Armani, Cavalli Go Online to Boost Holiday Sales (Update1) – Bloomberg.com.
By Chiara Remondini and Armorel Kenna
Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) — Italian fashion houses including Giorgio Armani SpA and Valentino Fashion Group SpA, which have traditionally spurned the Internet, are testing Web stores this holiday season in a quest for new sources of revenue.
The worst recession since World War II and Italian acceptance of Internet buying — even for big-ticket items — is sparking greater use of Web shops in the luxury-goods industry. Designer Roberto Cavalli and shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo SpA have both opened e-stores in the past five weeks.
“I expect a significant boom in online luxury sales during the Christmas period,” said Alessandro Perego, a professor in charge of research on e-commerce at Milan Politecnico’s School of Management. “In the past year the number of Web sites has increased substantially. I expect growth rates in 2010 to match or beat this year’s.”
Younger, more Internet-savvy consumers and “luxury shame” that’s causing customers to shun boutiques are contributing to a boom in online fashion sales. Web sales of Italian luxury goods are expected to soar 42 percent to 335 million euros ($500 million) this year, according to a study by Politecnico. That beats a 6 percent decline to 3.48 billion euros for the overall industry in a survey by fashion consultant Carlo Pambianco.
Feeling Guilty
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Tags: Autentico Italiano, eCommerce, Italy
Posted in Flat Earth Imports/Autentico Italiano, U.S. Import, Wholesale & Retail Trends, Uncategorized | No Comments »
by Kitch Walker
COMPLETE STORY AT: Bozeman, Montana Importer Brings Unique Products to U.S. – Bozeman Daily Chronicle.
published on Thursday, November 5, 2009 8:45 AM MST Bozeman Daily Chronicle
When Ripple Marketing principals Kurt Palmquist and Dodd “Kitch” Walker went to Italy a few years ago as part of a marketing-Montana trip, they had no idea the ideas they were pitching would turn into a wholesale import business in Bozeman.
But when Richard Helzer, former director of Montana State University’s art school, asked Palmquist to turn his attention to Umbria — a region in central Italy, between Florence and Rome — a business was born. Helzer had been taking students to study in Umbria for years, where they stayed at a villa owned by Filippo Vasta. When Vasta asked Helzer for help developing an artisans’ cooperative, Helzer went to Palmquist for help.
Now Palmquist and Walker work out of a 5,200-square-foot warehouse behind industrial buildings in Four Corners, where shelves are stacked with exquisite and folksy Italian hand-painted and hand-thrown ceramic dishes and woven tablecloths, all tucked into cardboard boxes that rise toward high ceilings…..
Photo By NICK WOLCOTT/CHRONICLE
Kurt Palmquist, Nikki Walker and Dodd “Kitch” Walker of Ripple Marketing have gone beyond marketing and now import handmade Italian goods.
Tags: Autentico Italiano, Flat Earth Imports, Kitch Walker, Kurt Palmquist, Nikki Walker
Posted in Flat Earth Imports/Autentico Italiano, Recent Ripple Marketing Projects, U.S. Import, Wholesale & Retail Trends | No Comments »
by Kitch Walker
– Home Textiles Today, 10/22/2009 12:37:00 PM
Washington – Shop.org’s new “eHoliday Study,” conducted by BIGresearch, predicts shoppers will see changes in retail marketing and promotions this holiday season as a result of economic uncertainty.
Keeping in mind that consumers are increasingly using social websites regularly like Facebook and Twitter – both of which pose cost-effective advertising options, the study found that 47.1% of retailers surveyed will be increasing their use of such internet venues this holiday season to promote their sales and special events. More than half of retailers said this year they have added or improved their Facebook and Twitter pages – 60.3% and 58.7%, respectively. And two-thirds, or 65.6%, have added or enhanced blogs and RSS feeds.
To provide consumers with an extra incentive to start shopping, one-third of retailers — 34.3% — said they intend to offer holiday deals earlier this year.
Tags: eCommerce, online shoppers, Social Media
Posted in Technology, eCommerce, Websites and More, U.S. Import, Wholesale & Retail Trends | No Comments »
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