Background: Created by Danish design studio UiWE, the Pollee portable urinal for women is a star-shaped toilet system that looks a bit like a giant toy pinwheel and accommodates four girls at a time. Instead of the classic urinal, which is designed to be stood in front of, Pollee urinals are long and thin so that they can be easily straddled. Girls just do a semi-squat and go.
Why It's Unique: Pollee urinals don't takeup much room and are very easy to setup almost anywhere they are needed. Girls can’t pee standing up, and the Pollee provides a great option to a regular toilet seat. Finally, a portable urinal that is not debasing to women.
Vertebrae Vertical Bathroom
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Location: Various
Background: Occupying a mere 4.3 square feet, this "Swiss Army Knife Bathroom" takes space conservation to a whole new level, packing a toilet, sink, cistern, two storage units and two shower heads into one compact system.
Why It's Unique: Named for its resemblance to the spinal cord, the bathroom's modules all connect to a central axis. Everything feeds from the top of the structure, which attaches to the ceiling. Users have the option of directing the waste pipes downward through a hole in the floor, or into the wall through a hole at the back of the toilet. To enable shower drainage, the Vertebrae must be installed in a sealed wet room with adequate slope to the floor, according to the brochure. "Real estate is priceless in the bathroom," says Judith Balis, an interior designer with experience constructing restrooms.
Space Bathroom
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Location: International Space Station
Background: With no gravity to ensure that water stays in the toilet bowl or to force waste down, NASA was forced to build pumps and harness airflow to create an effective and hygienic bathroom for astronauts.
Why It's Unique: Because the entire system relies on air, creating a tight seal between the user and the toilet bowl is essential. Foot straps and pivoting bars anchor the astronauts to the ground, and an intricate network of tubes, pipes and ducts handles the waste. Far removed from water treatment plants, the ISS must treat waste on its own and actually converts a large percentage into potable water. A hose-suction option is also available in lieu of the main toilet bowl.
Bulletproof Bathroom
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Location: Beijing, China
Background: The 15-ton, $100,000 public bathroom in Zhong GuanVillage Plaza may be the safest in the world.
Why It's Unique: Immune even to TNT explosives detonated from within, this bunker of a bathroom is part of a string of anti-terrorism products debuted in China after 9/11. For the Chinese, the bathroom isn't much of a draw. Originally, usage instructions posted outside were in only English and French, but even after adding a Chinese translation in 2006, the toilet remains unpopular.
Background: Here to rescue Mother Nature from full bladders everywhere is AANDEBOOM, a Dutch design studio that has invented either the world’s cleverest or the world’s grossest makeshift restroom. P-Tree is a rotation molded recycled plastic receptacle that straps onto a tree trunk, transforming your resident oak into the backdrop for a public (very public) urinal.
Why It's Unique: P-Tree urinals can be installed virtually anywhere there is a tree. The P-Tree costs very little, and can be installed in a jiffy, anywhere you need them. They are great for public parks and recreational facilities, outdoor festivals, almost anywhere you can imagine.
Aquarium Bathroom
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Location: Akashi, Japan
Background: Like many beach-side bathrooms, the Mumin Papa Cafe is decorated with deep-sea creatures. But the live three-wall aquarium enveloping the stall one-ups standard wallpaper by a large margin.
Why It's Unique: The underwater restroom cost $270,000 to build and is ladies-only, except for the giant sea turtle swimming around. The surrounding aquarium was designed to mimic the feeling of relieving yourself while swimming in the ocean.
South Pole Urinal
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Location: Antarctica
Background: This urinal was constructed just 350 meters from the geographic South Pole, and drifts 10 meters closer to the pole every year. Now that's an impressive piece of plumbing.
Why It's Unique: Chris Curtis, the photographer of this picture, says that this urinal "marks an elusive destination and goal that was not able to even be reached until the early 1900s and carries with it the suffering and the loss of life of several explorers; and one that is at a place that is not only off the beaten path but literally 'miles from nowhere' ... in fact, no other urinal in the world or even space can compete with the efforts and loss of life that went into [this fixture's] eventual permanence at the South Pole. What it may lack in beauty it more than makes up for in dignity." Hear, hear.
Disappearing Bathroom
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Location: Various
Background: This modern bathroom conceals a washbasin, toilet and shower tray beneath folding wooden shelves and benches, enabling a sleek transformation from bathroom to multipurpose room.
Why It's Unique: Though the designers say the wooden coverups add elegance, Balis says they're simply unnecessary. "You can put the most beautiful shade of lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig. You're really not fooling anyone." Purportedly, the bathroom could be installed on one wall of a larger room (such as a living room) or in a very small space so as to enable a more flexible house design process without sacrificing sophistication.
Arctic Outhouse
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Location: McMurdo Station, Central West Antarctica
Background: In a place where humans attempt to make no environmental impact, waste must be handled carefully.
Why It's Unique: Normally, people in Antarctica walk around with bottles for collecting urine, and then empty the day's contents into a bigger drum called a "U drum." Outhouses are for solid waste only, and contain a five-gallon plastic bucket lined with a plastic bag. After the bucket's been filled, it's sealed, placed on a pallet, and shipped off. Arctic outhouses are said to be mostly aroma-free, and the sturdily built units make for a temporary respite from cold and wind.
Ebb Bathroom
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Location: Various
Background: Taking "streamlined" to a whole new level, these combined-function Ebb designs make for a modern, almost futuristic bathroom.
Why It's Unique: Balis calls the Ebb bathroom "fabulous, both visually and functionally." The main building material for the fixtures in this bathroom, which was designed by UsTogether, a British and Irish group, is LG HI-MACS, a natural acrylic stone made out of aluminum hydroxide. The material improves impact strength, heat and scratch resistance, visual homogeneity, and thermoplastic moldability over mainstay bathroom materials such as marble, granite and glass.
Dolce and Gabbana's Gold Room
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Location: Milan, Italy
Background: Part of an A-list restaurant simply named "Gold," this opulent bathroom has been host to several stars such as Giselle, Kylie Minogue and Paris Hilton.
Why It's Unique: "It's the little luxuries we allow ourselves that probably come into play in the bathroom more than anywhere else," Balis says. Indeed, the bathroom is luxurious, with golden bamboo lining the walls, giant mirrors and marble counters; Dolce and Gabbana stays true to its high-end name. The clincher is the constant loop of Goldfinger playing inside every golden stall on plasma screens.
Bar 89
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Location: New York City
Background: The bar's bathroom doors use liquid crystals to selectively turn opaque when the customer enters and closes the stall.
Why It's Unique: The crystal innovation in this stall is called Privacy Glass, which harnesses light diffusion in order to create privacy while still allowing light to enter. The sheet of liquid crystal is sandwiched between two normal panes of glass, and the molecular array of the crystals is naturally random enough to disperse light, creating privacy. But when voltage is applied to the sheet, the crystals arrange themselves into a neat parallel formation that permits the passage of light, making the bathroom door transparent.
UriLift Public Pop-Up Toilet
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Location: Various
Background: A bold move to hamper alcohol-induced nighttime public urination, the semi-permanent Urilift Pop-Up Urinal emerges at 10 pm and disappears at 3 am, coinciding with prime bar-hopping hours.
Why It's Unique: These misdemeanor-fighting urinals cost $70,000 each; the unit consists of three adjoining 6-foot-tall stalls. The urinals connect to main water lines in order to flush away waste, and pipes lead directly into the underground sewage system. The alcoves lack much privacy (there are no doors), but users don't seem to take issue with that triviality. The toilets recede into the ground during the day in order to avoid obstructing traffic, and police are pleased with the installments so far, noting a reduction in arrests, fines and aggressive behavior following the installation.
See-Through Toilet
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Location: Basel, Switzerland
Background: This one-way glass stall looks like a mirror to an outsider, but completely transparent to an insider, leading to a nerve-wracking bathroom experience.
Why It's Unique: The bathroom was designed by artist Monica Bonvicini, who enjoys delving into public versus private life in her exhibitions. This piece is entitled "Don't Miss a Sec," and was inspired by her viewers' reluctance to use the bathroom during art shows, fearing they might miss out on something important. One-way mirrors work their magic by having one side painted with a very thin reflective coating, then strategically adjusting lighting. For the outside to look like a mirror, it must be very bright so that the mirror's surface has plenty to reflect. The inside must be kept dark so that light can't pass through the glass. If the placement of light is switched, however, the walls become windows and your business becomes everyone's business.
COMMENTARY: That's what I call some rather unqiue and outrageous bathrooms and public restrooms. If you know of any other unique restrooms or bathrooms post a comment. The saddest is that Arctic Outhouse, and the kinkiest is definitely that See-Through Public Restroom.
Courtesy of an article appearing in the January 2012 issue of Popular Mechanics
The cult darling of Belgian fashion brings weirdo decadence to Paris, a city overrun by precious traditionalism.
Avant-garde Belgian fashion house Maison Martin Margiela has given a très-cool makeover to a fussy, luxury hotel in Paris, the high Holy Land of fussy, luxury hotels. Maison des Centraliens reopened to the public in May with a slick interior that turns this ornate, Second Empire townhouse (and former home of a Viennese princess) into a monument to the headscrewy Belgian surrealism for which Maison Martin Margiela earned its fashion-world star.
The place is a study in optical illusion. It’s got chairs and tables that appear to suspend in mid-air and trompe l’oeil wall coverings done up in the Hausmannian style that make closed doors seem like they're open. Laser in on the photos, and you’ll be hard-pressed to figure out whether you’re looking at new wallpaper or molding that the architect, Jules Pellechet, dreamed up some 150 years ago. There's a corridor covered floor to ceiling in what looks like tin foil and a mirrored, diamond-shaped parallelepiped said to reference 2001: A Space Odyssey. The dominant color scheme: clinical white.
This sort of high-minded impishness is weird stuff in a city that decorates its top hotels with canopy beds and Louis Quatorze tapestries. But there’s a business reason for it. Maison Martin Margiela -- which no longer operates under the aegis of its fearless, but elusive, leader, Martin Margiela -- rumbled to the fore of the fashion scene more than two decades ago with brainy, deconstructivist design often billed as a rebuke to the era’s penchant for opulent clothing. It has since become a cult darling of the taste-making elite, counting, among its loyal fans, everyone from Jay-Z to Thom Yorke.
Which means that in the rarefied world of fancy hotels, where exclusivity is everything, Maison des Centraliens has one thing the Ritzes and Le Meurices don't have: It’s cool. Says Bernadette Chevallier, who helped oversee the rebranding:
The hotels whose openings have lately been in the news, or soon will be, are all top grade luxury hotels embodying quite a traditional idea of luxury, even conventional in some cases. It’s a choice that has its merits but the Maison des Centraliens, by contrast, puts the focus on discretion and an offbeat take on luxury hotel standards. …[I]ts values revolve around light-heartedness, humour and a laid-back attitude. … Rather than a traditional luxury hotel, we are positioned as a prestigious boutique hotel that combines five-star amenities and services with an unconventional vision of the upmarket hotel business.
Even rarer: It’s relatively affordable. Rooms start at 203 Euros. A comparably sized room in a four-star hotel in Paris can cost twice that.
COMMENTARY: The Maison des Centraliens (La Maison Champs Elysees) hotel is so typical of old style classic French hotels. I love what Maison Martin Margieladid in redesigning the interior of the hotel. The white is a bit too much for my eyes, but I could definitely enjoy a stay there.
The Maison des Centraliens is a 5-star hotel and has 57 rooms and suites, offering the ultimate in comfort, exemplary service and attention to detail. The hotel is ideally located off of the Champs Elysee. It has a garden view on the quiet rue Jean Goujon, in the heart of Paris. Amenities include Free Mini bar, Free WiFi, Free video films, and Apple Mac mini in all rooms. Rates start at 500 Euros per night. Check out the video:
I love that gold leaf being applied to the walls. Below is a video of the grand opening of the hotel.
It's definitely a must see if I am ever in Paris and have the spare cash to afford such luxury. It takes $1.41 Euros to the U.S. dollar, so that is going to be an expensive hotel bill, not including food, wine and tips. I love wine, so I could definitely go crazy there.
I’m writing from the air, descending into the heart of The Great Tech War of 2012: San Francisco. During my last trip here, a few weeks ago, I got a taste of what this battle is all about. My client was a once high-flying tech pioneer now struggling with the erosive power of commoditization. It used to take generations for your core business to devolve from the high-margin cutting edge to a low-price commodity. Now it can take just a few years. What you once sold for enviable profits someone else might offer for free any day now. View my webcast on this topic here.
My recent post about Netflix sparked a heated debate on various newsgroup message boards, and illustrates the dilemma well. There are three ways to price your service: cost, competition, value. When you have no competition your price can soar to just under the value you deliver. Netflix enjoyed those days when it was the only movie-streaming business that worked well. But as soon as direct competition enters, things change. You have to lower your price to resemble the competition’s and often, as in Netflix’s case, start paying suppliers more.
So how can you fight the commoditization? How do you remain extraordinary and profitable in a fast-moving world? There are at least eight ways to do it.
Bring back the dead: My wife’s birthday was this weekend and I’m under strict orders not to buy her any more gadgets. But when I saw an old turntable and a collection of vinyl records, I could not resist. Vinyl is making a comeback. Record companies are reissuing albums on the huge black disks and even releasing new albums in the old format. Music fans are turning back to vinyl for nostalgia, because it offers better sound quality, and for the fantastic artwork you just can’t replicate on an iPod. With clever marketing, what is old can become new. What new (or old) reason can you give customers to rediscover your out-of-date product or service?
Create new occasions: Walk into your kitchen. Open your refrigerator. Do you see a box of Arm & Hammer baking soda? Arm & Hammer was competing with the ultimate commodity. One type of baking soda is as indistinguishable from another as salt or sand. But the company pulled itself out of a low-price, commodity battle where everyone is the same by creating new uses and occasions for its baking soda. What new uses can you create for your product/service?
Become the ingredient: Another strategy that has worked well for Arm & Hammer is to borrow other people’s roads into your home. Today you find Arm & Hammer in toothpaste (whiter teeth!), detergent (cleaner clothes!), and deodorant (fresher smell…!). The beauty of becoming an ingredient is that customers become less price sensitive. They are willing to pay a higher price for your ingredient because it represents only a small portion of their total cost. Whose road can you borrow by becoming an ingredient in their product/service?
Move the action:U-Haul is not in the truck rental business. Best Buy is not really an electronics retailer. At least not when judged by profits. U-Haul gets you into their store with the promise of low-cost truck rental. Then they sell you high-margin boxes and packing tape. Best Buy lures you in with competitively priced TVs, and profits by selling you service plans you are unlikely to fully use. To where can you move your profits?
Shift the basis of competition: Our 5-year-old Mac just died. The PC in my home office has better specs than most Macs and it cost just $700 from Costco, but we’ll probably end up spending three times that for another Mac. Why? We like the design. The Mac is the only computer you can proudly place in your living room. In commodity games everyone competes on the same basis (performance) so you can distinguish yourself by choosing a completely different dimension (design). On what basis are your competitors competing? How can you compete on something entirely different?
Attach a business: Thomson Travel in the U.K. sells cheap airline tickets and tours. It can afford to because it does not depend on these sales for profits. It makes its profits by funneling its customers into Thomson Travel Charter Airlines airplanes. What related high-margin business can you attach to your lower-margin core?
Rapid-fire innovation: Trying to simply run faster than your competition is not a strategy I usually recommend, but if you really are swifter, it can work. When Lee Pillsbury was part of the top team leading Marriott hotels, they conducted a massive study to identify the most important factors that drive a business traveler’s hotel decisions--speed of room service, the risk of the hotel giving away your room if you check in late, speed of checkout, etc. They then filled a pipeline of strategies to address each factor and unleashed a stream of innovations on the competition--30-minute room-service guarantee, late check-in guarantee, etc. By the time the competition could copy one innovation, Marriott was already pulling the trigger on the next. Do this long and fast enough and eventually the competition will give in. What are your next 10 innovations?
Change the basis of pricing: Xerox grew to dominate the copying business not just by offering great technology, but because at a time when the competition was pricing per machine, Xerox was offering a service priced per copy. Redbox is doing the same in the supposedly now-dead DVD market: pricing per day rather than per rental. Fill in the blanks: “My competition charges $_____ per ______” (e.g., $3 per rental)." Then replace the blanks with something different.
Economists may tell you that every industry will eventually mature into a low-margin, commodity environment. But don’t believe them. If you are willing to resist the pull of consensus, and have the courage to be extraordinary, you can continue to thrive profitably.
COMMENTARY: Commoditization is a very real threat to every organization and it is comparatively straight forward to identify the early warning signs, which include:
Increasing competition.
Prevalence of me-too products and services.
A belief that all suppliers are fundamentally the same.
The decreasing desire on the customer’s part to look at new options or features.
An increasing preference for customers to select on the basis of price and little else.
A reluctance for customers to pay for anything they consider unnecessary.
Increasing pressures on margins.
Strong brands might help to insulate the organization from some of the worst impacts of commodization, but as we have seen in the past with organizations such as IBM, HP, Xerox, even the strongest and most dominant organizations come under threat from time to time. Even for those organizations which operate within a safe sector, such as energy for example, commoditization is still an issue they have to address, especially in terms of their non-core activities.
At its extreme, commoditization leaves the leaders of corporations with a very simple and stark choice: do we allow ourselves to become commoditized and hence do our best to survive, or do we do our best to avoid it? Of course for some, the former may be the only choice open to them andfor many it will probably be a mix of both. Naturally, there is a strategic choice involved as some organizations can be considered to be driving commoditization. In doing so they are gaining first mover advantage. Take easy Everything, which has a range of companies under its umbrella which are initiating a wave of commoditization in a number of sectors, most notably easyJet, but also cinemas, car hire, cruise liners and hotel accommodation.
As the zone of commoditization continues to expand, organizations must do everything they can to ensure they can compete without either destroying the value they offer to their customers or going out of business because their underlying costs are just too high to compete with the leaner more efficient companies which are emerging from India, China, South America and Asia.These companies are able to lower their prices without destroying their business.
Cost is one of the biggest drivers of commodization. The company with the lowest production costs, assuming quality being about the same among competitors, has generated first-mover advantages for itself by simply competing on price. If its competitors cannot compete on the basis of price, they are in danger of going out of business.
The Internet has been a powerful force driving commodization. Consumers can no surf the Net and compare features and prices. Shoppers can scan bar codes or QR codes to locate the lowest price and store that carries the same item or comparable items. They can even obtain product reviews right on their smartphone.
In my opinion, business sectors that are already in commodization or ripe for commodization include cellular phones, desktop computers, tablets, mobile apps, software, digital cameras, portable music players, HD televisions, and digital music. The highend smartphone, sector is particularly susceptible as more competitors enter the market, and companies match feature-for-feature. The Apple iPhone is already feeling pricing pressures, as iOS loses lost its market share dominance to Android-based smartphones. The iPad is also under attack as Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, Samsung and others enter the tablet market.
Courtesy of an article dated November 14, 2011 reporting in Fast Company
We are often asked what role social networking plays in the lives of Affluent Americans—are they on Facebook? Twitter? If so, how much time do Affluents spend on these sites? Generally speaking, those who ask are skeptical—surely the Affluent, they figure, are too busy or too old-school to spend much time with online social networks. Our data suggest that Affluents have been socially networking with gusto for several years, and that this is one of many areas where popular notions of Affluent lives are shaped by stereotypes and misconceptions.
Our 2011 survey reveals that fully 60% of Affluents report having visited Facebook in the past 30 days, spending an average of 4.9 hours a week on the site.Our September 2011 Affluent Barometer further reveals that 60% of Affluent Facebook users report visiting the site about once per day or more.
Twitter reaches many fewer Affluents—about 10% in a given month—but for longer periods of time, with the average Twitter users spending over 6 hours a week on the site.
Among younger Affluents, the enthusiasm for online social networking is even more pronounced. Among Affluent Millennials (those aged 18-29), 84% used Facebook in the past 30 days, averaging 7.5 hours per week. One-in-four Affluent Millennials use Twitter, for an average of more than 8 hours per week.
Among adults aged 18+ living in households with at least $100,000 in annual household income.
Of course, Facebook and Twitter aren’t the only names in the social networking world. More than half of Affluents visit YouTube each month. Fourteen percent visit LinkedIn. And there are significant segments of Affluents using photo-sharing sites, dating sites, class reunion sites, and so on.
It is hard to overstate how fully social media becomes intertwined into the lives of some of its users. Among Affluents, 32% agree “I usually check e-mail or Facebook within 30 minutes of waking up in the morning”—a figure that rises to 50% among Affluent Millennials. And in an era where anyone can create and disseminate content, the lines continue to blur between social and traditional media for the Affluent. Many Facebook users have told us it is increasingly becoming a source for information and links to stories from mainstream media. And on Twitter, only about 5% tweet in a given week (15% among Affluent Millennials), with the rest being consumers of content, rather than producers.
Of course, it is important to put online social networking in context with offline social networking. Nearly two-thirds of Affluents do some online social networking in a given week using traditional social media websites (Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn and Twitter), but 92% also do “offline” social networking by telephone, and 86% also do so with actual in-person, face-to-face conversations.
A similar story about the prevalence of offline social networking also emerges across generations. Affluent Seniors—the 5.2 million Affluents 65 or older—may lag in their Facebook usage, but they are far more likely to engage in a variety of “offline” social, political, civic and non-profit activities. Affluent Seniors are, for example, more likely to vote, belong to a golf or country club, and serve on a charitable board of directors. And while seniors may lag in their number of LinkedIn contacts, they are more likely to have a variety of business relationships, such as a relationship with a financial advisor.
When we’re asked if the Affluent are “into” social networking, our answer is a clear “yes.” The desire to “socially network” is not as young as Mark Zuckerberg—it is in fact as old as humanity itself. So it should come as no surprise that new ways of connecting appeal to a population that is almost-universally online (our survey finds that 98% of Affluents are online). But those in advertising and media must realize that the dynamics of social networking are deceptively complex, including a mix of online and offline activities that differ substantially across generational and other segments.
COMMENTARY: Very interesting statistics regarding social networking among affluents making $100,000+ per year. Once you hit 65 years of age, the sight and fingers go. No more time to social network online.
Courtesy of an article dated November 16, 2011 appearing in MediaPost Publications Engage:Affluent
An exclusive tour of the back rooms and ateliers of the celebrated French fashion house illustrates why Hermès is the coveted jewel that LVMH's Bernard Arnault wants for his crown.
Read Pierre-Alexis Dumas, the creative director of Hermès, is sitting in his office at the company's 131-year-old seat on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris, talking about what it's like to run the most respected major luxury brand in the world.
Pierre-Alexis Dumas, Hermes creative director
The lean, formal 44-year-old and sixth-generation descendant of the company's founder says,
"My job is to keep the strong creativity of Hermès alive. To nourish the rigor and the vision . . . to make these values vibrate. This, is the force of Hermès."
Hermès's Paris headquarters, overlooking the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
The rooftop of Hermès's Paris headquarters, overlooking the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
To give you an idea what it's like inside a Hermes store, here's an excellent video;
An visiting American tourist, using a hidden spycam, gives us a different view from inside Hermes flagshop store in Paris. Notice that all the handbags are locked. How dare the French insinuate that customers are thieves:
Those values—the dedication to rigor, vision and creativity—are what set Hermès apart from its competitors, what company executives mean when they talk about the "culture of Hermès."
Handbags - In a world of assembly-line, made-in-China handbags, Hermès still employs artisans in France to sew each of its famous Kellys and Birkins, one by one, by hand.
Scarves - While most of its competitors buy rolls of prefab twill from China to print their silk scarves, Hermès weaves its own in Lyon from silk raised on its farm in the mountains of Brazil.
Perfumes - While most of its competitors subcontract perfume creation to big laboratories that also make food flavors and detergent scents, Hermès has an in-house nose who concocts each new perfume in his lab in his home near Grasse, the world's perfume capital in the South of France.
This attention to detail and dedication to integrity have made Hermès an enduring success:
Year 2010 - Last year, sales rose 25.4 percent, to 2.4 billion euros (approximately $3.41 billion at current exchange rates), over 2009.
Year 2009 - At the height of the financial crisis, when most major brands took a beating due to a drop in sales in the luxury sector, and several well-known companies went bankrupt, Hermès posted not only an increase but grew 8.5 percent in 2009; operating income was up 3.1 percent for 2009.
Year 2008 - Sales were up 8.6 percent over 2007.
Today, luxury fashion is a $200-billion-a-year industry, mostly made up of publicly traded corporations. The leader is LVMH–Moët Hennessey Louis Vuitton, a group of more than 60 major brands including Givenchy, Fendi, Guerlain and Moët & Chandon that rang up a staggering 20.3 billion euros ($28.9 billion) in sales in 2010. It is owned and run by 62-year-old French businessman Bernard Arnault, the fourth-richest man in the world according to Forbes, with an estimated net worth of $41 billion. Arnault has spent the past two decades collecting these "star brands," as he likes to call them. Some were friendly acquisitions; many were not. His most recent—the purchase of the long-for-sale Italian jeweler Bulgari from the Bulgari family last March—was a straightforward business deal and everyone involved was happy with the result.
His other recent major investment is not going as well. Last October, LVMH announced that it had quietly accumulated 17.1 percent of Hermès's stock (it eventually acquired a little over 20 percent); it was later revealed that the company did this through cash-settle equity swaps, a practice sometimes used by hedge funds to wage a hostile takeover of publicly traded companies without disclosure. Hermès sees the moves as a full-frontal attack and its executives are doing what they can to defend the house.
Hermès's CEO, Patrick Thomas, the first nonfamily member to run the 174-year-old company, told me over lunch in the company's dining room at the Faubourg Saint-Honoré headquarters in June.
"Hermès and LVMH are at the two extremes of the culture and industry of luxury. We are artisans and creative. We try to produce the most beautiful products in this industry. The artisans put their heart and soul in the bag and when the client buys it, they buy a bit of the ethic of Hermès. For six generations, the same family has run Hermès. That has given this company something no other company has. Our combat with LVMH is not an economic fight, it's a cultural fight. We try to do poetry and we get excellent economic results. We must protect that."
To understand what Pierre-Alexis and Patrick Thomas are talking about and what Arnault is coveting, you must visit the company's main leather workshop in the Paris suburb of Pantin. There, approximately 340 artisans handcraft leather goods the same way it has been done for more than a century.
Hermès was founded in 1837 by French harness maker Thierry Hermès, a purveyor to royal houses throughout Europe. His grandson Émile-Maurice modernized the company, enlisting his friends Louis Renault and Ettore Bugatti to make trunks for cars, commissioning decorator Jean-Michel Frank to design furniture, introducing belts and couture, and expanding the retail network to fashionable resorts such as Deauville and Cannes.
Émile-Maurice had three daughters who married well, creating three new branches of the family: Guerrand, Puech and Dumas; a fourth died young. In the late 1930s, his son-in-law Robert Dumas suggested the company expand its racing silks into scarves and neckties, and Dumas designed several himself. In the 1950s, he took over the company from Émile-Maurice and ran it respectably for three decades. It was Dumas's dynamic fourth son, Jean-Louis, however, who turned the company into the luxury powerhouse it is today.
In 1978, at the age of 40, Jean-Louis Dumas was named CEO and creative director, and with the help of his cousins Patrick Guerrand and Bertrand Puech, he shook up the old house:
Kelly Handbag - He relaunched the Kelly handbag in jazzy colors and designed a bag to sexy British actress Jane Birkin's specs, naming it for her.
Retail Stores - There were hip ad campaigns, shiny new stores—many designed by his Greek-born architect wife, Rena, and her firm, RDAI.
Acquisitions - A slew of acquisitions, including Puiforcat silversmiths, Saint Louis crystal and John Lobb shoes.
Hermes Women's Wear - In 2004, Dumas hired French bad-boy designer Jean Paul Gaultier to do Hermès women's wear (he had bought 35 percent of Gaultier's namesake brand in 1999).
The association of avant-garde Gaultier and staid Dumas seemed strange on the surface, but the two were good friends who worked well together. After Dumas's death of Parkinson's disease last year at the age of 72, Gaultier left Hermès, and was replaced by French designer Christophe Lemaire. Hermès recently sold its stake in Gaultier's company to the Spanish beauty and fashion group Puig.
Most important, after witnessing Arnault's drawn-out boardroom battle with the Vuitton family in the late '80s for control of LVMH—which Arnault eventually won—Dumas made two moves to protect Hermès from a similar takeover attempt by a nonfamily member. First, in 1989, he created a partner company called Émile Hermès SARL to represent the family shareholders and that would be in charge of hiring management and deciding the strategy of the company. Second, in 1993, Dumas listed 20 percent of Hermès on the French stock market; later he listed about 8 percent more. These publicly traded shares had no management power; they are the shares that LVMH purchased.
Ever since, Hermès has flourished, primarily due to the relentless demand for its leather goods, which are considered by the fashion cognoscenti to be the best of the best. The favorites are the Kelly, which starts at $8,450, and the Birkin, at $8,850. Despite their substantial price tag, Hermès bags are not only coveted but collected: Victoria Beckham is said to have more than 100 Birkins, worth more than $2 million.
COO Axel Dumas, in an Hermes suit, photographed in the leather-goods studio in Pantin
The construction of an Hermès bag begins with the leather men, who inspect and cut each skin by hand. Axel Dumas, Pierre-Alexis's cousin and chief operating officer of the company, during a tour of the workshop in June says.
"The quality is in the eye and the hand of the artisan. That's what so delicate—it's person by person."
Axel Dumas is the 40-year-old son of Olivier, the eldest of the five Dumas brothers. Altogether, nine members of the Hermès family work for the company:
Pierre-Alexis Dumas - Creative director
Axel Dumas - Leather goods production
Bertrand Puech - Uncle of Pierre-Alexis and Axel
Etienne Puech - Bertrand's son and area manager for the watch division
Amélie Puech - Bertrand's daughter and assistant for Hermès's saddle division
Guillaume de Seynes - A cousin and executive vice president
Julie Guerrand - A cousin and director of corporate development
Pascale Mussard - A cousin and head of the petit h, a division of one-of-a-kind objects made from rejects
Maria Schaeffer - Sister and artistic coordinator for special orders.
Several others have served on the supervisory board.
Axel began at Hermès as an intern at 14 "to learn how to sew," he says with a laugh, adding that he wasn't very good at it. At 18, he did a turn in the press office. After graduating from Sciences Po in Paris, he worked for Paribas bank for two years in Beijing and six years in New York. Then, he says,
"Jean-Louis Dumas asked me if I wanted to join Hermès and I said yes, and he asked me what I wanted to do and I said anything but finance. So he put me in finance."
A year later, he was promoted to commercial director for stores in France. Then he spent two years as general director of jewelry and two years as general director for leather. Last May, he was named COO in charge of all métiers (the artisanal divisions) and the retail network. As he tours the studio, he greets everyone by name and shakes their hands. He says,
"All this, all these artisans—this is our backbone."
He stops at a worktable and looks in amazement at the skin the man is working on: a mustard-hued Porosus, a crocodile from Australia. It will be used to make a Kelly 35—a Kelly bag that measures 35 centimeters at its base. Axel explains.
"This is something we have been waiting two years for. We needed to find a skin light enough to dye it such a light color. Sometimes someone will order a bag made of rare leather like this and they must wait until we find the skin."
He is quick to point out that the retail price of a bag is not based on its rarity.
"One-of-a-kind you could put any price. It's not the desirability that determines the price. It is the production cost."
Each artisan is given all the pieces he needs to build the handbag from beginning to end, including zippers, locks, hardware, lining, leather string for piping. The artisans work on three or four at a time—same model, same color—and all are made by hand, inside out; only the zipper and the inside pocket are sewed by machine.
Hermes handbag maker stiching a handbag strap
For the hand-sewing, the artisans use a classic saddle stitch that has been employed at Hermès since the 19th century: They take two needles—each on an end of a piece of waxed thread long enough to sew the entire seam—stick one needle through in one direction, the other through the other direction, and tug the stitch tight. The seams are hammered flat and the edges are shaved, sanded and polished with wax until they look like a single piece of leather.
Here's a video of a Hermes saddlemaker demonstrating Hermes classic saddle stitch:
The hardware is attached in a method called "pearling": They put a small nail through a corner hole on the back of the clasp, the leather and the front clasp, clip off all but a millimeter or so, take an awl with a concave tip and tap the bit of nail with a hammer gently in a circle until it is round like a tiny pearl. If done correctly, the pearls will hold the two pieces of metal together forever. The bag is then turned right side out and ironed into shape. Atelier head Lionel Prudhomme says.
"It's really a métier of tradition. When people ask me, 'In your 30 years at Hermès, what has changed?' I say, 'Nothing.' People change, but not the technique."
Some things have changed in Hermès silk production since it began 74 years ago, but not much. Originally Robert Dumas held the design meetings for the Carrés Hermès—the house's famous 90-by-90-centimeter silk scarves—in an office just above what is now the glove department in the Faubourg Saint-Honoré store. Today the silk studio is down the hall, but the meetings are conducted by Pierre-Alexis just as they were by his grandfather and his father. He explains during a silk design meeting one recent morning.
"We use the same weights to hold the paper drawing flat and we still always look at them on the floor, because my grandfather said an Hermès silk scarf should be seen from a man's height. Looking down gives you a sense of composition, which is the strength of an Hermès scarf."
Hermes silk scarves being made the old-fashioned way
Hermes makes all their silk scarfs from their own silk grown in Brazil
Below is a great video demonstrating Hermes' screen printing process used in making their world class scarves. Colors are applied in layers. Darkest colors first then lightest.
Below is an excellent video demontrating how scarfmakers hand roll and stitch the edges of each Hermes scarf.
Pierre-Alexis joined the Hermès group in 1992, after earning a degree in visual arts from Brown University. He worked on the creative committee for Saint Louis crystal and Puiforcat silver for a year, then became head of Hermès in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. After five years, he moved to London to run the U.K. division. In 2002, he became director of silks, and in 2005, he was named creative director for all of Hermès, upon his father's retirement. "My father never told me he wanted me to be creative director," Pierre-Alexis says. "I had to fight for it and prove by the results of my work that I was worth it."
Pierre-Alexis Dumas on a chaise longue designed by his mother, Rena, for the Pippa collection.
When you meet Pierre-Alexis, you see immediately that, while loving his job, he feels the weight of carrying on this 174-year-old company. He is not buoyant and sparkling like his father; he is calm, considerate and deeply respectful. Pierre-Alexis says thoughtfully,
"While working, we connect with those who are gone—the dead. I worked with my father, and he died a year ago—and as I work, I find him, and have a dialogue with him, even if he is not here anymore."
Each Hermes silk scarf is a beautiful and wonderous work of art
While Pierre-Alexis oversees and signs off on all creations at Hermès, the silk department is obviously his favorite assignment. He is completely engaged with the design team and taken with the work at hand—analyzing the drawings spread out on the floor, judging their colors, the balance and depth and force of the images. Usually it takes several passes to get a design right. He says,
"I know the artists, their hands and what they are capable of doing and we are there to help them get it right. It is very rare that a design is right the first time."
Most Hermès scarves are designed by illustrators, but recently Pierre-Alexis sought out an artist named Antoine Tzapoff, whose paintings of American Indians he greatly admired. Though Hermès rarely works with artists—they generally use too many colors to reproduce on a scarf—he asked Tzapoff to design one. Tzapoff submitted a stunning portrait of an Apache warrior. Pierre-Alexis fell in love with the painting, called "Cosmogonie Apache," and sent it to Lyon to have it transformed into a scarf.
Antoine Tzapoff's portrait of an Apache warrior was used for Hermes' "Cosmogonie Apache" silk scarf
When the painting arrived at Marcel Gandit, the 70-year-old silk-engraving company owned by Hermès since 2004, an engraving drawer named Nadine Rabilloud, who has worked there for 33 years, studied it for two days to figure out how to tackle it. Eventually, she identified 80 colors, then edited down to 60, and then to 45—the preferred maximum for the Hermès silk printing process. There are 15 colors for the face alone.
Rabilloud reproduced the face by hand on 90-by-90-centimeter plastic slides with a fountain pen and India ink while two colleagues worked on the background and border. Altogether the trio would spend 2,000 hours reconstructing the painting as a drawing.
Once a design's slides are completed, each is projected onto a sheet of polyester stretched across a 90-by-90-centimeter steel frame. In the old days, these screens were made of silk pulled tightly across wood frames; later, they were nylon, like that of American parachutes from World War II, on metal frames. The screens are loaded onto an automatic printing machine and are run down 150-meter-long tables—the world's longest—covered in silk twill. Layer upon layer of color is applied, darkest to lightest. Each color "pass" takes 15 to 20 minutes—the more ink, the more time—so "Cosmogonie Apache," with its 45 color passes, took approximately 15 hours to print. The silk printing presses run 24 hours, five days a week.
When the ink is dry, the scarves are put in a steam bath to "fix" the colors; washed several times until the fabric is soft; dried; applied with a film fixative to give them a shine and protect the colors; and sent to a workshop where the hems are hand-rolled and hand-stitched. Hermès does 20 new designs a year, 10 for fall-winter and 10 for spring-summer. Each has eight to 10 color variations. Today, a Carré Hermès retails for $385. When the scarves arrive in the shops, they are stored in smart glass cases and dramatically unfurled one after another across countertops by salesclerks for each discerning customer to see, touch and try out. This is yet another tradition that is part of the "culture of Hermès."
LVMH has insisted that it has "no intention of launching a tender offer, taking control of Hermès, nor seeking board representation" and Arnault has described his move as friendly. LVMH's vice chairman, Pierre Godé, told WSJ in late July:
"LVMH's approach is pacific and Mr. Arnault does not envision launching a takeover bid on Hermès."
Hermès executives are skeptical and have branded Arnault an unwanted aggressor. Pierre-Alexis told WSJ. that he "disapproves" of Arnault's purchase. Pierre-Alexis's uncle Hermès Chairman Bertrand Puech told the French daily Le Figaro,
"With friends like these, who needs enemies?"
And Hermès's 63-year-old CEO Patrick Thomas said in a press conference in March,
"If you want to seduce a beautiful woman, you don't start by raping her from behind."
The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the French stock market regulatory authority, has been looking into how LVMH surreptitiously accumulated such a large stake—in France, a company must state when it crosses a 5 percent threshold. LVMH maintains it met all regulatory compliances. Godé says.
"LVMH is entirely confident of the outcome of this investigation."
As a defense measure, the Hermès family has placed 51 percent of the 72 percent of their stake in a holding company that cannot be sold to outsiders. Says Patrick Albaladejo, executive vice president for strategic development and image and close advisor to Thomas,
"It is a message to Bernard Arnault that it will be useless to pursue a takeover attempt because the family has relinquished its right to sell."
Not all family members are wholly behind the maneuver. Nicolas Puech, cousin of Jean-Louis Dumas and brother of Bertrand Puech and the largest family shareholder, with 6 percent of the company, told the Journal du Dimanche in March,
"The major inconvenience in locking up our shares in a holding company would be to deprive the family shareholders of their individual power of control on the management of the company. The freedom of each shareholder is the best way to guarantee our unity in the long run."
He added that he saw no reason why LVMH and Hermès couldn't work together,
"If it is to the advantage of our company and the company maintains its free will."
He has opted out of the holding company. Thomas says,
"Nicolas doesn't plan to sell any shares, and if he did, he would sell them to the family."
A lawsuit has been filed questioning the legality of Hermès's new holding company and the French court of appeals is expected to announce its decision on the case September 15. Thomas isn't worried. He says.
"The public ministry said there is no reason Hermès cannot create the holding company, and the AMF approved it. We are more than confident that we will win."
In addition to legal maneuvers, Thomas says that LVMH is still "working on the family to try to convince them to sell." Godé calls this accusation "pure fantasy." Whoever is right, Thomas is still not concerned.
"What LVMH has forgotten is: A. The family is Protestant, and Protestants have a very different approach to money than the Catholics, and B. The family is interested in the continuity of the business. There was a rumor recently that Arnault would launch a takeover bid at a price that the family cannot resist. The thing is, he can launch a takeover bid tomorrow at 400 euros per share (approximately double the current trading value) and he will not get one share from the family, in my opinion. It's not a matter of money. It's a matter of family pride and the pride of being the sixth generation, and now the seventh."
Godé also calls this rumor "pure fantasy and without foundation." Thomas says with confidence,
"The risk of Arnault taking over is zero. In 30 years, I don't know, but for the moment, zero."
He continues.
"Hermès is a unique business model, completely different from LVMH—that's why the two can't mix. It would kill Hermès. You would keep the brand and keep the name, but Hermès would be dead."
The reason, he believes, is quite simple: "Hermès is a human experience."
COMMENTARY: I have a newfound respect for Hermes beautiful silk scarves and leather handbags after researching the company. Let's hope that Albert Arnault from LVMH never has an opportunity to acquire Hermes. Thomas is right, if LVMH should ever acquire Hermes, the artisanship and culture would be lost forever.
Here's a look at the back rooms and ateliers of the world famous House of Hermes showing how its craftsmen and artisans create those wonderful and beautiful silk scarves and leather handbags:
Yes, it's wildly expensive and requires patience, but Latour just might be the world's best red
When Frédéric Engerer was a university student in Paris, he would drive once a month to Burgundy. He tolod me recently.
"For a young man in his 20s, Burgundy was less intimidating, and you can get appointments more easily."
Bordeaux, with its grand chateaux and wealthy absentee owners, is much more formal and daunting. The first time that Mr. Engerer ever set foot on the hallowed ground of Bordeaux first growth Château Latour was after François Pinault offered him the job of managing the estate.
Mr. Engerer said.
"Latour had always been a mystical estate for me, but I honestly didn't dare ask for an appointment at Latour in those days."
Frederic Engerer, Chateau Latour
The hiring of Mr. Engerer to run one of the world's most fabled domains caused almost as much comment as Mr. Pinault's purchase of the property in 1993. Mr. Pinault, one of Europe's most successful and wealthy businessmen, acquired Latour from Allied Lyons. At the time he was hired, Mr. Engerer was working as a management consultant in Paris, after a previous stint in advertising.
The Bordelaise were understandably baffled by the appointment, which came about at the recommendation of Mr. Pinault's son, François-Henri, who had gone to university with Mr. Engerer. In fact, Mr. Engerer grew up in a family of wine merchants from the Languedoc-Roussillon and spent his summers working in his grandfather's cellar. Even as his business career flourished, most of his free time revolved around his love of wine. He opened a wine bar in Paris. Getting the call from Mr. Pinault was basically the equivalent of an aspiring rapper getting tapped to record a track with Jay-Z. Latour is, by anyone's reckoning, one of the greatest domains on the planet.
Latour was named for a tower, or castle, which was built on the property in the 14th century and razed more than a century later at the end of the Hundred Years' War (the catchy title by which that 116-year conflict is remembered). The three-story "tower" that stands on the property today and graces the wine label is actually a pigeonniere, or dovecote, built in 1625—and is not, as is commonly imagined, the tower that gave the estate its name.Latour would presumably be called Latour even if it produced a dainty, delicate wine, but this not the case: Latour is a massive wine that can seem entirely unassailable in its youth, a wine that seems to measure its age in geologic time. A Latour from a good year can take 30 years to show its charms, and when it does so its virtues are almost inevitably described with adjectives that skew toward the masculine end of the spectrum: robust, powerful, massive. I've never seen the word "pretty" in a tasting note on Latour.
Mr. Engerer told me when we first met. (I agree—I don't think it's an easy woman—I think it's a man.)
"Latour is not an easy woman. It requires patience. It doesn't give much up at an early age. It's a long runner."
There is, in other words, something terribly anachronistic about Latour; it's the antithesis of instant gratification. If that doesn't scare you, consider this: It's forbiddingly expensive, as are all of the first-growth Bordeaux. New levels of insanity—over $1,000 a bottle—were reached with the release of futures for all the 2009 and 2010 vintages.
Even Mr. Engerer—whose boss can't be all that sad about this situation—seems a little chastened by what has happened to the price of Latour. He said.
"My first en primeur campaign was with the '94 vintage, which we sold [wholesale] for €28 [$39] a bottle. Now we sell the wines at €500 a bottle."
True, massive capital investment has been made since Mr. Pinault took over. The new winery is spectacular. And production of the grand vin has been cut drastically to improve quality. None of this would matter if not for the situation and composition of the vineyard land.
The main vineyard occupies a rise above the Gironde estuary and is comprised of a thick layer of gravel, providing excellent drainage, over a bed of clay. Lafite and Mouton sit on sand. I can't begin to explain the interaction of roots and soil—and I don't know that anyone can, except to say that the superb drainage means Latour is good even in rainy vintages—but I can assert with confidence that Latour's unique terroir creates a unique wine.
Over the years the wine has retained its signature character no matter who has made it. It has an unparalleled ability to age and to develop. The 1961, which I tried recently with Mr. Engerer, is one of the greatest I have ever tasted, a Beethoven's Ninth of a wine, and still on its way up. The 1982, for me the wine of the vintage, is still a baby. And they are clearly siblings, remarkably similar in their aromatics and their flavor profiles, despite being made by different teams, 20 years apart. The wines are incredibly powerful but nuanced; every sip or sniff seems to yield something new. Even in a poor vintage, like 1964, which I also tasted with Mr. Engerer, Latour is similarly complex though not as powerful or concentrated. I think if Latour were an actor it would be Gregory Peck; the '61 would be Mr. Peck in "To Kill a Mockingbird," the '64 would be the actor in "Beloved Infidel."
Is any of this relevant to the average wine lover, as opposed to the wealthy collector? It is, I think, in several ways. Just as developments in Formula One race cars eventually inform the engineering of the cars the rest of us drive every day, just as haute couture trickles down to the wardrobes of those who have never attended a fashion show, the no-expense-spared aesthetic of Latour under Mr. Pinault serves as an inspiration for wine makers in Bordeaux and the world over. And Latour is the ultimate exemplar of a wine that improves with age. Unlike, say, Screaming Eagle, a Napa Valley cult Cabernet that costs just as much in most vintages, Latour has a proven history; you know that the 2010 vintage, when you or your heirs pop the cork 30 years from now, will be spectacular.
1995 Château Latour, $595 - One of the rare Latours drinking well before its 20th birthday. Cedar and tobacco on the nose; voluptuous in body, with some underlying tannin. Half the price of the 2005.
2003 Les Forts de Latour, $250 - The '03 Latour is one of the greatest modern Bordeaux and the estate's "second wine," a sibling of the grand vin, is also brilliant. Young, dense and rich, but well-balanced, with a blast of crème de cassis and mineral undertones.
2008 Domaine d'Eugénie Vosne-Romanée, $59 - Mr. Pinault bought the Domaine René Engel in 2006 and rechristened it Domaine D'Eugénie; this is the team's second vintage from this fabled piece of Burgundy. Very full-bodied for a village level wine, with spicy highlights and a long finish.
2008 Domaine de Fontbonau Côtes du Rhône, $26 - Mr. Engerer acquired this property in the southern Rhône with his friend Jérôme Malet. The Grenache-Syrah blend reminds me of a fine Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but it's lighter on its feet and livelier. Kind of like Babar in a tutu.
1996 Château Latour, $695 - Even greater than the '95, though not as charming today. Toasted tobacco nose; very dense earthy/mineral quality underneath the black-currant fruit. Still young.
COMMENTARY: Château Latour is a French wine estate, rated as a First Growth under the 1855 Bordeaux Classification.
Latour lies at the very southeastern tip of the commune of Pauillac in the Medoc region to the north-west of Bordeaux, at its border with Sait=Julien, and only a few hundred metres from the banks of the Gironde estuary.
The estate produces three red wines in all. In addition to its Grand vin, Latour has also produced the second wine Les Forts de Latour since 1966, and a third wine, simply named Pauillac, has been released every year since 1990. An imperiale (six-litre bottle) of Château Latour sold for £135,000 in 2011.
History
The site has been occupied since at least 1331 when Tor à Saint-Lambert was built by Gaucelme de Castillon, and the estate dating to at least 1378. A garrison fort was built 300 metres from the estuary to guard against attack during the Hundred Years' War. The tower, the name mutating with time to La Tour en Saint-Mambert and Saint-Maubert, gave its name to the estate around the fortress and was in English hands until the Battle of Castillon in 1453, and its complete destruction by the forces of the King of France. The original tower no longer exists, but in the 1620's a circular tower (La Tour de Saint-Lambert) was built on the estate and though it is actually designed as a pigeon roost, it remains a strong symbol of the vineyard. Though two centuries apart, this building is said to have been constructed using the original edifice.
Vines have existed on the site since the 14th century, and Latour's wine received some early recognition, discussed as early as in the 16th century in Essays by Mongaigne. Near the end of the 16th century, the estate's several smallholdings had been accumulated by the de Mullet family into one property.
From 1670 began a lineage of connected family ownership not broken until 1963, when the estate was acquired by the de Chavannes family, and passed by marriage to the de Clauzel family in 1677. When Alexandre de Ségur married Marie-Thérèse de Clauzel, Latour became a part of his vast property, to which he also added Chateau Lafite in 1716, just prior to his death. In 1718 his son Nicolas-Alexandre de Segur added Chateau Mouton and Chateau Calon-Segur to his holdings and began producing wines of great quality. The widespread reputation of Latour emerged at the beginning of the 18th century when its status was established on export markets such as England, alongside chateaux Lafite, Margaux and Pontac.
With the death of Nicolas-Alexandre Ségur in 1755 the estate was divided among four daughters, three of whom inherited Latour in 1760,and with absent landlords, Latour was managed by a regisseur charged with efficient administration and thorough correspondence with the owners. Receiving more care than under the late owner whose favourite had been Lafite, Latour improved in the later half of the century, and later became a favourite of Thomas Jefferson, then minister to France, when he categorised La Tour de Ségur as a vineyard of first quality in 1787.
With the onset of the French Revolutin, the property became divided. The Comte de Ségur-Cabanac fled France and his portion was auctioned off by the state in 1794, passing through several owners. The estate was not reunited until 1841, when the family succeeded in a plot to put the estate up for sale, and eventually emerged after an auction having regained the 20% shares owned by négociants Barton, Guestier and Johnston. The Société Civile de Château Latour was formed in 1842, exclusive to the family, who then had become shareholders.
Ahead of the International Exhibition in Paris, the selection of Latour as one of the four First Growths in the Classification of 1855 consolidated its reputation, and ensured its high prices. The present château was completed in 1864.
Modern History
In 1963 the estate finally left the Ségur family, then named de Beaumont, when the heirs sold three-quarters of the Château Latour shares to the British interests of the Pearson Group under control of Lord Cowdray, with shares owned by Harvey's of Bristol. Henri Martin and Jean-Paul Gardère were appointed as managers which brought about substantial innovations.Investments were made in research, vineyards were expanded by acquisition and replanting, the chai was extended and Latour became the first of the first growths to modernise their whole production, replacing the old oak fermenting vats with stainless steel temperature-controlled vats. The second wine with fruit from younger vines was initiated, and fruit for the grand vin was decided to come exclusively from the vineyards shown on the plan of the domain from 1759. Martin and Gardère formally resigned from the Conseil d'Administration in 1987, ending a 24-year era.
In 1989 Latour was purchased by Allied Lyons for around £110 million, but in 1993 returned to French ownership when bought by businessman Francois Pinaul for £86 million when it became part of his holding company Groupe Artemis.
In December 2008 it was reported that the investment bank Lazard was offering the estate for sale. The Sunday Times speculated that among the interested parties were wine mogul Bernard Magrez, with actors Gerard Depardieu and Carole Bouque, in a transaction which would bring one of the five first growths under the control of a resident Bordelais for the first time in several decades.
Production
The estate has 78 hectares (190 acres) of vineyard, of which a 47-hectare (120-acre) portion near the château is named l'Enclos, where fruit exclusive to the grand vin is grown. The composition of grape varieties is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, and 2% of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
The grand vin Chateau Latour, typically a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, with the remainder Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, normally has an annual production of 18,000 cases. The second wine Les Forts de Latour, typically 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, has an average annual production of 11,000 cases.
The Grand Cru Classe of the 1855 Bordeaux Classification are considered the best of the best because of their rich history and record of consistency. The Pauillac commune of Bordeaux is considered one of the greatest wine growing communes of the Bordeaux.
The First Growths (Premiers Crus) are considered the top classification and include:
Hanna Emelie Ernsting creates a mighty morphin' sofa for the many shades of the human condition.
Furniture designers love to talk about the ways their seating “encourages interaction” and “engenders conversation” and “fosters intimacy.” Which is great, if you like people. For the rest of us, there’s Moody, a clever little couch that morphs to fit our inner Howard Hughes.
The sofa, the idea of recent product-design grad Hanna Emelie Ernsting, has nearly 10 extra feet of fabric hanging off its frame, perfect for being pulled up over your head and around your body to create a soft shield from the world -- furniture shorthand for “leave me the hell alone.” (You can practically see the morose 14-year-olds lining up for this thing.)
Or you could roll the fabric out on the floor like a bed if you’re feeling lazy or throw it all over the place if you’re in the grip of a red-hot temper tantrum. The beauty of the couch is that it can be manipulated to suit every last whim. Think of it as the living-room equivalent of an emoticon.
Ernsting showed the couch as part of a bigger collection -- which includes a Moody chair and a Moody “nest” -- at the design fair IMM Cologne recently. More info on her website here.
COMMENTARY: The Mood Coach. What a splendid idea. I like the Moody Nest coach and Moody Bag the most. There is something definitely feminine, unorthodox, sensual and naughty about Hanna's designs. I can definitely visualize Marilyn Monroe, Lady Gaga and Madonna laying provocatively in her Mood Coach. I am not into the red color fabric, preferring more earthy color tones. The Mood Coach combinations are endless. I would like to see Hanna include patterns too. I think Hanna definitely has found her niche. Danke!
Courtesy of an article dated January 24, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design
The Intimacy 2.0 hyper-sexy e-dress by Dutch designer Studio Roosegaarde
Granted, it takes a mountain of courage to wear.
For ladies who don’t have the patience for coy flirtation, here’s something that gets the job done quickly: a sensor-enabled cocktail dress that flashes a whole lot of skin the more excited you get.
So say you meet some guy who sends your heart aflutter. The dress responds to your elevated pulse by growing transparent around the (already plenty skimpy) plunging neckline. Conversely, if he’s such a snooze that you’re about two seconds away from flat-lining, the dress stays opaque, sending an instant “no, thanks!”
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Intimacy 2.0 is latest in a series of hyper-sexy e-dresses from the techie Dutch designers Studio Roosegaarde in collaboration with V2_Lab and fashion designer Anouk Wipprecht. Each dress combines embedded sensors and conductive “smart foils” that become see-through when zapped by electricity. But whereas previous iterations would’ve landed you in jail for indecent exposure (one dress went transparent simply by being around other people and covered less than a pastie), Intimacy 2.0 is designed to be flaunted outside of the bedroom. It's still pretty damned racy, though. Big up to anyone who's daring enough to wear it. The rest of us will have to stick to batting our eyelashes.
The secret to the Intimacy 2.0 e-dress is the technology underneath that reacts to the sensual mood of the wearer.
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Dresses are available in black or white on custom order through Studio Roosegaarde. More info here.
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COMMENTARY: The Intimacy 2.0 e-dress is from out-of-this world. I do hope that see-through e-dresses are the next big thing in fashion. I truly expect Lady Gaga to add one to her dress collection.
Courtesy of an article dated October 24, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design
Mutewatch responds to swiping, tapping, and pinching just like a touchphone. But its real appeal is a silent, motion-sensing alarm so that you--and only you--wake up naturally.
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Is stabbing at an iPhone more intuitive nowadays than glancing at your wrist? The makers of Mutewatch seem to think so. A sleek, minimalist timepiece, Mutewatch behaves more or less like your iPhone. To access the functions--the clock, the alarm, the timer--you swipe. To set the alarm, you tap directly on the digits. To turn off the alarm, you pinch.
Call me an old fogy, but I prefer good old-fashioned analog knobs. I don’t find swiping and tapping particularly intuitive, especially since it usually takes a few taps and a few swipes to get my iPhone to do what I want it to do. Why would Mutewatch be any different?
Mutewatch comes in three colors: white, charcoal black and red
The timepiece has one advantage that your standard strap-on watch does not: a built-in motion sensor that adjusts the strength of the alarm, which pulses silently against your wrist, in response to your movements. So the more you stir, the more it vibrates, gently rousing you from slumber. That means you wake up naturally--and don’t wake up your partner (or whoever’s in bed with you).
Mutewatch comes in red, white, or gray and costs $259. Available at the A+R Store and elsewhere.
COMMENTARY: Mutewatch is a Swedish company based in Stockholm. The company works at the center of a constantly growing international network that includes people from the film, design, fashion and music industries as well as young entrepreneurs and professionals. They are driven by curiosity and have a simplistic and human approach to technology. This is why this network is the perfect place for the company to develop and test their innovations and designs, letting them have a conversation about how they can adjust and improve their products.
The comany's goal is to develop products that give people the tools they need to manage their time in a sustainable way. They believe in the pursuit of dreams, ambitions and personal fulfillment - whatever they may be - and embrace the possibilities and opportunities of contemporary life. The Mutewatch works for everyone who has a set of tasks, a goal to achieve and only 24 hours a day to do so.
FEATURES
The Mutewatch is designed to be simple and intuitive. Just tap the flat surface and the touch screen lights up, then swipe through the functions clock, alarm and timer.
You set the time for your alarms by tapping directly on the digits – tap on the top of the digit for a higher number or on the bottom of the digit for a lower one. When you want to erase an alarm, simply pinch the touch screen.
The Mutewatch also features a built-in motion sensor that registers your movement and automatically adjusts the strength of the vibrations. So, whether you're sleeping, on stage giving a presentation or doing your work out, the Mutewatch will keep you updated on your next step.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATONS
Display - Glowing Perfection
LED display at 100 Hz rate
Capacitive and easy-to-use touch screen
Automatic adaptation to the surrounding light intensity for optimal glow
Model & Dimensions - The One Size Adjustable Wristband
Total weight: 40 grams
Minimal wrist size: 14 cm
Maximal wrist size: 18,5 cm
Bracelet width: 25.4 mm
Bracelet thickness: 12.5 mm
Battery Power - Energy Management
Normally around 1 week of operation depending on usage
Device warns when battery level is low (by showing “BATT”)
2 hours charging (from USB-port) refills battery
Enters into hibernation mode when battery is too low
1 week without usage automatically sets device in hibernation mode
Plug device in USB-port to awaken from hibernation mode
Device arrives in hibernation mode
Motion Sensor - Detection of Your Motion
High level of movement, triggers an increase in the intensity of the vibrating alarm
A simple flick of the wrist activates the glowing display
Almost every luxury brand has a Facebook page or Twitter account, but at this point it takes a little more than just showcasing campaigns or breaking the latest collection to get consumer attention.
At first just used to connect with up-and-coming aspirationals, luxury brands have been tapping social media outlets including Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and blogs in an entirely new way. There is a thin line between marketing to all consumers or just to a niche audience, and these brands have mastered the art of appealing to younger audience without appearing intimidating or losing their luxury luster.
Here are the best social media luxury marketers of the third quarter, in alphabetical order:
Bergdorf Goodman – The New York-based department store used a shoppable video to increase the hype surrounding its younger 5F collection, displayed through its Facebook and Twitter feeds (see story).
Bergdorf released a video featuring the winners of its previous 5F social media contest wearing a slew of top-name designers.
In September 12, 2011, Bergdorf Goodman launched "The Faces of 5F," an open casting call for their Fall advertising campaign featured in Lucky Magazine's October issue. BG received over 1200 submissions from fantastic, unique and diverse women from all over the country. Meghan, Justine, Amy & Muthoni were four of the girls selected as our Faces of 5F.
Moreover, the brand used the Instagram photo application to increase awareness of the retailer’s shoe salon offerings and updated mobile app (see story).
Bergdorf’s Shoes About Town map acted as a bulletin board of New York on which the brand and consumers can post photos of shoes in the various locales throughout the city.
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The map is helping to build awareness of the retailer’s updated Today’s Shoe iPhone app, its new Fall shoe book and build the hype surrounding the expansion of its New York flagship’s shoe salon.
When Facebook fans click on the tab, they are welcomed with a short explanation about the Wrap of the Month program, underneath which shoppers can click through three different views of the dress on a model.
Scrolling further down, shoppers are met with a section that looks very much like the product page on a brand’s Web site.
In this section, fans can see the name of the dress, the pattern and a full product description.
When the consumer chooses to check-out, she is linked to the branded Web site where she may then enter payment information, likely to boost the brand’s ecommerce sales.
Gucci – Italian fashion house Gucci is upping its social media presence using Condé Nast’s new Social Sidekick, an interactive Web tool that allows brands to update news and content from their digital platforms in real time (see story).
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Gucci was the sidekick’s first sponsor throughout September. Conde Nast’s sidekick enables brands to use the tool to focus on ecommerce, narrative or behind-the-scenes using a customized CMS.
The sidekick aggregates content from these brands and Condé Nast digital platforms such as W magazine, Style.com, Glamour, Self, Teen Vogue and Lucky.
Gucci chose to build its social media presence via the sidekick.
Content from Gucci’s Facebook and Twitter accounts provided real-time information on the brand’s 90th anniversary activities including the Gucci Aware for Women in Cinema, a collaboration with the Venice Film Festival.
Also, it aggregated content concerning the opening of the Gucci museum in Florence and the launch of the 500 by Gucci Fiat vehicle.
Gucci will also use the social sidekick to showcase content from its new app and Web site, the new Gucci Guilty campaign, highlight merchandise and promote video.
Harrods – British department store Harrods positioned itself as a fashion authority and kicked off London Fashion Week with the start of its new monthly online magazine, The Review, in the third quarter (see story).
The Review, found at http://www.harrods.com, focuses on fashion-related content, including interviews with designers, exclusive products and major launches. The London-based retailer decided to tie the launch with London Fashion week.
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Readers can also see styling tips and trends on the interactive and commerce-enabled pages.
Harrods is aiming to keep the Web site top-of-mind by providing an enhanced experience for tech-savvy consumers.
The retailer’s Web site currently features small tidbits from the fashion world, such as the beauty guide and curated content depending on season in its fashion sections.
Earlier this quarter, Harrods rewarded its most loyal customers and celebrated social media milestones by giving away money to a consumer who follows the retailer’s Twitter feed (see story).
When it approached the 100,000 Facebook “likes” milestone, Harrods rewarded one of its 50,000 Twitter followers with $1,630 to spend on Harrods.com.
Jimmy Choo – Footwear and handbag brand Jimmy Choo’s creative director and founder Tamara Mellon is drawing attention to the label’s first fragrance through the launch of her new blog, A Day, A Thrill (see story).
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A Day, A Thrill focuses on art, cinema and music that inspire and thrill the designer and her friends.
Developing the Jimmy Choo fragrance was a personal and intimate journey and was discovered through things that thrill her, Ms. Mellon said on the blog.
A Day, A Thrill also marks the 15-year anniversary of the founding of the brand as well as celebrating the fragrance.
Consumers are encouraged to share the posts from individual celebrities via social media such as Facebook posts and tweets.
Jimmy Choo highlighted Ms. Mellon’s new blog via social media and Facebook, increasing brand awareness and possibly sales of its new scent.
L’Occitane – French skincare line L’Occitane en Provence engaged global consumers though a social media-driven photo project in July (see story).
The company took it up a notch by asking consumers to snap photos of the brand’s best-selling hand cream – Shea Butter Hand Cream – wherever they are, be it in front of a landmark in their hometown or on vacation.
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The consumers can then upload the photo to Facebook or Twitter and tag L’Occitane.
The Shea Hello campaign had consumers put their photos on Facebook by either posting on the brand’s wall or simply tagging the brand in the picture, and also by tagging @loccitane or #sheahello in tweets.
The project has been pushed across many of the different L’Occitane regional social media sites such as the U.S. Facebook and Twitter, the Korea Twitter and the Israel Facebook.
L’Occitane saw social media interaction from consumers who tagged the hand cream at the Jersey Shore in New Jersey, China, Amsterdam, during breakfast, on the beach, on a desk and in flowers.
Mercedes-Benz: Mercedes-Benz is engaging consumers with a new Facebook application that features the German automaker’s new C-Class coupe and integrates users’ friends into the playing field (see story).
The Drive & Seek game placed the consumer in the role of special agent with short video clips explaining the game and featuring the C-Class coupe.
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The Facebook app game was released on the branded page in July and consists of three activities.
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The first is “Find a safe route,” which is a maze game that asks users to get to the other side of a bank.
The next mission is entitled, “Outsmart the system,” which asks consumers questions about their friends’ hometowns, ages and relationship status.
The last option is, “Do you have a good eye?” which has players name which friend’s profile picture is scrambled in the frame.
Mercedes alerted fans to the new tab and the game with a Facebook post challenging them to see if they had what it takes to become a special agent.
Since most people log-on to Facebook when they are bored or want to waste time, Mercedes likely saw much activity.
Mercedes’ game will also improve brand recall as consumers engage and learn about their friends throughout the game.
The brand also boosted its appeal by creating “Mercedes Stars” on its Facebook page that allowed consumers to vote on which charity Mercedes would grant money.
Michael Kors – U.S. apparel and accessories designer Michael Kors improved personality visibility and brand experience this past quarter through an editorially-based travel blog, Destination Kors (see story).
Consumers can find insider travel tips, follow the designer and founder Michael Kors on his trips around the world and discover his inspiration from destinations on the blog.
This could serve as the brand’s transition into a lifestyle brand rather than just apparel and accessories, according to some experts.
The blog, found at http://www.destinationkors.com, is made up of multiple colorful boxes that detail runway collections, inspirations, diary entries, social media, news and style tips.
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The content is curated by Mr. Kors himself, according to the brand.
Furthermore, Michael Kors marketed the blog through various promotions on its Facebook page and Twitter feed, and regularly posts new articles on its branded social media outlets.
Showcasing celebrities in plenty of branded products could serve to entice consumers to its commerce-enabled Web site, or into a branded location.
Check out Michael Kors Spring 2012 show. I call this the African Collection:
Missoni – Missoni’s now-famous Missoni for Target line was marketed much by social media (see story).
Before the partnership was official, the two brands built-up the anticipation surrounding the Sept. 13 Missoni for Target collection debut through a creative Tumblr blog that, at first glance, appears to have no real connection with neither Missoni nor Target.
The blog titled “All the Way Up Here” surfaced in the fashion world when it released exclusive first-glances of the Missoni collection.
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The posts on the blog date back to May, with mentions of founder and designer Margherita Missoni as the author’s fashion idol.
When the Missoni for Target collection drew closer, Missoni broke out sneak-peaks from the campaign on its social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter.
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Furthermore, the brand released its television commercial and the behind-the-scenes commercial on YouTube.
Orient-Express – International hotel, river cruise and rail company Orient-Express launched a digital awareness campaign called A Journey Like No Other starring a fictional affluent family and their journey around the world through a video series (see story).
The online-only campaign started Sept. 19 and includes a video homepage takeover and banner ads on the New York Times Web site as well on the Monocle, TripAdvisor, The Wall Street Journal and The Daily Beast sites.
These links take consumers to the Orient-Express main site where the bulk of the campaign resides.
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Although most of the campaign is on the microsite, the company leveraged much of the site traffic on social media activity.
Orient-Express dedicated an entire section of its Facebook page to the campaign and routinely posts videos, updates and images.
Additionally, consumers can find all of the videos for the campaign on the brand’s YouTube page.
Posting on social media will likely entice consumers to visit other campaign pages and possibly make travel arrangements using the company’s accommodations.
COMMENTARY: If you love to shop or travelig, this blog post is for you. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did putting it together for you.
Courtesy of an article dated October 14 2011 appearing in Luxury Daily
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