| India a stopover for global lux brands | | Posted Sunday, January 21, 2007 1:18:46 PM by Blog57 Team | | Circa 2006. India's tryst with luxury brands changed gears. With high disposable incomes and a penchant for all things luxury amongst affluent Indians on the rise, the country is emerging as the next stopover for global luxury brands such as Gucci, Christian Dior and Versace. The year commenced on a positive note with the likes of Valentino, Dior and Ferragamo parking themselves on Indian shores. Several others such as Armani and Gucci have made the required noises and seem to be waiting in the wings for an entry. So is India really the next China for these luxury brands? Are these high priests of fashion gearing up to hang their brand shingles in India or is there still a lot of time left before we etch ourselves on the global luxury map? Despite infrastructural issues such as retail space, there are reasons to believe that brands are getting interested in India.... | |
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| | | Davie woman arrested with 1,986 fake luxury watches | | Posted Tuesday, November 14, 2006 11:18:09 PM by Blog57 Team | | A Davie woman was arrested for selling counterfeit designer watches to undercover detectives, authorities said Thursday. Mantin Ng, 35, met undercover detectives at Best Florida Storage in Lauderhill Wednesday to sell them 17 watches for $2,000, said Sgt. Jay Leiner, of the Sheriff's Economic Crimes Bureau. .... | |
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| | | HMSHost Retail Introduces World Passage - A Premier Airport Shopping Experience | | Posted Saturday, November 11, 2006 3:47:29 AM by Blog57 Team | | Luxury, elegance, and beauty are the key characteristics of World Passage, an upscale shopping venue now accessible to all airport travelers. HMSHost, a world leader in travel shopping and dining, introduced three World Passage stores this year -- two at Seattle- Tacoma International Airport and one at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. This high-end shop features a superior selection of merchandise previously available only to duty free passengers, now allowing all travelers access to much sought after brands, including, Christian Dior, Lancome and Anthony's products. Duty Free exists only for limited items, such as alcohol and tobacco. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061109/DCTH044 ) .... | |
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| | | BSO: Woman Sold Bogus Watches Worth $8.5 Million | | Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 1:26:57 PM by Blog57 Team | | LAUDERHILL, Fla. -- Broward Sheriff's Office detectives arrested a Davie woman accused of operating a counterfeit watch business that yielded almost 2,000 bogus Rolex watches. BSO detectives said they made several purchases of the fake Rolex watches from Mantin Ng over the course of the past two weeks. On the last exchange Wednesday, BSO detectives arrested Ng, 35, at the Best Florida Storage unit where she allegedly stored her phony merchandise. BSO detectives said they netted almost 2,000 brand-name counterfeit watches, including Rolex, Gucci and Chanel, with a total estimated retail value worth $8.5 million. .... | |
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| | | All that glitters is as good as gold to those on the hunt for bargains | | Posted Tuesday, November 07, 2006 11:32:31 AM by Blog57 Team | | Smack in the middle of the chaos, Ashley Potoshnik stood amid friends, wearing a skin-tight, floor-length, purple- and silver-flecked fuchsia gown — over her jeans. Potoshnik smiled. "I can embarrass my boyfriend and wear it to prom," she said. Hundreds of people descended on Goodwill's 23rd annual "glitter sale" on Saturday, some for the simple fun of dressing up. But the event also drew serious shoppers in droves: When the doors opened at 9 a.m., a few hundred women and men were waiting, eager to sort through the vintage fashions and designer formalwear Goodwill collects for this once-a-year occasion. They came wearing leotards, jog bras and leggings under their clothes, the better for stripping down and trying on. Women of all shapes and sizes wandered around, some in nothing more than bathing suits and socks.... | |
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| | | Luxury Institute's 2006 Luxury Brand Holiday Gift Guide | | Posted Friday, November 03, 2006 7:38:45 PM by Blog57 Team | | Because wealthy consumers are the most profitable customers for luxury retailers, the holiday shopping period is paramount to the bottom line. And so, the Luxury Institute is pleased to present this objective holiday guide on how the wealthy rate and rank the firms that do business with them across leading luxury categories. Not a demographic that is prone to fads and trends, in addition to personal taste, the wealthy will do their gift buying based largely on a company's reputation and standing with fellow wealthy consumers. The 2006 Luxury Brand Holiday Gift-Giving Guide relies on brand status ratings and rankings by wealthy consumers of luxury retailers and companies operating in 18 categories, including fashion designers, fragrances, hotels, casinos, cruise lines, jewelry, ultra-luxury watches, etc...... | |
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| | | Around Broward County | | Posted Tuesday, October 31, 2006 3:19:43 AM by Blog57 Team | | Southwest Ranches officials and the South Broward Drainage District appeared ready to resolve their lease dispute after a meeting Thursday afternoon. The Southwest Ranches Town Council has been holding meetings in a party room at Romeu's Cuban Restaurant since the two sides got into a dispute when the lease ended in June. ''The commission, although they didn't reach a 100 percent agreement, both sides made concessions, and they agreed to continue this item to re-discuss a revised lease agreement,'' said Keith Poliakoff, an attorney for Southwest Ranches. On Thursday, Southwest Ranches officials said if the drainage district agrees to continue the lease for three years, at the end of that time Southwest Ranches would not object if the district votes to deannex from the town.... | |
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| | | Davie woman jailed in fake watches sting | | Posted Thursday, October 26, 2006 7:11:17 PM by Blog57 Team | | The Broward Sheriff's Office has arrested a Davie woman authorities say sold fake watches bearing brand names such as Rolex, Gucci, Chanel and Cartier. Detectives jailed Mantin NG, 35, on Wednesday after conducting a two-week undercover operation. Posing as customers, BSO detectives said they made several purchases of fake Rolex watches from NG. The most recent transaction occurred Wednesday at Best Florida Storage, 3901 W. Sunrise Blvd. in Lauderhill. NG was arrested inside a storage unit where BSO found nearly 2,000 counterfeit watches worth an estimated retail value of $8.5 million, authorities said. NG faces one count of vending goods or services with counterfeit trademarks, which is punishable by up to five years in jail. Detectives believe others may be involved in the counterfeit ring and are continuing their investigation.... | |
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| | | What women want | | Posted Thursday, October 19, 2006 1:18:03 PM by Blog57 Team | | Several former Limited Brands officials hope to string a few Jules into a chain of costume-jewelry stores. The founders of Jule, a year-old womens accessories business at Polaris Fashion Place, are opening stores in Toledo today and Dayton by Thanksgiving. Its all part of a plan to build a specialtystore chain of 300 to 500 boutiques in a market segment traditionally dominated by department stores and teen shops. "For most retailers, accessories are a secondary thought," said Renee Ongaro, chief merchant and a cofounder. "What we have done is make this a big deal." The first Jule opened in November at Polaris. The 2,000-square-foot store sells costume and designer jewelry, handbags, belts, gloves, watches and sunglasses. The target market is women ages 25 to 45. Prices are considered moderate, ranging from $10 bracelets and earrings to $800 designer handbags.... | |
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| | | FBI keeps its eyes fixed on Hezbollah | | Posted Monday, October 09, 2006 3:16:09 AM by Blog57 Team | | When Hamas and Hezbollah kidnapped Israeli soldiers this summer and the Israeli military lashed back in Gaza and Lebanon, the FBI quietly stepped up its scrutiny of the two groups, particularly Hezbollah, which law-enforcement authorities say raises money selling bootleg tobacco and counterfeit goods in California. The anniversary of the Sept. 11 hijackings has Americans thinking about al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden. But the pressure on al-Qaidas top leadership and increasing U.S. confrontation with Iran has many counterterrorism experts looking at the Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah as an equal, if not greater, threat. Hezbollahs access to Iranian money, arms and military training has created the kind of guerrilla force that can fight the Israeli military to a stalemate and it has more of a presence inside the United States than al-Qaida, though neither Hezbollah nor Hamas ever has attacked within the country.... | |
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