Michel de Guilhermier's Blog

Aston Martin to Revive the Lagonda Brand !

 
After the elusive hints about the hyper exclusive 1.5M€-priced One-77, Aston Martin yesterday made another bold move, announcing that it would revive the 20-year dormant Lagonda brand !

This decision stems from a simple and pragmatic reasoning as expressed by CEO Ulrich Bez :

“Aston Martins are currently available in 32 countries, but we remain limited in our market penetration by the pure character of our cars - sports cars. We have now investigated and concluded that the revival of the Lagonda brand would allow us to develop cars which can have a different character than a sports car, and therefore offer a perfect synergy".

In short, the aim is to broaden the product range and move beyond luxury sports cars - Aston Martin's sweet spot - a positioning which de facto today limits the customer reach. The Lagonda marque is associated with luxurious 4-door sedans.

Here the full declaration of Ulric Bez

Lagonda was founded in 1906, named after a river near the hometown of its founder, Wilbur Gunnield, an American from Springfield, Ohio. Right after purchasing Aston Martin, David Brown brought the company in 1947 to gain access to its engine designed by Mr Bentley, but its only in 1974 (after the David Brown era) that a Lagonda-branded car was produced. In October 1976, Aston Martin shocked the world by unveiling the fabulous and futuristic Lagonda Series 2, with its very specific design (below) and unique digital dashboard.

Lagonda cars are very rare as only a few hundreds were built between 1974 and 1989, when the last car was produced.

According to CEO Bez, the new Lagonda could reach the market in 2012 but the first concept should be presented next year. I look forward to it.

Though the economic underlying fundamentals are crystal-clear, reviving a brand is no easy task, all the more than the Lagonda marque hasn't such a great heritage after all (contrary to Aston Martin), though cars have a high recognition factor due to their very particular shape.

All you ever wanted to know on Lagondas, here.

Alexandra Sojfer's e-Commerce Website now Launched for the International Markets in English and Japanese !

Follow-up on this post about the opening of Alexandra Sojfer's website.

Another milestone has been reached for Inspirational Stores through the launch of the international versions of Alexandra Sojfer's e-commerce websites.

95% of Alexandra Sojfer's unique and glamorous accessories are exported to such countries as the United States, Australia, Japan, China, etc. It very much looks like that celebrities from all over the world rush to acquire those exceptional umbrellas and parasols ! Truth be told, Alexandra has never done any advertising, she has simply let the benefits of her exceptional creations spread via word-of-mouth. And it has worked overwhelmingly well, chic people do realize that wearing the best clothes and the best shoes without a unique high-quality glamorous accessory is worthless !

It was therefore a bit odd not to have the e-commerce website in English and Japanese. This is past and anyone speaking French, English or Japanese can now easily and securely purchase on line :

English website : here
Japanese website : here
French website : here

inspirational Store will launch targetted online marketing campaign in those countries where Alexandra has become a celebrity in her category, including Japan, China and the US.

We are very proud to be associated with one of the finest handcraft accessory manufacturer in the world, be it in a specific - but still indispensible - category.

1M iPhones 3G Sold over the Week-end !

It took 74 days to sell the first one million original iPhones, but just 2 days to hit a million for the new version !

An absolutely amazing achievement ! Anybody's still doubting the 10M mark won't be reached by year end ?!

Though Wall Street is in a clear bearish market, Apple stock has resisted extremely well around $170-180.

So Exceptional, Unique and Rare : Alexandra Sojfer's Umbrellas and Parasols, now Available Online !

Inspirational Stores is today very proud to launch the Alexandra Sojfer official webstore !

For exceptional, unique, glamorous, hand-made umbrellas and parasols with the finest materials, there's only one place to go on earth, it's Alexandra Sojfer.

You may have the finest clothes, you may wear the rarest watch or the most beautiful jewels, you may drive an Aston Martin or a Bentley, you are just plain nothing without an Alexandra Sojfer's umbrella ! It's no wonder Alexandra enjoys a terrific success in Japan, the US or Australia, selling to many celebrities I'm not allowed to further reveal...

From now on, you will find Alexandra's unique creations online, with worldwide UPS delivery within 48h.

Fantastic products, great service, now at your fingertips, from wherever you are in the world. The online store now tremendously expands Alexandra's market reach.

Have a look at the videos here to discover Alexandra's universe and unique creations.

Here's what Alexandra has to say about the webstore and Inspirational Stores :

“Les équipes Inspirational Stores ont fait un travail fantastique qui met parfaitement en valeur les créations Alexandra Sojfer. Si j’étais initialement très sceptique à l’idée de l’e-commerce, Michel de Guilhermier m’a convaincu de l’intérêt et m’a inspiré une totale confiance. Quand je vois la qualité du site et le très grand professionalisme des équipes Inspirational Stores, je ne regrette pas cette décision !"

E-commerce is Much More Complex than Physical Retail !

These days, I have lots of discussions about e-commerce, trying to convince some people that the Inspirational Stores' model is rooted in a fundamental market need.

Well, let me share with you a deep conviction. To put it plain and simple, e-commerce is intrinsically much more complex than physical retail for 2 reasons :

- To conduct it right, the set of competencies involved are far broader.
- Reactivity needs to be at its extreme

Say you want to open a profitable store: find a good location (that's a one-off), have the right design and product display (also a one-off, every 3 to 4 years), manage a bunch a professional store people, here you go.

Now, go online, what do you need : design and IT people to build the webstore, bunch of online marketing people in all acquisition channels (SEO, SEM, affiliation, etc), webstore management people to animate, call center people, logistics people all the way from warehousing, order preparation and shipping. And as it's a very fast moving environment, you have to be flexible and act very quickly to fine tune your merchandising, your online marketing, etc.

As a consequence, I'm deeply convinced that most brands will be better off having their e-commerce channel managed by specialists with the right infrastructure and mindset. They may not understand it at this point, but they will, it's simply a matter of time.

Great Concept, Perfect Execution : Ted's Montana Grill !

As an individual, I very much fancy good food and great products. As a customer-driven entrepreneur, I pay attention and admire those concepts which are both well tought-over and perfectly executed to deliver a great experience with a flawless service to customers.

Thanks to my friend Fabrice Grinda I enjoyed a lunch a Ted's Montana Grill on 110W 51st St at 6th av which perfectly illustrates the above.

Fresh, good and tasty hamburgers, excellent service (quick, professional and friendly), spacy restaurant, inspirational design, and very decent prices ! When a hamburger at "l'Atelier Renault" on the Champs Elysées in Paris costs €18, ie $28, one will end up paying about 50% less here in the heart of Manhattan at Ted's Montana Grill 51st !

This 50-unit chain was co-founded and launched just 6 years ago by Ted Turner, the well known media entrepreneur, founder of CNN among other ventures and husband of Jane Fonda. In his Montana ranch, Ted Turner raises bisons whose meat you may eat at his restaurants (you will also find beef and chicken).

Have a look here at the founders' video where the roots and directions of the chain are thoroughly explicited. Pretty inspirational !

Concept looks right and execution just seems flawless ! Retail - which includes the restaurant business - is detail, and I could feel at Ted's Montana Grill that they have thoroughly thought over all issues. Well done, a great address in the crowded theather district where good and decently-priced restaurants are in extreme scarcity.

New York, by the Pictures (Part II, Inspirational Stores Biased) !

"Rain & Shine", 45th St, 45 East, claims to be "New York only umbrella and parasol shop". Truth be told, it's no competitor to Alexandra Sojfer's high end fashion umbrellas which simply are the best in the world. Nothing wrong about Rain & Shine, simply not in the same league.

Macaroons have become a hot and fashion product here in New York. Here's the recently opened "Cafe Macaron" on 36th St between 6th and 7th Av. Thruth be told, despite a hefty price tag ($1.75 each), it's no competitor to Laduree's fabulous macaroons. Dear New Yorkers, you may expect a Laduree store sometimes in 2009 !

Truth be told, the Noukies' department at FAO Schwarz on 59th St, just opposite the Apple "Cube" Store, yields one of the best $/sq  ft ratio !

New York, by the Pictures !

June 21st Yoga in Times Square !

Someone asleep in Bryant Park (9 AM) !

Another one asleep, at Herald Square (9:10AM) ! People work hard over here, sometimes with 2 jobs at once, no unemployment security as we have in France - with the abuses one may regret as I mentioned here, and employees seeking to be fired !

True piece of art isn't it (Apple Store Union Square) ?

It ain't a lipstock ad, just Belvedere Vodka's "glamorization" !

Inspirational Aide les Marques Haut de Gamme à se Développer Mondialement à travers l'E-commerce. Exemple d'Alexandra Sojfer, Bientôt en Ligne !

Bientôt, Inspirational Stores ouvrira une nouvelle boutique en ligne, celle des parapluies et ombrelles Alexandra Sojfer. Une artiste de talent qui conçoit de très beaux objets, des oeuvres d'art, véritablement uniques au monde.

Tellement uniques d'ailleurs que la clientèle d'Alexandra - souvent des célébrités du cinéma, de la politique ou des medias - est majoritairement internationale : des américains, des japonais, des australiens, des russes, des chinois, etc.

Je passais l'autre jour chez Alexandra et discutais avec un client américain venu acheter 3 parapluies (1 pour lui et 1 pour chacune de ses filles), qui me résumait tout simplement les choses "what she does is absolutely unique".

Pour Alexandra Sojfer, dont les créations ne sont pour l'instant écoulées que dans son unique boutique du Bd St Germain à Paris, l'e-commerce représente une superbe opportunité pour accroître sa notoriété et ses ventes sur un plan international.

C'est ainsi la mission d'Inspirational Stores qui, grâce à son expertise et son infrastructure e-commerce mondiale, se propose d'augmenter significativement, par le web, la diffusion et les ventes de marques de grande qualité, qu'elles soient dans l'univers de l'alimentaire haut de gamme, du parfum, de l'habillement, de l'accessoire, etc...

Au delà des emblématiques macarons Ladurée, je peux aujourd'hui fièrement annoncer qu'une quinzaine de marques haut de gamme font déja confiance à Inspirational Stores pour développer efficacement, dynamiquement et rapidement leur e-commerce mondial, dans le respect de leur univers, de leur charte et de leurs valeurs.

Fondamentalement, l'e-commerce est un canal de distribution très spécifique qui ne peut réellement être exploité convenablement qu'avec la parfaite maîtrise de 4 grandes compétences :

1) La technologie, création, hébergement et gestion d'un site internet, des bases de données, du back-office.

2) Le marketing online, la science de faire venir un trafic qualifié important sur un site, ce de la manière la moins coûteuse possible.

3) Le  "fulfilment", logistique, service client, gestion des retours, etc. Particulièrement important quand il s'agit de traiter des produits et une clientèle haut de gamme.

4) Le "commerce", c'est-à-dire l'art de vendre, l'art du merchandising, l'art de savoir parler et comprendre les consommateurs...

Tout cela demande une expertise, un mindset, une organisation et bien entendu des moyens financiers importants qu'Inspirational Stores possède et se propose de mettre à la disposition de belles marques.

Si vous aussi, comme Alexandra Sojfer, vous avez une marque de grande qualité et des produits à très forte valeur ajoutée, se démarquant dans leur univers par leur perfection et/ou leur originalité, je serais ravi de discuter et d'envisager un véritable partenariat e-commerce avec vous.

N'hésitez pas à me contacter directement

Democratic Nomination : so Costly !

Half a billion bucks, that's almost what Clinton and Obama have spent to run against each other !

The Primary season is now over (or so it seems, Clinton has "suspended" her campaign, she hasn't released her delegates to Obama - I suspect the 2 of them are negotiating), but for the Democratic Party it has been the longest, the closest and the most expensive nomination process ever. They'd better get their champion elected in November...

The "winner takes it all" process that Repblicans use at the State level for nominees leads to a much faster nomination. What's more, the Super Delegate system that was put in place 2 decades ago proved that in some circumstances it could be counter-productive.

Anyway, Obama's nomination is an historical moment for the US, Americans can be proud of it !