Category — Luxury

Tiffany’s says it is introducing a “new metal” but metallurgists say that just isn’t so, reports Patricia Cohen in the New York Times (4/5/12). Tiffany’s calls its creation Rubedo, a “pinkish mixture of gold, silver and copper.” Jewelers compare Rubedo to a Victorian-era material known as “rose gold” that also “gets its rosy hue from copper.” So, it’s maybe not all that new, and Rudolph Buchheit of the Ohio State says it’s not a metal, either. “A new metal would be equivalent to creating a new element in the periodic table,” says Rudolph. “It’s what high energy physicists do. It’s not the thing you do in a jewelry foundry.” Carson Glover of Tiffany’s begs to differ, however, contending that a metal “is defined as an alloy of two or more metallic elements.”

That, of course, would make Rubedo an alloy, and Anthony J. DeArdo of University of Pittsburgh says Tiffany’s would be hard pressed to prove it is unique. “It may be one of the 14 million alloys that people have cooked up over the decades,” he says. Christina Malle, a goldsmith, is also troubled that, unlike items marketed as gold, consumers have no way of knowing the actual gold content (e.g., “14 karat is 58.5 percent pure gold; 18 karat is 75 percent”). However, subjecting Rubedo to “a fluorescent X-ray spectrometer” reveals that it is “about 31 percent gold and nearly 55 percent copper, along with silver and a smidgen of zinc. In karats, that comes out to about 7.5.”

All of this is quite beside the point to Donna Distefano Thomas, a jeweler who also creates her own alloys. “We think Tiffany’s Rubedo, which evokes the warmth and sensuousness of rose gold, is a great trend and shows that we are coming full circle from the metal’s prime in the Victorian era,” she says. Tiffany’s Carson Glover agrees that the technicalities don’t mean very much. “When Tiffany began planning our 175th anniversary, we felt the development and introduction of a new metal would be a fantastic way to mark this momentous milestone while at the same time responding to our customers’ desire for more blush-colored metals.” Even John Barnard of University of Pittsburgh, who says he’d never call Rubedo a “new metal” admits, “anything’s fair in advertising.”

America’s “obsession with pillows has been eagerly midwifed by the hotel industry,” writes Bruce Feiler in the New York Times (2/12/12). This dates back at least to 1999 and Westin’s introduction of its “heavenly bed.” These days, “Affinia hotels … offer a six-choice pillow menu, including hypoallergenic, magnetic therapy, buckwheat and Swedish memory.” The Benjamin Hotel has a “sleep concierge” who “sends guests an email three days before their arrival with a link to the hotel’s 12-choice pillow menu.”

Among the options “are the Cloud, which contains more than 10 million air beads to keep the head cool at night, and the Lullaby, which has a cord to hook up your MP3 player and ultrathin speakers embedded in the fiberfill.” This has become important stuff: “JD Power & Associates has surveyed Americans for the last 23 years about their preferences at hotels and a good bed and pillow never cracked the top 10 until 2009. Last year, ‘bedding and pillow’ reached number one.”

Today, hotels including “Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, Westin and the Waldorf-Astoria all have dedicated websites selling their pillows and other bedding. A site called Pacific Pillows meanwhile “sells more than 800 different kinds of hotel pillows, including some from Super 8, Red Roof Inn and Holiday Inn Express, none of which is particularly associated with luxury.” At the other end of the spectrum there’s the Scandia St. Petersburg, a down number “covered in superior German silk damask.” It sells for $990.

A small, rubber teething toy from France has become an unlikely luxury item among young moms around the world, reports Christina Passariello in the Wall Street Journal (3/7/12). Sophie la Giraffe “has been part of French life since 1961″ and for a long time its makers, Vulli, thought its appeal was purely local. But six years ago, its CEO, Serge Jacquemier, became “convinced Sophie could travel.” He “hired a psychotherapist, who concluded the rubber chew toy tapped into all five senses: sight with its strongly contrasting colors; hearing with its easy squeak; taste because it is easy to chomp on; and the touch and smell of the natural rubber. The toy’s petite size made it easy for babies to grip.”

As Serge observes: “What difference could there be between a Chinese, American or Russian baby?” Sophie was re-packaged in biodegradable boxes emblazoned with the Eiffel Tower, and sales have since “more than quadrupled” to $29 million. In the United States, the retail price of $25 is more than double the typical French tag of $12. In France, Sophie is sold in local supermarkets, in a blister package, and does quite well without the upscale trappings: “In 2010, Vulli sold 816,000 giraffes in France, and 828,000 babies were born, meaning that nearly every French newborn got one.”

Unlike most other toys for children, Sophie is made of rubber, not plastic, which also gives Vulli an advantage. “What saved us is that producing in rubber is more difficult than plastic,” says Serge. After being poured into molds and baked, the Sophies are allowed to dry for two months, before being polished, fitted with a whistle, sprayed “with food-grade paints” and marked with tracking numbers. Some naturally occurring toxins were detected recently by advanced technology, but Serge insists Sophie is safe. The company, which originally made “rubber balloons” to spy on German lines during World War I, has also line-extended into Sophie blankets and rattles.

The "automatic markdown system" was the innovation that made the late Filene’s Basement great, reports Martha Weinman Lear in the New York Times (1/8/12). This was a policy whereby the retailer reduced the price of an unsold item by one-quarter each week, with anything left after a month given to charity. A shopper needed only to look at the tag to see when the next markdown was coming. For some, this triggered a game of hiding a coveted item until the discount kicked in. Martha says she learned this fine art of shopping subterfuge as a teenager at Filene’s flagship store in Boston, where she remembers scoring a Madame X dress, from I. Magnin, for just $19.

She recalls that her mother spotted the dress first, "microseconds ahead of another shopper (you had to move fast in Filene’s Basement)." She tried it on right there on the floor because, at Filene’s Basement, there were no dressing rooms. "You pulled it on over your clothes and elbowed your way to a sliver of a mirror, just like everyone else," Martha writes. "And if other women eyed you and hung around, jockeying for position just in case you weren’t buying it — that was when you knew you had a winner." Martha says she wore that $19 black-velvet number with a single rhinestone shoulder strap to four proms and brought it with her, post-college, when she moved to New York City.

Martha also affectionately recalls an "annual one-day bridal-gown sale," known as the Running of the Brides,"which caused near riots and got great press coverage." Unfortunately, this event, like much else of what made Filene’s Basement flagship store fun, was not necessarily in the offing at its other branches. By comparison, the Basement at 78th and Broadway in New York, she says, was "a pallid enterprise (with dressing rooms; how pretentious.)" The Filene’s Basement flagship closed its doors in 2007 and the rest of the chain, under bankruptcy, shuttered in late 2011. But growing up in Boston with "no dollars to spare, it was more than fun," says Martha, "It was heaven incarnate."

Thrift stores "are gradually adding perks that impart a more exclusive feel to the shopping experience," reports Patrice J. Williams in the New York Times (1/1/12). At Housing Works, customers pay an extra five dollars to gain early, "Power Hour," access to its Buy the Bag sale, "where shoppers are handed a bag to fill with previously owned cashmere sweaters, tweed skirts and Italian handbags." The bags otherwise cost $25 each. "For some people, early access and seeing the newest, hottest thing is really important," says David Raper, vice president of retail for Housing Works, a nonprofit that supports HIV and AIDs patients.

The Super Savers Club at The Savers chain, "also known as Value Village … entitles members to discounts. The chain even started a Stamp Pass for the holidays: after 15 stamps, each awarded after donating or spending $5, a customer receives a 30 percent discount on the next purchase." At B-thrifty, outside Washington DC, shoppers purchasing a $100 pre-paid card get an additional $25. Goodwill, meanwhile, introduced a Rewards Card in 2010 that is "not that dissimilar from the one at Barneys."

So far, some 30,000 people have signed up for the Goodwill program in the Greater New York and New Jersey region. "We wanted to stay connected with loyal customers, the people who support Goodwill," says Lauretta Cunningham, senior vice-president of retail operations. Lauretta says the loyalty program is part of a larger effort to provide a better overall shopping experience. "We’re not Nordstrom," she says. "But we have people who feel our service is like theirs." Not surprisingly, thrift stores are doing well in the current economy, "growing five percent in the last year, according to the Association of Resale Professionals."

Kohler’s Numi toilet costs $6,400, but it offers a certain luxury that’s easy to get used to, reports Sam Grobart in the New York Times (10/13/11). "Features that initially seem unnecessary can become something you cannot do without, even in a bathroom," says Sam. Such features include a heated seat, as well as the ability to "blow heated air from its base, warming your feet on chilly mornings." The Numi can also "wash and dry its user (there are modes for both men and women)." And you never have to touch the lid or flush the toilet because the Numi can detect your presence or lack thereof.

Each and every control is "handled through a touch screen remote control that is somewhat larger than an iPod Touch." It can store "combinations of preferences … in user profiles for different family members." The Numi has "two flushing modes, both of which are more efficient than current federal flushing standards," and comes equipped with an "FM radio and stereo speakers" with three presets, as well as controls for bass, treble and balance. You can plug in an MP3 player if you like. "The audio quality was quite good," says Sam, "considering that you are listening to a toilet."

Of course, all this technology comes with complications. Sam says that one day he "approached the Numi only to discover that its remote had frozen." He had to thumb through a 43-page manual to discover that he had to "reboot the toilet," a process he said was akin to "working on a wireless router." Sometimes the sensor was a bit too sensitive, and the Numi would open its lid anytime a user was near it, whether nature called or not. Sam also felt that the lid opened and closed a bit too slowly, and he quickly disabled a short chime that played each time it went up. While all of this has its charm, Sam suspects few will spring for a toilet that costs 80 times more than a standard model, noting that, for most folks, "the bathroom is a waypoint, not a destination."

"To get loyalty, you’ve got to give them a good experience," says Steve Nickelsen, an auto-dealer consultant, in a USA Today piece by Chris Woodyard (9/8/11). "No one wants to sit in a ratty chair," he adds. No one understand this better than Alan McLaren, vice-president of customer service for Mercedes-Benz, which spent $220 million to overhaul its flagship dealership in Manhattan, turning it "into a five-story luxury superstore." It features "a spacious gallery atmosphere of hardwood floors and designer furniture, soaring ceilings and video wall." Most striking, one of the dealership’s "71 service bays is on display from the sales floor, as if car repair were a form of entertainment."

Actually, Alan says it’s all about transparency. "For lots of years, there has been this mystery about what happens with servicing," he says. "There is nothing to hide." Customers can also see a "picture of the technician working on their car" via a waiting-room flat-screen TV. Mercedes hopes that its example will inspire the rest of its dealer network to upgrade their stores so that they "match the luxury feel of the cars." The hope is to entice customers to come in "multiple times a year, whether it is for car maintenance or repairs, to chat with service advisers or just kick tires on the latest new model while grabbing a free cup of coffee.

None of that will happen if the place looks worn and the amenities are outdated." Other carmakers — BMW, Ford, Chrysler and GM, in particular — are similarly coaxing their dealers to upgrade their showrooms, although that can be a tough sell in a tender economy, especially for non-luxury plates. And yet Milt Taylor of Taylor Chevrolet in Ohio thinks a remodel could boost sales as much as 30 percent, and is planning flat-screen TVs, a stone fireplace and a showroom that’s three times larger than GM requests. "We are going to create an atmosphere where people are encouraged to hang out," he says, describing the experience as "a cross between a Starbucks and an airport executive lounge."

"A door handle is like a handshake: it is how a car introduces itself," writes Phil Patton in the New York Times (7/3/11). The new Beetle, for instance, has door handles "as round and cute as Mickey Mouse’s gloved hands … The chrome accents on a Mercedes S-Class speak of its luxury, while the rugged black handles of a Jeep Wrangler have the quality of camping tool." As a rule, however, "the more expensive a vehicle, the less visible its handles."

The Cadillac CTX-V hypes its "invisible" handles in its ads, presenting it as evidence of "the purity of the car’s design." The Corvette also has hidden handles. To open the door on the McLaren MP4-12C, you have to sweep your hand "under a ridge that extends forward from the rear air scoops … The handles on the Mercedes SLS AMG remain flush to its sleek sides unless they are popped up with the remote key fob."

Hidden handles are not exclusive to luxury plates, though. The Hyundai Veloster‘s handles are hidden in "its third door by making it black and flush. The Nissan Juke similarly disguises its two rear door handles in the dark frame of the rear glass." Peter Horbury, Volvo’s design chief, says designers are working toward the idea that, in the future, doors will open by magic. Indeed, customized systems are already available that "let the driver pop the door open at the imperious wave of a hand — as long as the electronic key fob is within range."

Offering "perks and personal service … helps boutiques compete in an increasingly tough environment," reports Christina Binkley in the Wall Street Journal (7/21/11). At Louis, a luxury boutique in Boston, Debi Greenberg will repair clothes purchased there. "I walk around in my T-shirt for a while, and they fix my button," says John Cannistraro, a regular customer. Debi, who is the great-granddaughter of the store’s founder, also has been known to go online to buy a dress from Barney’s if she can’t find it in the right size any other way.

Most important of all, however, is Debi’s "personal knowledge of customers." As she explains: "I know my customers very well. I try to talk to them about their lives, where they’re traveling," she says. And so where department stores "tend to buy for types of customers, aiming for the middle of the bell curve when it comes to style," the independent boutiques like Louis "routinely shop — on spec — for clients from the collections in New York, Paris, London and Milan." This can be risky, but if it works, it "pays off beyond the sale in a closer relationship with the customer."

At Savannah, a boutique in Santa Monica, Susan Stone "sometimes lends past-season clothes from a closet in her store to good customers. She also sends sales associates to help customers clean out their closets" and seeks out "designers that clients might not have heard of." Such extremes help compensate for restrictive returns policies, or the lack of a points program that can "be cashed in for discounts." But it hasn’t changed the overall trajectory of the independents: John Murphy of Jason Wu "estimates there are between 80 and 100 independently owned specialty stores in the US, down from about 160 when he started out in sales 25 years ago."

Unlike traditional members-only clubs, the Core club “is a democratic place,” reports Guy Trebay in the New York Times (6/20/11). Being small-d “democratic” in this case means that it is open to all, regardless of where you went to school or your family pedigree — as long as your family income is among the top one percent of Americans (or roughly $3 million a year, for a family of four). Over the past six years, the Core club has attracted some 1,500 members, each paying $50,000 for initiation and another $15,000 a year in fees. Simply put, “the core Club revels in the shiny aura of the newly arrived.”

“This is a much younger, hipper crowd,” says Richard David Story, who also belongs to the Century club, founded in 1947 by William Cullen Bryant “to promote the fraternal … pursuit of fine arts and literature.” It is also more hard-driving: “Where many traditional New York clubs maintain strict dress codes and prohibit business conversations and the use of iPads or PDAs, the Core club at many times of the day resembles a trading floor … A visitor to the Core club could be forgiven for thinking that few members squander much time relaxing and that in each encounter there is a fixed point in the arc of a potential deal.”

“In a more traditional club, even bringing out a piece of paper, let alone a cellphone, is looked down on,” says Paul Austin, who is among a handful of founders who plunked down $100,000 each six years ago to create the Core club. “Here people are very much encouraged to network, to have working meals,” he says. Beth Rudin DeWoody, a member, likes the lack of rules. “Like anything that happens in New York, you gather people and you network,” she says. And that, says Richard David Story, is the appeal. “The fat-cat hedge-fund guys love the place,” he says. “These guys take their heartbeats per minute as seriously as they take their investment portfolios.”