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 TAG Heuer Picks Wimbledon Champion Maria Sharapova as Brand AmbassadorSwiss sports watch maker and the fourth largest luxury brand in the world watch market TAG Heuer has signed a long-term ambassador agreement with, the winner of 2004 Wimbledon and WTA year end championships, Maria Sharapova for covering product development, advertising, public relations and merchandising.The 17 years old Russian tennis star and the third youngest Wimbledon Champion in WTA history, Maria Sharapova said, "I am ecstatic." "To represent a brand as legendary as TAG Heuer is a great honor. TAG Heuer has been teaming with the greatest champions in the history of sports, renowned athletes like Carl Lewis, Ayrton Senna or nowadays Tiger Woods, and famous teams like Ferrari and McLaren," she said. Jean Christophe Babin, TAG Heuer's President and Chief Executive Officer said, "In just two seasons Maria Sharapova has made her mark on the WTA pro tennis circuit, quickly advancing to the 4th singles 2004 WTA rankings, and winning two of the most famous tournaments in tennis." "She's the perfect TAG Heuer Ambassador, an ideal representative of the brand's core values of passion, prestige and performance, which have driven the TAG Heuer brand in its pursuit of perfection for 145 years," Babin said. "We are very excited that she is joining the TAG Heuer Team. more www.fib... (293) added by Senay TOPCUOGLU |
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 A Funky Fashion Show With Wit and ImaginationThe audience was agog at Dance Theater Workshop on Friday night when Maria Hassabi presented "Dead Is Dead." Bjork, a favorite of dancegoers because of her famous "whiteswan" Oscars outfit, was in the house.The dress could well have been designed by As Four, which created the stylish shreds and clinging lamé costumes for Ms. Hassabi's new piece. Or maybe Bjork just likes dance that looks like a wittily imaginative fashion show. The extroverted, mostly deadpan dancers, who included a Paris Hilton look-alike with bleached-blond eyebrows (Caitlin Cook) and a slouching postmodernist crooner (Michael Portnoy), strode and writhed lazily about a stage dotted with microphones and backed by a painted drop by Dash Snow and Nico Dios that looked like a graffiti depiction of a cemetery. Fake trees were hauled out for this funk spectacle's finale. The six dancers did things with the microphones and stands that included throwing them around and gazing at them as if contemplating a stripper's pole dance. Several of them slouched against a side wall, with one curly-haired woman in pink lamé (Ms. Hassabi) breathing out a Bjorklike murmur of "beautiful, gorgeous, best, best, best." The wildly shifting music and sound collage included not only scores by Spencer Sweeney, Ben Brunnemer and Mr. Portnoy but also rock more www.nyt... (297) added by Senay TOPCUOGLU |
 Gap for New Image Targeting Kids and Baby BoomersNew strategies, movement of the top guns and a new apparel concept to cater to the modern moms and aunts is not just enough for Gap, the US-based leading international specialty retailer. The company is looking for a changeover of its image by buffing up not just what it sells but how it sells.Changes in the approach to business started in late 2002 with improved behind-the-screen logistics and inventory management. The San Francisco-based Gap team is now devoting more attention to areas that are visible to the customer that includes marketing and store ambience. Sales at Gap stores open for at least a year rose only 2% in the quarter ended October 30, 2004. Available in Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy stores, the brands include GapKids, babyGap, GapBody. Gap Outlet changes its policies to shift the customer perception that Gap brands have jeans and T-shirts not only for morning walk or an evening stroll but also casual wear for a range of occasions like brunch, casual parties, to a casual workplace or an evening get-together. The retailer is working from the grass root level to undertake the exercise of changing the image of the stores. First stop in the process is on the mannequins as they are the ones that initially attract shoppers, whether they are a serious lot or just having fun, window shopping. more www.app... (214) added by Senay TOPCUOGLU |
 Gucci Chief to Offer a Design for Luxury in VolumeRobert Polet spent much of his career in business selling mass market products, most recently frozen peas and Popsicles. Now, after a high-fashion makeover, he is about to find out if he can interest the public in $1,000 handbags.Next Tuesday, both the fashion industry, where skepticism about outsiders runs rampant, and corporate investors, with their focus on the bottom line, will be watching intently as Mr. Polet, the new chief executive of the Gucci Group, explains his strategy for the first time since joining the company in July. He has an ambitious target to announce, executives with knowledge of the plans said. Mr. Polet wants to double the sales of Gucci's own brand-name merchandise in the next seven years. That is just the kind of goal that used to excite investors when Mr. Polet ran Unilever's global ice cream and frozen foods division - with brands like Good Humor bars and Birds Eye vegetables. But will the talents that worked so well at Unilever for Mr. Polet, 49, carry over into transforming a fractious, often money-losing group of luxury brands where talent has been streaming out the door into a profit-generating machine for Pinault-Printemps- Redoute, its parent company? There has been speculation in the fashion industry that Gucci will try to expand its presence by signing more licensing deals an more www.nyt... (127) added by Levent OZLER |
 Karl Lagerfeld Joins Tommy HilfigerTommy Hilfiger Corp. - whose once-hot preppy clothing business has cooled - is making a play to rekindle growth by buying luxury brand Karl Lagerfeld.Tommy Hilfiger said Monday that it is acquiring the trademarks of internationally renowned Karl Lagerfeld for an undisclosed cash amount. The transaction includes Lagerfeld Galleries and other Lagerfeld collections, but does not include Lagerfeld's agreements with Chanel and Fendi. As part of Monday's deal, Lagerfeld will continue to design and provide creative direction for Lagerfeld's brands. The long-term contract is expected to draw upon the international reputation of Lagerfeld with the experience and global infrastructure of Tommy Hilfiger Corp. Hilfiger generated sales of $1.87 billion in 2003, down 0.7 percent from the previous year. Lagerfeld's collections are currently in a startup phase, and consist of a women's and licensed men's collection. They are distributed within select European and Asian markets. As part of Lagerfeld's global expansion efforts, his brands will be developed within the United States, particularly through upscale department and specialty stores. The goal is also to expand the distribution of Lagerfeld's women's and men's collections geographically, and grow across multiple categories. The deal reflects the industry's latest obsessio more www.the... (350) added by Levent OZLER |
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