Luxury Goods

Corona Capital: Tiffany, Biden, Vaccines, Cash box

24 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The cut-price jeweller issues less-than-sparkling results; the U.S. president-elect gets to start tackling the pandemic; Russia touts its discount vaccine; and UK firms gorge on shareholder-unfriendly equity issues.

Corona Capital: U.S. airlines

20 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The CDC issued a warning to Americans not to travel over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday as Covid-19 cases surge. Airlines, once again, are going hat-in-hand to Washington.

Corona Capital: Walt Disney

12 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Walt Disney is light-years ahead on projections for its streaming business.

Richemont hedges online bets with Farfetch stake

6 Nov 2020

The Cartier owner is investing $550 mln in the deluxe fashion e-tailer, alongside Alibaba. That should help Richemont grab a larger share of China’s booming e-commerce market. But betting on a competitor of its own struggling online unit also looks like an admission of failure.

Chinese tech giants take proxy war to New York

3 Nov 2020

Alibaba is jostling for a stake in U.S.-listed online fashion retailer Farfetch. That would put Jack Ma’s behemoth in contention with rivals JD and Tencent, who also have their fingers on the UK firm. Courting such investors will better equip Farfetch in its battle with Amazon.

Review: What can be more premium than luxury?

30 Oct 2020

The next generation of affluent shoppers will spend more on experiences and edgy products, says Erwan Rambourg in “Future Luxe”. That may dim the appeal of classic deluxe products like Gucci bags or Cartier watches. Luxury will be more about what you do than just what you own.

Arnault’s Tiffany tantrum was not worth the fuss

29 Oct 2020

The luxury tycoon trashed the U.S. jeweller’s management, went to legal war in Delaware and enlisted Paris to wriggle off the hook. In a U-turn, LVMH will now swallow its target for a discount of perhaps below $290 mln. That’s far less than the long-term hit to LVMH’s reputation.

Rejigged Tiffany deal would be face-saving truce

27 Oct 2020

LVMH and its U.S. target are trying to settle a bitter row over a planned $16 bln takeover. At $130 a share, French tycoon Bernard Arnault would save some $600 mln. That’s not massive. But he would control Tiffany before the key winter holiday season.

Corona Capital: Gilead Sciences, Virtual Santa

23 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Remdesivir gets formal approval; Santa goes missing from Macy’s.

Viewsroom: Asia’s richest man, China dependency

22 Oct 2020

Mukesh Ambani can divide his $200 bln Reliance Industries and still rule, says India editor Una Galani. Meantime, European and U.S. multinationals are growing increasingly reliant on Chinese growth, seeding future financial and political risks, Rob Cox and columnists discuss.

Kering can turn resale weakness into a strength

22 Oct 2020

François-Henri Pinault’s luxury empire faces a threat from the increasingly thriving market for second-hand Gucci bling. A temporary deal with $1.2 bln RealReal is a way to gain insight into the $31 bln segment, plus ESG kudos. Kering could even consider buying it outright.

Ferragamo’s overhaul hinges on family letting go

22 Oct 2020

Owners of the struggling $3 bln Florentine shoemaker have explored a stake sale. Bringing in private equity worked for fellow bling merchants Versace and Valentino. But Ferragamo’s plight is such that its family owners would have to allow buyout players to hold the whip hand.

Corona Capital: Greenwich, CT real estate

16 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Home sales in the swank New York City suburb preferred by bankers have soared while Manhattan apartment sales crater.

Corona Capital: Tech upgrades, Ruby Tuesday

7 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Indian IT giant TCS is betting the work-from-home boost to its earnings marks the beginning of a years-long boom; U.S. restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday’s bankruptcy offers a lesson in creative culinary destruction.

Corona Capital: Fiscal stimulus, Fitness riches

6 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Central bankers including the Federal Reserve’s Jerome Powell urge more fiscal help as Covid-19 cases rise again; and the owner of NordicTrack treadmills raises cash at a $7 billion-plus valuation.

India’s gold jeweller IPO peddles platinum quality

5 Oct 2020

Demand for bling has some resilience against shocks in a wedding-obsessed nation that sees the yellow metal as an investment. That will help the Warburg Pincus-backed Kalyan’s market debut. Next to hotly-valued rival, Tata’s $14 bln Titan, though, it looks a touch less shiny.

Tiffany looks ill suited for life on the shelf

29 Sep 2020

LVMH’s $16 bln bid for the U.S. jeweler has descended into acrimony. If it craters, Tiffany could be worth just $10 bln based on similar companies’ valuations. For LVMH boss Bernard Arnault, the idea of buffing up Tiffany’s brand must be rapidly losing its appeal.

Corona Capital: LVMH and Macron, Eyewear deals

23 Sep 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: LVMH has friends in high places; 1-800 Contacts has semi-disposable owners.

Tiffany’s fast-track court victory is a trinket

21 Sep 2020

A Delaware judge ruled for a speedy trial to decide whether LVMH must go ahead with its $16 bln takeover of the U.S. jeweler. But the three-month wait is still a long time to be left dangling. If LVMH names a new, lower price, Tiffany will find it hard to dismiss it out of hand.

Viewsroom: Credit-UBS, Bernard Arnault and Japan

17 Sep 2020

A merger of Credit Suisse and UBS has some merits on paper, but would be bloody in practice, says Liam Proud. Plus, the LVMH billionaire’s impeccably ruthless dealmaking is on full display with the Tiffany takeover. Pete Sweeney and Sharon Lam discuss Japan’s new man at the helm.