Did You Know - Kering/Puma Partnership Edition

Kering, the French parent-company of world-famous luxury brands, plans to distribute 70% of its ownership in Puma to its shareholders. One of these thing is not like the others: Gucci, Puma, Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta.

(BroBible.com)

A Belt Is How Much?

Supreme x Louis Vuitton Price List

(NiceKicks.com)

Welcome To L.A. Real Estate

Bijan property on Rodeo Drive sells for $19,000 a square foot 

The demand for $5,000 handbags and $25,000 suits is slipping amid global turmoil.

But enthusiasm for real estate on Rodeo Drive, where such high-end goods are sold, isn’t hurting. Instead it’s setting records.

The parent company of Louis Vuitton recently paid $122 million, or $19,405 a square foot, for the yellow House of Bijan building at 420 N. Rodeo, long home to a boutique known as “the most expensive store in the world.” The deal, revealed in public records, was the second time in seven months that a record fell on Rodeo.

Late last year, Chanel paid $13,217 a square foot for a store it was leasing nearby at 400 N. Rodeo, the high-water mark for California retail until last month’s Bijan sale.
 
The eye-popping amounts reflect how few properties there are on the Beverly Hills street, as well as how infrequently they go on sale. And in a struggling market for luxury goods, the deals underscore that high-profile streets such as Rodeo or Manhattan’s upper Fifth Avenue are far more than a place to sell a $10,000 timepiece.

“They are billboards in some places for the brand,” said Milton Pedraza, chief executive of consulting firm Luxury Institute. “The companies can demonstrate power, and their staying power, by buying up these properties.”

Indeed, Marc Schillinger, a director with commercial real estate company HFF who represented the seller Bijan Properties, said “everyone came out of the woodwork when we announced the opportunity to buy this asset.”

“There are only 2½ blocks on Rodeo Drive,” said Schillinger, who declined to confirm the price or buyer. uEvery luxury retailer wants to anchor their brand on Rodeo.”

(LATimes.com)

Do You Care If Your Kicks Are Real Or Fake?

Real or Fake: There Is No Such Thing as a Grey Market for Sneakers 

A look into how sneakers get leaked, and why we’re so confused about their authenticity. 

For the guy that doesn’t care whether or not his shoes are real or fake then all of this is irrelevant, but for the person that does it makes buying a high demand shoe tough.

In addition there are those that argue if companies are so concerned with their product being counterfeited in these countries then they should move manufacturing elsewhere. In China, Jordan brand recently lost a lawsuit against Qiaodan Sports, a brand that had clearly ripped off their designs in a more indirect way. The message here being that if one of the most powerful companies on the face of the Earth can’t defend a clear patent infringement in the country they have employed to manufacture their shoes then they must decide whether or not it is worth it to continue to manufacture there. The clear answer as of now is that the good must outweigh the bad and so for that its hard for many people to feel sorry for them.

In the meantime if you want to make sure the product you are buying is the real deal then you’ll have to do your homework should you decide not to buy direct from Nike or an authorized retailer. Legit checks are always popping on Niketalk and Sole Collector forums and there is even an Instagram account dedicated to helping the community. At the end of the day if you are concerned with your sneakers being 100% legit then its retail or bust.

(HypeBeast.com)

Such An Appropriate Shirt

(BroBible.com)

Kawhi Leonard's Has Earn This

Kawhi Leonard & Jordan Brand to Launch Apparel Collection


Kawhi Leonard didn’t have a case of the Mondays. Nope, the San Antonio Spurs swingman had quite the opposite as the NBA awarded him with Defensive Player of the Year honors and Jordan Brand is giving him an apparel collection.

According to Kawhi, who designed his amazing claw logo himself, the idea to launch a clothing collection was actually inspired by seeing said logo knocked off so much. Kawhi’s JB line follows the launch of Jimmy Butler’s collection earlier this spring, as well as apparel offerings from Russell Westbrook.

(NiceKicks.com)

I Didn't Even Know They Were Still Open

RIP Puka Shell Necklaces: PacSun Just Filed For Bankruptcy 

Bad news, Bros! A little part of your teenage self just died. Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. a.k.a. PacSun is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Apparently things have been rough since Puka Shell necklaces went out of style and every damn person on the Internet started selling quirky graphic novelty tees. According to Bloomberg, the company is in dire straights: PacSun has recorded losses for the past eight years. The company’s publicly-traded shares to nosedive 90 percent in the last 12 months. With shares dipping to six cents, the company is being pulled out of the markets and going private under a restructuring agreement.

(BroBible.com)

File This Under - Duh

Lotus admits its fancy London shop is a waste of money

Lack Of Spin From Hethel

My local dealer, Hexagon, called and mailed, but what was really telling, and bloody impressive, was the call from Hethel. I vented my disappointment with the Piccadilly store, and the Lotus man explained. And impressed. Normally you'd get some dreadful company line about how the shop wasn't for people like me, that it was all deliberate to avoid scaring people off and welcome new blood to the brand.

But instead he was honest.

He told me that the shop was a folly. That it was one of Dany Bahar's many expensive ideas. He signed a ten-year lease on the shop at a million pounds a year and they can't afford to run it. They did train up some good people but, as you can't pay people rural Norfolk salaries and expect them to work in Piccadilly, they left.

He said that the company was concentrating on developing new cars and it was better to leave the shop as a lost cause than spend time and money on getting it right. The Lotus man said that the two things the girl in the shop had to recommend her was that she was good at putting people on to him, and that she spoke seven languages. Anyone with a vague interest would be passed through. He suggested that if I wanted to know any more about Lotus or indeed anything about cars, not to bother going into the shop again but to call him.

(AutoBlog.com)

Good Luck With That

(Bits&Pieces.us)