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Victoria Beckham suffered great losses, the Comité Colbert joins forces with Sillicon Valley, Coty moved to virtual reality and the other news of the day.
Press review
Difficult end of the year for Victoria Beckham
Victoria Beckham’s fashion brand is going down despite a 17% increase in sales.
Victoria Beckham Limited (VBL), will file accounts this week showing an operating loss of £10.2 million for the year ending December 2017, compared to £8.2 million the previous year. Turnover reached £42.5 million.
Losses increased for VBL despite the success of Beckham’s limited edition range with the American Target chain and a make-up line with Estée Lauder. Sales of the main Victoria Beckham ready-to-wear range, which this year celebrated its 10th anniversary with its first fashion show during London Fashion Week, as well as accessories and glasses, increased.
The company raised £30 million a year ago from NEO Investment Partners, which also supported British designer Tom Dixon, French bakery Paul and Italian leather goods company Valextra.
In a difficult business environment this year, VBL stated that it had “invested for its future growth and strengthened its management team”.
In a press release, shareholders committed to helping the brand reach break-even in the medium term by reducing costs and stimulating growth.
The comité Colbert gets closer to the Sillicon Valley
At first glance, there is little in common between California’s Silicon Valley and the French luxury world. In Sillicon Valley, more attention is paid to the power of microprocessors and the width of the bandwidth than to the thinness of the handbag skins.
Only three companies that are part of the Comité Colbert (an association founded in 1954 on the initiative of Jean-Jacques Guerlain, which is dedicated to promoting the French luxury industry in France and abroad) are currently present in Palo Alto. Most of them are in San Francisco and Los Angeles. “Our houses are in an exploratory process in Silicon Valley,” comments Guillaume de Seynes, Chairman of the Colbert Committee and number two of Hermès.
Since September, as part of the “Arts Intensive” programme, craftsmen from Puiforcat, Christofle and Ercuis have been teaching French goldsmith’s skills. A way of showing students that luxury is not just about a few flashy products, but also rhymes with extreme precision, innovation and passion.
“Stanford is committed to ensuring that all its students have access to a meaningful experience of creative skills,” said Matthew Tiews, Vice President for the Arts at Stanford. …] The Colbert Committee’s commitment to the subject is perfectly in line with our vision of teaching. The opportunity offered to our students to work with craftsmen and experts from the Colbert Committee’s family of companies gives a new dimension to our university offer by significantly enriching it.” Guillaume de Seynes is satisfied with “the academic credibility thus acquired (which) is intended to be part of the Californian landscape over time“.
Coty goes into Virtual Reality
Coty (the world’s third largest cosmetics manufacturer and owner) launched a new virtual reality experience focused on fragrances with its partner Julieraque in early December. It is one of many digital innovations, such as voice assistants and artificial intelligence, that the beauty conglomerate uses to strengthen its brand presence in several categories.
To participate in the virtual reality experience, in-store buyers in Buenos Aires, Argentina, are invited to wear a virtual reality headset and pick up seven scented stones from the virtual set to activate a unique eight-second video. Each stone is linked to a perfume concept. Before trying the experiment, they are asked to enter information on an iPad, including their name and email address, as well as the scents that attract them and the scent they are currently wearing. At the end of the video, and based on their three favorite fragrance concepts, consumers can receive up to six recommendations from the eight luxury Coty brands available in Argentina, such as Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein and Gucci. Customers then receive a follow-up email asking them if the experience helped them discover a new fragrance or prompted them to buy one.
“People are impressed by the mixed reality because it allows them to see the environment,” says Elodie Levy, Senior Director of Digital Innovation at Coty. “We realize that this experience is based on specific hardware and technology, but it is highly scalable – it’s just a matter of adapting the content and environment, in order to adapt it to a specific brand universe”
Courbet commits with 12 associations
Courbet, the young Parisian jeweller who already claims to use cultured diamonds, created in the laboratory, and recycled gold, does not limit his impact to the world of luxury. True to its values of preserving the environment and protecting the living environment of future generations, Courbet presents Let’s Commit, a long-term partnership programme with twelve associations.
Courbet will donate 15% of the selling price of its Co bracelets, on cord, made of recycled gold and diamonds created in the laboratory. This delicate bracelet is available in white, pink and yellow gold. It is set with a 0.05 carat diamond or a 0.15 carat diamond. Each colour of cord, made of organic waxed cotton, is attributed to a different association project such as the fight against deforestation, cancer or to preserve the coral reef.
The Co bracelet takes up the symbolism, dear to Courbet, of the C and O. Courbet’s first two letters form the Latin prefix Co, which means with, and which can be found in both French and English, in all these words conveying meaning and values.
Anthony Chalhoub CEO of Chalhoub group passed away
“It is with deep sadness that we inform you that our dear co-CEO Anthony Chalhoub passed away on December 17 in Paris at the age of 63, after having courageously fought the disease in recent years,” the Chalhoub group announced in a statement.
Anthony’s father, Michel Chalhoub, founded the group in 1955 in Damascus, Syria, with the distribution rights of three French brands in the region – Baccarat, Christofle and Jean Patou. Today, the group is a multi-brand empire that distributes fashion and cosmetics brands, including Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Lacoste, Fendi and Sephora. Based in Dubai, the Chalhoub group is present in 14 countries and manages more than 650 stores in the Middle East. When Anthony joined the company in 1980, it had 30 employees. Today, it employs nearly 12,000 people.
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