City Moves for 24 February 2014 | Who’s switching jobs February 23, 2014 Northern Trust The asset management business has made two appointments. John Elder (right) joins as a senior investment adviser for multi-manager solutions. He has previously worked at Mellon Family Office Services and Ernst & Young. Jonathan Lidster joins as a senior wealth strategist. He was formerly chief operating officer at Global Partnership Family Offices. Barclays [...]
Hugo Boss and Remy Cointreau are both falling as Chinese gloom hits luxury brands November 26, 2013 It's been a distressing morning for luxury brands – both Hugo Boss and Remy Cointreau. Updates released this morning reveal that both are underperforming in China. Hugo Boss CEO Claus-Dietrich Lahrs has said that the group won't be hitting its 2015 core operating profit target of €750m (£630m). That's on slower than expected growth in [...]
Louis Vuitton picks Ghesquiere November 4, 2013 Nicolas Ghesquiere, who made his name at fashion brand Balenciaga, has been appointed creative director for womenswear at luxury brand Louis Vuitton, parent LVMH said yesterday. Ghesquiere was seen as the front-runner to replace Marc Jacobs who announced his departure from Louis Vuitton last month to focus on his eponymous fashion business. Ghesquiere will design [...]
Best of the Brokers for 11 December 2013 December 10, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com GREAT PORTLAND ESTATES Beaufort Securities is impressed by the company’s decision to offload 20 St James’s Street for £54.5m – yet, “given the resilient demand scenario and slow growth in rental value”, maintains its hold rating on the stock with a target price [...]
Lululemon names new chief as founder Chip Wilson quits December 10, 2013 HIGH-END Canadian yoga-wear retailer Lululemon Athletica yesterday named Laurent Potdevin as its chief executive, as it said founder Chip Wilson will step down as non-executive chairman. Lululemon has been looking for a new CEO since June, when Christine Day said she would step down once a replacement was found. Potdevin will take over in January [...]
Why luxury means more than one thing in China January 16, 2014 China's wealthy have been buoying luxury brands for years, with high-end Western retailers like Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Burberry touting their wares across the upmarket shopping districts of Shanghai and Beijing. But China's just seen the steepest cut-back on spending in at least five years, according to a survey by the Hurun Report – [...]
Louis Vuitton owner concedes defeat in French luxury battle September 3, 2013 LUXURY goods giant LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton and Moet Hennessy, has admitted that it will not appeal a French fine after a long-running and heated dispute with rival firm Hermes. In July, French market watchdog the AMF fined LVMH €8m (£6.76m) for failing to properly disclose its stake-building in rival Hermes before 2010. LVMH [...]
China slowdown hits luxury firms Boss and Remy November 26, 2013 LUXURY brands revised down their profit forecasts yesterday as growth in key Chinese markets continued to slow, dragging shares lower. Shares in Remy Cointreau dropped 11.6 per cent after the French spirits group warned of a double-digit decline in full-year operating profit because of a slowdown in China, while subdued demand in the country also hit [...]
Kering’s Gucci posts weakest revenue growth for four years October 24, 2013 GUCCI, one of the world’s biggest luxury brands in terms of sales, yesterday posted its weakest growth in four years with a 0.6 per cent rise in like-for-like revenue in the third quarter. Gucci, which accounts for more than half of the valuation of parent Kering, has been hit like arch-rival LVMH’s Louis Vuitton by [...]
Thomas Pink profit rosy after an online push and new products September 29, 2013 LUXURY shirtmaker Thomas Pink saw profits jump by almost a fifth last year as it continued to ramp up its online expansion and come up with new products. The chain, which is owned by French luxury goods giant LVMH, posted a 19 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £1.9m in the year to 31 [...]