group Labelux back in May.
London-born Mellon had always been at the front of the footwear brand, which was founded in 1996 and has branched into handbags, eyewear and perfume, even modelling in its advertising campaigns.
In an interview with UK publication The Telegraph last year, Mellon had spoken about the importance of an all-encompassing company.
"We have a wish list. There's a lot of growth out there -- in Asia, especially China -- and a lot of new product lines. This isn't just about shoes and bags, it's about a whole lifestyle -- the Jimmy Choo woman," she said at the time.
As creators such as Tory Burch and Tom Ford have proven, lifestyle brands can be highly lucrative. Ford, previously creative director of Gucci and YSL, launched the Tom Ford brand in 2005, which now boasts men's and womenswear, a cosmetics and fragrance line and an eyewear license.
Meanwhile, former Vera Wang employee Burch launched her own fashion label in 2004. Specialising in caftans, sequined cardigans, tunics, swimwear, jewellery, handbags, shoes, and sunglasses, the lifestyle brand has become closely associated with television show Gossip Girl, where Tory Burch products often appear.
It was also revealed on Sunday that Jimmy Choo's chief executive officer Joshua Schulman will also be departing the company after the transition period into 2012. Schulman has not commented on his plans for the future.
"I have nothing to announce now. I'm going to take my time to explore new opportunities. I'll be working with the Jimmy Choo team in the meantime, and helping to ensure an orderly transition," he is quoted as saying.
