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Florence Gomez
editorial
Managing Director French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain
E
xtraordinarily, I am taking over the Edito for this issue of INFO to thank and pay tribute to our outgoing President and Deputy President, who have come to the end of their six-year tenure. Arnaud Vaissié and Peter Alfandary were elected before I joined the Chamber nearly six years ago. It has been a fantastic experience to work with them and I am grateful for their commitment, leadership and advice. Peter has been a dedicated and involved Deputy President, present at most of the Chamber’s events and always ready to step into the breach. He has been at the forefront of the Chamber’s intercultural initiatives as Chair of the Cross-Cultural Relations Forum. He has generously given of his time and skills, and as a Board Member since 1986, his commitment to the Chamber has been longstanding indeed. As President, Arnaud Vaissié has been a true mentor to me – I have grown and learnt much thanks to his guidance and leadership. Arnaud’s rich contribution to the Chamber is reflected in the interview with him on page 10. He is also a remarkable entrepreneur – co-founder, Chairman and CEO of International SOS and cofounder of the Cercle d’outre Manche, the only French think-tank in the UK.. Arnaud has been instrumental in finding solutions for new French schools in London with the opening of Collège Français Bilingue de Londres (CFBL) in September 2011 and of a new school in Wembley in 2015. To crown it all, he has just been appointed President of UCCIFE, the Union of French Chambers of Commerce and Industry Abroad (which brings together 111 Chambers in 81 countries), for which we congratulate him. It is with much gratitude that my team and I bid farewell to Arnaud and Peter as President and Deputy President, but happily, as both will be staying on as Board Members, the Chamber will continue to benefit from their expertise and experience. This issue of INFO has a Focus on Art & Luxury: the nature of their relationship and what it brings to each. We have honed in on some of the outstanding collaborations – why and how luxury brands work with artists. We have also looked at the concept of art as an investment, how luxury brands collect art for museums and foundations, and what motivates such patronage. Many luxury brands choose art as a vehicle for their corporate and social responsibility initiatives, and we view sponsorship and support from both sides of the coin – art institution and luxury brand. There has been no let up in Chamber activities in the past two months with a variety of great networking events – the Australia vs France wine-tasting, our first Rendez-Vous Chez… and the Summer Champage Reception. The Forums and Clubs have continued to meet regularly, producing, as always, outstanding speakers and a high quality of discussion and exchange. At the Chamber we have been compiling and reviewing our activities for the 2012 Annual Report, published for the AGM on 8 July. While we can be proud of our achievements, we also see them as a springboard to serve our members even better in the future, and I look forward to working towards that with our new President Arnaud Bamberger and Deputy President Richard Brown, who have just been elected and whose interviews will be featured in the next issue. It only remains for me to wish you all a wonderful summer and happy holidays! I It is with much sadness that we have to announce the passing on 7 July of Jean-Dominique Mallet, former UK Delegate of Veolia Environnement and Board Director of the Chamber. He was a great man who will be deeply missed. On behalf of the French Chamber of Commerce, we extend our condolences to his family and close friends.
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Contents issue 207 / July - August 2013
23 12
Cartier sponsors the Queen’s Cup for a second year
39
Who’s in bed with whom?
5 minutes with Nicolas Riom
43
The inextricable link between art and luxury
10 Arnaud Vaissié: reflections on a rich and eventful presidency
5 minutes with...
12 Nicolas Riom, MD of Danone UK & Ireland
News in the City
15 G8 and the 3 T’s 16 City profile: Jean Drouffe 17 News in the City shorties
News
18 Airbus books billions at Paris Air Show 2013
Thales awarded milestone Royal Navy services contract
19 Alstom secures contracts for energy recovery and energy efficiency
20 Asendia’s Maileva teams up with Selectabase
to revolutionise direct marketing Veolia Environnement named Vocational Qualifications Employer of the Year
21 Total presents young winners with its Green School Awards
22 Capgemini UK gets top environmental award 23 Cartier sponsors the Queen’s Cup for the
second year Claridge’s given five stars by Forbes Travel Guide in first rating
25 Chanel opens new flagship store in London Managing Director: Florence Gomez Editor-in-Chief: Keri Fuller Communications Co-ordinator: Hannah Medioni Graphic Designer: Prima Hevawitharane Advertising & Sales: Lorraine Germaix Publications Assistant: Melonie Gault Subscription: INFO is published every 2 months Printed by: Headley Brothers Ltd
25 Hats off to... 28 Hello, goodbye... 30 Schools news
SMEs & Startups
33 Catch Champagne Bar & Lounge launch 34 Olivia Byrne, Eccleston Square Hotel 35 Camille Goutal, perfumer for Annick Goutal
Success Story
36 James Cropper
Focus 38 39 Who’s in bed with whom? 42 The Louis brand through the ages: from the XIVth to Vuitton
43 Louis Vuitton: the inextricable link between art and luxury
44 Interview with Peter Marino: Chanel’s boutique architect
45 Perrier-Jouët and artistic heritage 47 Pommery and underground art 48 Burberry and acoustic art 49 Luxury, art and digital engagement 50 How the art market became a luxury goods business – revisited
52 Art: the ultimate luxury 53 Cartier: luxury and arts patronage Contributors: Rachid Ait Addi, Charles Armand de Belenet, Dirk Boll, Eric Charriaux, Annabelle Gauberti, Louise Hamlin, Thibault Lavergne, Angharad Lloyd-Jones, Mark Poltimore, Kevin Poulter, Fiona Rushton, Toby Skeggs Cover
1 2 3
4 5 6 7
1. David Balula. The Buried Works, 2012. Expérience Pommery #10. Photo courtesy of Vranken Pommery 2. (and above) Mask II, 2001. Mixed media. Anthony d’Offay, London. © Ron Mueck. Photo courtesy of Anthony d’Offay, London 3. Yayoi Kusama in the Louis Vuitton boutique window. © Louis Vuitton 4. Elisabeth S Clark’s work, A Travers, at the Maroquinerie de Sayat, France. Photo courtesy of Hermès 5. Flowers Fields: curiosity and language, from ‘Mathematics: A Beautiful Elsewhere’ exhibition at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris (October 2011 – March 2012). Photo Olivier Ouadah 6. LA Salami performing at the Burberry Prorsum Menswear Spring Summer 2014 show in London. Photo courtesy of Burberry 7. Black Wisteria Box by Hitomi Hosono, winner of PerrierJouët Arts Salon Prize. Photo courtesy of Perrier-Jouët
10
Arnaud Vaissié: reflections on a rich and eventful presidency
54 Nigel Hurst on art and luxury 56 Luxury’s lessons in arts sponsorship 57 Hermès: art, values and society
Culture
59
News @ the Chamber
65
60 What’s on 62 Book reviews 63 Cheese and wine press
66 New members 68 Chamber shorties 70 South Australia: open for business 71 Not such worlds apart 72 Eastern delights in the West End 73 The heights of London in summer 74 An evening to remember 75 Olivier Limousin spills the beans 76 Breakfast at the Academy 77 A word with Bertrand Michaud
Legal Forum: Full steam ahead
79 QEU: So what’s the good news? 80 HR Forum: The social media effect on HR 81 Climate Change Forum: Resource scarcity, natural capital and building sustainable business models
82 Forthcoming forums & clubs / events Distribution: French Chamber members, FrancoBritish decision makers, Business Class lounges of Eurostar, Eurotunnel and Air France in London, Paris and Manchester Editorial and Publishing Office: French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain Lincoln House, 300 High Holborn London WC1V 7JH Tel: (020) 7092 6600; Fax: (020) 7092 6601 www.ccfgb.co.uk
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Patron Members of the French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain
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Arnaud Vaissié: reflections on a rich and eventful presidency The outgoing President of the French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain, Arnaud Vaissié, tells INFO about the highlights and challenges of his six years in office, and reflects on the French Chamber’s achievements
You are coming to the end of a six-year term as President of the French Chamber of Commerce. What expectations did you have of the role and has it lived up to those or differed in any way?
The French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain (FCCGB) is a long-standing institution, now 130 years old, and one must build on one’s predecessors legacy. As a President I wanted to further reinforce the influence and representation of the Franco-British business community to fully reflect its economic weight as cross border investments keep increasing. In addition, I was very eager to make the Chamber a platform to exchange ideas, develop networks and influence policy makers both in the UK and in France. In order to achieve these expectations, it was vital to rely on a very professional team and I am glad to say that Florence Gomez, our Managing Director, and her team have been doing a great job. Their passion and talents are a key driver for our institution.
the SME & Entrepreneurs Club and Luxury Club. These forums offer our members dedicated platforms to exchange experiences and share best practices. Throughout these six years, our Chamber organised more than 300 exclusive events which are always of the highest calibre. Even more satisfying is the leading position of the French Chamber: benchmarking with the German and American Chambers has revealed the FCCGB had the highest turnover and the largest range of services. Another highlight is the establishment of one (soon to be two) new French schools in London under the stewardship of the Chamber. I have also witnessed the incredible evolution of this magazine INFO, which has not only grown in the depth and breadth of its content, but also in quality and reputation. The Chamber has also fully embraced digital in this time, with an effective, interactive website, and an active presence on several social media platforms. What have been the highlights for you?
Looking back, how have you seen the French Chamber grow and develop in that time?
The French Chamber has had a very rich and eventful last six years. As the French President, Francois Hollande, stated last year ‘The French Chamber of Commerce is the largest foreign Chamber of Commerce in Britain with more than 600 member companies’. In a very tough economic context, the Chamber has continued strengthening trade and investments between France and the UK. With over 2,500 French subsidiaries and branches now established in the UK, employing 350,000 people, France is the third largest source of foreign direct investment in Britain with a stock of £68 billion in 2012 behind the United States and the Netherlands. The Chamber provides its members with a number of business support services. Additionally, the Chamber has developed several forums focusing on Human Resources, Finance, Climate Change, Cross-Cultural Relations and Legal issues, as well as two clubs, namely 10 - info - july / august
2012 was an extraordinary year for London and the UK with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in June and the Olympic and Paralympic Games over the summer. It was the second Diamond Jubilee in the history of the country and the third Olympics held in London after those in 1908 and 1948: both historical landmarks. We, at the Chamber, were delighted to have, as guest speakers, the key actors of this success: Paul Deighton, CEO of LOCOG (the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) at our 2011 Gala dinner and Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, in 2010. Supporting French SMEs coming to the UK and brainstorming with French and British CEOs have also been enlightening for me as President of the Chamber. What has being the President of the French Chamber brought to you?
I would say access to influential business and political leaders and this is critical to obtain the right information
Arnaud Vaissié
and pass on messages which matters to our business community. The Chamber also forges friendships as it provides an opportunity for our very dedicated Board Members and our companies representatives to get to know each other. During your tenure, the economic and political landscape in both the UK and France has changed immensely. How do you view the changes and challenges for business?
Despite high costs compared with some continental competitors, London’s dynamism is undoubtedly the economic engine of the country, generating nearly a quarter of the UK’s GDP. The recession has forced us finally to ditch the ‘greed is good’ mantra of the early 1990s for a new ‘greed for good’ model, turning the big challenges of today – climate change, scarcity, CSR, pandemic preparedness – into the new industries of the 21st century.
To put it mildly, it has certainly been a challenging six years: a global credit Although every President has his own shock on an unprecedented scale; I was very eager to make style and approach, is there a pearl of collapse in world trade and the first the Chamber a platform wisdom that you would like to pass on worldwide recession since the Second to your successor? to exchange ideas, develop World War. The UK has been very close The pearl of wisdom that I would networks and influence to the eye of the storm for most of this like to pass on to my successor is to period. It has been one of the most policy makers both in the surround yourself with a great team visible victims of the credit crunch. UK and in France. at Board level and management level. Public finances have deteriorated I would like to take this opportunity to give my very special thanks to in a spectacular fashion. France and Eurozone countries have also experienced a sharp Peter Alfandary who has been an outstanding Deputy decline in competitiveness and a steady accumulation President and initiator of the acclaimed publication of current account deficits in recent years. But it is fair Light at the End of the Tunnel, which provides great practical reflections on the French and British in to say that London remains in 2013 a very attractive city. Since 1990, it has topped all investor polls as the most business. This book facilitates even more trans-Channel competitive city in Europe to establish operations. projects, which ultimately benefit us all. I info - july / august - 11
5 m i n u te s w ith ...
Nicolas Riom, MD of Danone UK & Ireland What is your role in Danone?
I am Managing Director for Danone UK & Ireland. I joined Danone in 2000, and have worked in different parts of the company: I was General Manager of Danone Biscuits in North Europe and also Danone France, and then I was Vice President for People and Organisation Development for the group before coming to the UK in 2011. Danone Ltd is the dairy division, number 2 in the UK market, and one of four different Danone subsidiaries in the UK, which have a combined turnover of £850 million and over 1,200 employees. The others are Danone Waters, Danone Baby Nutrition and Nutricia Advanced Medical Nutrition. Do you manufacture any of your dairy products in the UK?
No, we have a plant in Normandy, more than 50% of which is dedicated to the UK market, as well as plants in Belgium, Germany and Spain. Does Danone adapt its products for different markets?
It’s very important to adapt to local taste. Sometimes
it’s the yoghurt itself, sometimes it’s the flavour, for example, British people prefer fruit yoghurts, while the French like plain, set yoghurts. This year we have launched a new product called Danio, which is completely different to anything else on the market, and with it, we hope to reinvent the yoghurt experience. It is a strained yoghurt which is much thicker in texture with a layer of fruit at the bottom. One obstacle to developing the yoghurt market is that some people perceive it as an insubstantial and unsatisfying food, but we believe Danio will help to change this perception. You are in the midst of preparing for the final of the Danone Nations Cup, which will be held at Wembley Stadium on 7 September. What is this event all about?
It is an international football tournament for 10-12 year olds, which was conceived – when France won the World Cup in 1998 – by Franck Riboud, CEO of Danone, who wanted to promote the positive emotions and values of the game, such as fair play and teamwork. With the support of French footballer Zinedine Zidane, the first Danone Nations Cup took place in France in 2000 with eight teams. Now the event involves 2.5 million children in 32 countries, with the winning teams from each national tournament coming together for the final, which is played to FIFA rules. It’s not only about football – it’s about conviviality, being together, sharing experiences, positive role models and inspiration: ‘Believe in your dreams’ is the motto. Our aim is to make it a fun, interactive event that also includes many activities for families and spectators. One of the reasons why we wanted to have the final in the UK this year is that it fits so well with the thinking about legacy after the Olympic Games, and how its spirit and dynamism can continue over time. Why is the Nations Cup important to Danone?
Nicolas Riom 12 - info - july / august
As Danone Ltd, the dairy division, we organise the Nations Cup because it is clearly anchored in what we want to do in terms of stimulating physical activities for kids which is one part of our corporate and social responsibility (CSR) programme. CSR has always been at the heart of Danone. Part of our DNA is what we call our Dual Economic & Social Project,
5 m i n u t e s w i t h Nicol a s R iom
Cardinal Heenan beat 4,000 other English school teams to represent England at the Danone Nations Cup World Final
launched in 1972 by Antoine Riboud, the founder of Danone (and father of Franck). Antoine Riboud placed much importance on the social responsibility of the company, believing that ‘there is no economic growth without social growth and there is no social growth without economic growth.’ As a group we believe our responsibility does not stop at the factory gate. How is the Danone Nations Cup funded and organised?
The Danone subsidiaries in each country sponsor their own national tournaments, and we as the host country fund the international final - the organisation, transportation for the teams and adults to accompany them, accommodation over the week of the tournament, the hire of Wembley Stadium, and the programme of training and activities. It involves more than a year’s work to organise the international final. Apart from having to get 40,000 people into the stadium, and the ceremonies beforehand, we have been in close contact with No. 10, the Mayor of London, the Health and Sports Ministers and Lord Coe to ensure their support. If Danone Nations Cup is the embodiment of your ‘Get Active’ mission, what is the equivalent for your ‘Eat Well’ mission?
We have started a programme in UK schools called ‘Eat Like a Champ’, which has as ambassadors the dance group Diversity. It teaches Year 5s (9-10 year olds) in a fun and engaging way the concept of ‘energy in’ in terms
of good nutrition and ‘energy out’ in terms of physical activity. With the help of the British Nutritional Foundation, we created an unbranded toolkit for teachers to use over six lessons. The programme stems from a long-term idea to influence the eating habits of kids and we wanted to make an impact, so we put a lot of time and research into it. Starting with a pilot project in Ealing (where Danone UK is based) we have now rolled it out to 1,000 classes. The Children’s Food Trust has done independent research showing how the behaviour of children changed significantly after the programme. Our programme is seen as a best practice, and we have already received two external awards for it, one of which was from the European Union. What is the effect of all this on and for Danone UK?
We are not a big company here in the UK and we cannot expect to change everything, but I am a big believer in the 3% change. We can influence eating habits and physical activity in 4-5,000 schools in the UK, which will have a significant effect on the lives of those children. It is also a great way to engage employees: more than 60% of our own staff volunteer in schools for the Eat Like a Champ programme. We give them time off and training to do it and they come back feeling they have done something good and better understand the meaning behind the company’s mission. This programme demonstrates what Danone stands for and helps us grow our reputation in the UK. I info - july / august - 13
Still guiding the way for global business. ft.com/125
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n e ws i n t h e ci t y
G8 and the 3 T’s Under Britain’s presidency this year, the Group of Eight met for its annual summit on British shores to discuss a raft of pressing global issues in relative informality
T
rade, transparency and tax was the agenda set by David Cameron as host of the June G8 summit, which took place at a golf resort near Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. However, a big ‘S’ came before the T’s, as Syria dominated the first day of talks, with Vladimir Putin resisting pressure to abandon his support of the Assad regime but agreeing to work towards a peaceful solution.
Trade The summit kicked off with the US and the European Union announcing that talks will begin in July on creating a transatlantic free-trade area. French approval was only given after it had secured protection for the French film industry amidst fears it could be destroyed by Hollywood. Both sides are hoping to do a deal in 2014, although the path of trade talks is seldom smooth, even with $200 billion in estimated benefits at stake. Transparency The countries also declared they would improve the transparency around companies and trusts, particularly regarding the ownership of hitherto anonymous shell companies, which are often deployed to reduce taxes. The G8 leaders concluded that every company should have to obtain and hold information about its beneficial owners (human, as opposed to nominees or ‘legal persons’), update it as needed, and make it available to police, tax administrations and other relevant authorities. It stopped short of declaring that such information should be made public. Tax Of the three T’s, tax received the most attention. It is becoming one of the biggest issues of our times: publicity on corporate tax evasion has reverberated in most of the G8 countries individually, and global tax havens are harbouring trillions, resulting in eye-watering amounts of lost tax revenue. There is recognition that the global tax system, designed in a different era, is outmoded, no longer fit for purpose and requires a concerted international effort to reform. It therefore came as no surprise that there were several potentially significant pledges on tax in the
final communiqué. David Cameron declared a historic advance had been made with the ‘potential to rewrite the rules on tax’ and fight the ‘scourge of tax evasion’. The G8 countries said that tax authorities should automatically share information to fight evasion and that multinational corporations should be made to disclose the taxes they pay in different countries. Nevertheless without a programme of tangible action, there may yet be a chasm between what countries have declared they ‘should’ do and what they actually will do. I KF
G8
is the term for the Group of Eight, a group of the governments of eight of the world’s wealthiest countries, who made up over 50% of the world’s GDP in 2012. Those countries are: • Canada (Prime Minister Stephen Harper) • France (President François Hollande) • Germany (Chancellor Angela Merkel) • Italy (Prime Minister Enrico Letta) • Japan (Prime Minister Shinzo Abe) • Russia (President Vladimir Putin) • United Kingdom (Prime Minister David Cameron) • United States of America (President Barack Obama) This informal but exclusive body evolved from the Library Group and its ‘fireside chats’ inititated by the US in the early 1970s to discuss the challenges of the oil crisis and global economic recession. In its current form it has no headquarters, budget or permanent staff, but the heads of state of member countries continue to meet face-to-face once a year in relative informality to tackle global challenges through discussion and action. The location of this annual summit rotates through the G8 countries and the leader of the host country sets the agenda. In 2012, the summit was hosted by the US and held at Camp David. This year, the UK chose a venue in Northern Ireland. In 2014 it is Russia’s turn to host the summit.
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news in the cit y
Profile
Jean Drouffe Jean Drouffe is Group Finance, Risk & Strategy Director at AXA UK & Ireland, the UK subsidiary of the global insurance group which employs 160,000, serves 100 million clients and turns over €90 billion. AXA is a Patron member of the French Chamber and sponsors a number of events, including the Franco-British Intercultural Trophy
A
qualified actuary who has spent almost his entire career with insurance giant AXA, Jean Drouffe appears to have been on a straight track all his life, but there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. ‘My background has defined me,’ he says. ‘I have agricultural roots on one side, from which comes my need for grounding to solid things, and entrepreneurial roots on the other, which have given me an appetite for challenge and risk. I am also quite intellectual – something I get from my nuclear scientist father – but I can go from the abstract to the concrete quite easily. To me this is extremely important because in company terms I can move from strategic vision to Jean Drouffe execution.’ The desire for grounding is what led Jean to pursue a career in insurance rather than investment banking like most of his peers at ENSEA*. ‘Insurance for me is something that plays a real purpose in society,’ he says. ‘It is here to help people when they need it which is both concrete and noble.’ Jean’s first job was with Arthur Andersen in Paris. ‘I was recruited by a partner who had the vision of creating an actuarial consultancy, and this appealed to my entrepreneurial spirit,’ he explains. Jean’s team quickly grew from two to 22, but the lack of an insurance focus drove him to look for another challenge. Jean was drawn to AXA by the people he had met from the company, including founder and CEO Claude Bébéar, whose values he shared. Joining the Group in 2000, he led the Global Economic Capital Project to build a risk management quantification tool and was then involved in the launch of the Group Risk Management practice in 2003, with responsibility for enterprise risk management and capital modelling. Still based in Paris, he grew restless for international experience. ‘One of the strengths of the AXA Group is that you don’t have to change company to get a new challenge,’ he comments. That new challenge lay in the * Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Statistique et d’Economie Appliquée
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UK where he was asked to build the risk management and investment teams, as well as take charge of the actuarial team. ‘I had this intuition that I was missing something by being FrancoFrench,’ he reflects. ‘I initially applied French Carthesian principles, but was shown I could be more successful by understanding and adapting to the local culture. I started to understand the importance of the “how” if you want to get somewhere, as opposed to the French thinking that the straight line is always the quickest way.’ Jean became Finance Director of AXA Insurance, the UK subsidiary in charge of general insurance in 2008. ‘This moved me closer to the real business of insurance and I enjoyed the fact it was much more operational,’ he says, citing his involvement in a number of distribution deals including corporate insurance for HSBC. In 2010 he was appointed to the AXA UK Board and given the Group Finance, Risk and Strategy mantle, in charge of 1,000 people in both UK and India. It is a wide role stretching from governance – legal, compliance and risk management – to finance, strategy and corporate responsibility. The latter he specifically requested as it is something he is passionate about: ‘Corporates exist within a finely balanced environment with a number of stakeholders – employees, shareholders and customers, as well community and society. We are not investing to please one or two, but to be in business in the future,’ he stresses. ‘To me there is no conflict being in charge of both finance and corporate responsibility because both are about creating long-term value for the company.’ Now Jean is on the move again – back to France for a general management role to be announced in September. ‘The pull of my roots is very strong but at the same time it is hard, knowing what I am leaving behind in the UK,’ he says. ‘The past five years have been a real adventure with all the restructuring and change at AXA UK, and I will keep a close eye on what happens next.’ I KF
news in the cit y
||| It’s face off for Mark Carney, the new Governor of the Bank of England, as the issue of whose faces appear on its bank notes threatens to escalate into a legal row. The Bank’s decision to replace the image of Elizabeth Fry with that of Winston Churchill on the new £5 banknote has galvanised more than one campaign. It’s nothing to do with Churchill, but the fact that this will soon mean that apart from the Queen, no woman will appear on any Bank of England note. ‘If women are not represented, it suggests that they don’t make a contribution to society,’ says MP Stella Creasy, who is leading a campaign in Westminster and together with 45 other MPs, has written to the Bank to ask them to reconsider their decision, suggesting four women as potential candidates. Dawn Bonfield of the Women’s Engineering Society has also written to the Bank, naming three female scientists as contenders. A more strident campaign is being led by Caroline Criado-Perez, co-founder of The Women’s Room, which is looking to challenge its legality under the 2010 Equality Act. She will not only be presenting Mark Carney with a petition (nearly 25,000 signatures so far) but is also raising money to take the institution to court. The Bank of England claims that the figures on banknotes are irrelevant to equality. Its criteria for inclusion are that the person must have made a lasting contribution to society, have a widely recognised name, not be controversial, and as no living person would be considered, there should exist good artwork on which a design can be based.
© The Global Economic Outlook: Mark J. Carney
Illegal tender?
Mark Carney – will he favour Jane Austen?
Meanwhile, there is apparently a female understudy for Churchill’s position. Should the Churchillian note be compromised by a sudden rise in counterfeiting or some other peril, a woman has been chosen as a ‘contingency candidate’ on a replacement note that could go into production at a moment’s notice. Who she is, the Bank won’t say. However, at his last Treasury Select Committee hearing before retiring as Governor, Sir Mervyn King hinted that Jane Austen might be waiting in the wings to take over from Darwin as the face of the Bank of England’s £10 notes. Over to you, Mark… I KF
||| In his June spending review, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne unveiled a £11.5 billion package of cuts timed for 2015, the election year. His axe has been wielded against the welfare state with a cap on benefits set four years in advance. Among a slew of measures, jobseekers will have to wait a week before signing on, pensioners basking in hot countries will lose their winter fuel allowance and foreigners who cannot speak English will have to take lessons or have their benefits cut. Automatic pay progression in public sector jobs will end, while 144,000 jobs will go from public services. Set against the Government’s £745 billion spending total for 2015/16, this is a mere drop in the ocean, but as a political manoeuvre it is significant, presaging
© flickr/altogetherfool
Austerity to the end: £11.5 billion cuts for election year
George Osborne rolls out more austerity
the election campaign by drawing the line between ‘deservers’ and ‘slackers’. I KF info - july / august - 17
news Compiled by Hannah Medioni
Companies
© H Goussé
Airbus books billions at Paris Air Show 2013, including orders from easyJet and Air France KLM
John Leahy, Airbus’s Chief Operating Officer
||| At the 2013 Paris Air Show, Airbus won US$68.7 billion worth of business for a total of 466 aircraft, which shows the resilience of the commercial aviation industry. The deals comprise Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) for 225 aircraft worth US$29.4 billion and firm purchase
orders for 241 aircraft worth US$39.3 billion. The A320 Family, spearheaded by the A320neo (new engine option), continues its trailblazing success in the single-aisle market with 371 orders and commitments from six customers announced at the show, worth approximately $37.8 billion. A stand-out commitment during the show for the A320 family was the announcement from easyJet for 100 A320neos plus 35 A320ceos (current engine option) – the winning result of a very intense competition. Additional A320 orders and commitments came from: Lufthansa for 100; Hong Kong Aviation Capital for 60; ILFC for 50; Spirit for 20; and Tunisia’s Syphax Airlines for three – significantly the first A320neo commitment from Africa. Another star at Paris was the A350 XWB which flew for the first time on 14 June. At the show this aircraft gained 69 more orders and commitments worth $21.4 billion from four customers on different continents, among them Air France-KLM which placed a firm order for 25 A350-900s. I
Thales awarded milestone Royal Navy services contract ||| Thales UK has signed a 10-year contract with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), worth up to £600 million, for the in-service support of the Royal Navy’s major sensor systems. The new Sensors Support Optimisation Project (SSOP) builds on the success of Thales’s Contractor Logistics Support, which has provided support to the Royal Navy’s sonar and electronic warfare systems for the past 10 years. This means Thales is now providing significant inservice support to the ‘eyes and ears’ of the submarine fleet, as well as across the major surface sonar and electronic warfare systems. The contract will be run through the Equipment Support Delivery Team, which is a joint MOD/Thales UK team based in Abbey Wood, Bristol. This team is augmented by several Thales and J+S Ltd waterfront engineers in the Royal Navy’s three naval bases (Portsmouth, Plymouth and Faslane), who together ensure that specialist technical advice and support is delivered whenever it is needed. Victor Chavez, CEO of Thales UK, said: “This contract recognises the value that can be achieved and the savings that can be delivered through a long-term 18 - info - july / august
Engineers working on Sonar 2087
services agreement. It also reflects the successful way in which Thales UK has delivered the required outputs over the past 10 years. This project refines that approach to optimise performance over the next 10 years, and reinforces our positive well-established relationship with the Royal Navy.” The new contract secures employment for 230 Thales employees and a further 300 people within the extended supply chain across the UK. I
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||| UK Power Networks Services has contracted Alstom to supply its innovative Harmonic and Energy Saving Optimiser (HESOP) energy recovery system for the Victoria Line of the London Underground. The contract, worth about €1million, is for a trial of inverting substation technology that will run until 2014 at the Cloudesley Road substation. This will help make the Underground more energy efficient and control tunnel temperatures. Terence Watson, Managing Director of Transport for Alstom in the UK & Ireland, said: ‘This is fantastic news for us, for London Underground, for commuters and for the environment. We are bringing our innovative technology to the UK with the introduction of HESOP. This is just the latest sign that we at Alstom are determined to become active across rail infrastructure in the UK – through our various partnerships we’re already active in signalling and electrification, and we recently won the contract to fit out Crossrail’s tunnels.’ Alstom will also be retrofitting intermediate pressure (IP) turbines at EDF Energy’s West Burton and Cottam coal-fired power stations in the East Midlands. The contract entails replacing the inner
© flickr/missusdoubleyou
Alstom secures contracts for energy recovery and energy efficiency
cylinder and fitting a new rotor and blades, which will improve the heat rate, reset the life of the major IP turbine components, and ensure lower maintenance costs. Steve Jones, Vice President Alstom Power Thermal Services – North Europe Area, said: ‘We’ve already successfully carried out retrofits on both low pressure and high pressure turbines at both stations and look forward to continuing our relationship with EDF as we help make their turbines more efficient and reduce their maintenance costs.’ The work is due to be completed in 2014. I
Air France and KLM launch inflight Wi-Fi
||| Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have begun operating their first inflight connectivity flights with Wi-Fi on board. The new service will allow customers to remain connected with the world by being able to send text messages and e-mails and surf the internet during their flight. In partnership with Panasonic Avionics, Air France and KLM will conduct a trial phase throughout the rest of 2013 on two Boeing 777-300s.
During that time, customers can connect to the internet using their Wi-Fi enabled smartphones, laptops or tablets at a fixed rate and use their mobile phones for text messages or email, no matter what travel class they are in. The two Wi-Fi equipped aircraft will operate on several long-haul destinations during the trial. During the pilot phase they will offer hourly and full-flight fees: €10.95 per hour or €19.95 for the full flight, applicable for all classes. Wireless service will commence once the flight has reached 20,000 feet, shortly after takeoff. ‘By jointly launching inflight Wi-Fi and data transmission, Air France and KLM are continuing to innovate. This inflight connectivity test phase on long-haul flights perfectly integrates our ongoing strategy to offer our customers even more new products and services,’ stated Alexandre de Juniac, Chairman and CEO of Air France. I info - july / august - 19
news
Asendia’s Maileva teams up with Selectabase to revolutionise direct marketing ||| Maileva, a leading hybrid direct-mail provider in Europe, and Selectabase, one of the top suppliers of marketing data, have joined forces to offer a unique direct-marketing solution to UK-based marketers. From a single website, clients can create and launch both B2B and B2C direct-mail campaigns. If any item of mail is returned as undeliverable, the companies will provide new data, printing, fulfilment and postage for free. Pascal Brighi, UK Director at Maileva, explains, ‘We are really excited by our partnership with Selectabase. This means that customers can now order data, create their material, and get it produced and mailed all from one website.’ Maileva’s database contains addresses for 36 million households and 2.50 million businesses that can be broken down using a wide range of demographics at the click of a few buttons. Besides, there is no minimum quantity when creating an address list and, therefore, test campaigns can be sent at a cost of just a few pounds. If the desired response is received, a
bigger campaign order can then be placed. If a piece of direct mail is not delivered, the client will receive new data, printing, fulfilment and postage free of charge, which is a rare guarantee in the industry. Recent research by the Mail Media Centre (MMC) shows that the return on investment (ROI) on directmail campaigns has been rising: open rates stand at 91%, as compared to email acquisition open rates that hover, typically, around 11%. Furthermore, the research illustrates the fact that direct-mail marketing can also boost the ROI stemming from internet marketing and social-media marketing. Pascal Brighi concludes: ‘Direct mail has had to re-invent itself in response to online marketing. The Maileva hybrid direct-mail solution provides all of the convenience associated with online marketing tools, but the client or potential client receives a physical, personal and targeted piece of mail through their letterbox. Additionally, excellent ROI can be achieved.’ I
Veolia Environnement named Vocational Qualifications Employer of the Year ||| Veolia Environnement has been named Vocational Qualifications Employer of the Year for England and Vocational Qualifications Large Employer of the Year in recognition of the £5 million investment and outstanding support it has provided to those undertaking vocational qualifications (VQs) within its workforce. In the last five years, Veolia employees have achieved 8,653 National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and over 17,000 vocationally related qualifications including apprenticeships, health and safety, driving certificates, BTECs (Business & Technology Education Council) and ILM (Institute of Leadership and Management) Management Awards. It is the leading provider of vocational qualifications in the recycling and waste management sector and its inhouse training arm, Campus Veolia UK, was recently graded as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. Veolia was presented with its award at an event, which was hosted by the Government’s Skills Minister, Matthew Hancock MP and former Education Secretary Lord Baker, the Chairman of independent education charity, the Edge Foundation, which leads VQ Day. Robert Hunt, Executive Director, Veolia Environmental
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Roy Fairweather, MD Campus Veolia receives the award from Skills Minister Matthew Hancock MP
Services UK, said: ‘Our people are central to our success and we are delighted that the investment we have made to ensure employees can reach their potential has been recognised. As the first recipient of the VQ Employer of the Year accolade and VQ Large Employer of the Year award, it shows how far we have come as a business but also serves as an opportunity to outline the significant commercial benefits that can be achieved in developing new vocational training programmes to meet business needs.’ I
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Total presents young winners with its Green School Awards ||| Young people, education and the environment are at the heart of community activities for Total with its UK national award scheme for primary school children, Total Green School Awards. Run by the Young People’s Trust for the Environment (YPTE) in partnership with Total, the awards aim to generate interest in the environment and raise awareness of the need for sustainable energy sources. The awards are specifically designed to assist and encourage cross-curricular work on the environment among children aged from five to 11. Four award categories provide both pupils and teachers with a framework and intellectual freedom to problemsolve energy and environmental issues across a range of topics such as maths, science, technology, geography, arts and history. Tailor-made guidance notes for teachers showcase winning projects from previous years and clarify how the projects fit within the National Curriculum for England and Wales and the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence. A glittering National Award Ceremony was held on 20 June at the Science Museum, London to present prizes to some 100 young people and their teachers. Normanton on Soar Primary School, East Midlands, took top spot with their project ‘Get Creative - Africa’. Following a teacher visit to Kenya, where she was the guest of a centre providing wheelchairs to disabled children, the children of Normanton on Soar were inspired to help provide more wheelchairs for the children in Kenya. They held a Charity Day during which they were sponsored to only use one hand for the day and held sales of toys and cakes raised a total of £1,000 – enough to buy four new wheelchairs in Kenya. The children built their own model wheelchairs from recycled materials; they learned songs from Africa and presented their work in a beautiful folder made from recycled LP covers, with pages made from LPs. It was a beautiful and highly environmentally aware project, which reached out across the world and created real benefit for young people in Kenya. The regional finalists, Hanover Street Primary School, Scotland, Pilling St John’s Church of England Primary School, Lancashire and Okehampton Primary School, Devon, each received a cheque for £1,000 to put toward their school funds. Normanton on Soar scooped top prize of £5,000. All winners received a framed certificate and exclusive seal trophy. Well over 120,000 children from all parts of
the UK have taken part in the awards since they began seven years ago. The awards have also been recognised and supported by a number of famous actors and presenters from the BBC and members of UK parliament. The Total Green School Awards will run again in 2013/14. I
Pupils from Normanton on Soar Primary School with Patrice de Viviès, Chairman of Total Holdings UK Limited and celebrity Darregh Mortell with their seal trophy
The four finalists, Hanover Street Primary School, Pilling St John’s CofE Primary School, Okehampton Primary School and Normanton on Soar with their trophies
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news
Pernod Ricard wins Human Capital Trophy 2013 ||| Pernod Ricard has been awarded the ‘Trophée du Capital Humain 2013’ (Human Capital Trophy) by Benoît Potier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Liquide Group, the winning company in 2012, and Chairman of the 2013 jury. Initially awarded for its initiative ‘From a Statement of Values through to a Management Model’, this prize was awarded in recognition of the human resources policies of the world’s co-leader in wine and spirits. Pernod Ricard considers its values and corporate culture to be a genuine competitive advantage and
an integral part of the Group’s strategy. Built on a decentralised organisational structure which gives the Group’s 75 direct subsidiaries and 18,800 employees a large amount of autonomy, Pernod Ricard has sought to unite all these entities and people through a strong shared corporate culture with three core values of entrepreneurial spirit, mutual trust and a sense of ethics. In 2014, Pernod Ricard will focus more specifically on the development of two projects: a new brand-employer platform and the promotion of diversity (cultural, gender, etc.) within its teams. I
© flickr/Frederik Hermann
Financial Times launches on Flipboard
Capgemini UK gets top environmental award ||| The European Commission has announced Capgemini UK as the winner of its top award for data centre innovation and energy efficiency at a ceremony at the Palais des Congrès Acropolis in Nice, France. The 2013 EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres award was presented to Capgemini for the outstanding environmental performance of the company’s recently opened Merlin Data Centre in Swindon, Wiltshire, which the French Chamber’s Climate Change Forum visited last year. ‘We are delighted to secure this further recognition of our determined and continuing commitment to environmental excellence and sustainable IT. Issues such as energy efficiency are increasingly seen as critical by our clients, employees and local communities, so that awards such as today’s are of the highest importance.’ Said Paul Soutter, CEO of Capgemini UK Infrastructure Services. I
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||| The Financial Times has launched on Flipboard, giving users across all Android and iOS devices access to a broad range of FT content, including news, commentary, analysis, blogs and video. The launch marks the latest development in the FT’s successful digital strategy of offering its content across an array of devices and platforms with a single login and subscription. Mobile delivers a highly engaged audience and is an increasingly important channel for the FT, driving a third of all FT.com traffic and 15% of new digital subscriptions. I
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Cartier sponsors the Queen’s Cup for the second year Cartier Queen’s Cup 2013 was watched by Her Majesty the Queen, Arnaud Bamberger, Executive Chairman Cartier Ltd, and Laurent Feniou, Managing Director, alongside a strong crowd of polo aficionados. The exhilarating final match for the Queen’s Cup was between Zacara and El Remanso, both of which came to the final unbeaten in this year’s competition. Zacara, however, proved to be an unstoppable force, and won the match 15 to 9. Cartier UK has long been associated with the highly disciplined and Arnaud Bamberger and the Zacara team pose with HM The Queen prestigious sport of polo. The tradition started in the UK with the creation of ||| The biggest names in the sport of polo were in action the Cartier International Polo in 1985, one of the most on 16 June on the Queen’s Ground at Guards Polo Club, important events in the British sporting calendar. The Windsor Great Park in a bid to win the Queen’s Cup Cartier Queen’s Cup is the latest chapter in the Maison’s 2013, which Cartier sponsored for the second year. The treasured link with the ‘King of Sports, and the Sport of tournament itself began on 22 May, commencing three Kings’. I weeks of electrifying high-goal polo with 16 teams. The
Claridge’s given five stars by Forbes Travel Guide in first rating
||| Forbes Travel Guide has unveiled its inaugural London Star Awards, which recognise the city’s highest rated hospitality establishments, and has named Claridge’s as a winner. This marks the first hotel ratings in Europe for Forbes Travel Guide, which has anonymously inspected and rated hotels, restaurants
and spas since the company’s founding in 1958 as Mobil Travel Guide. At the heart of London’s Mayfair, Claridge’s, part of the Maybourne Hotel Group, embodies grand English style, timeless glamour and impeccable, intuitive and highly tailored service. It is London’s art deco jewel, and home to breathtaking rooms and suites from the legendary Linley suites to the newly restored Royal Suite. From London’s finest afternoon tea in the Foyer, to vintage champagnes and rare spirits at Claridge’s Bar, or after dinner drinks in the Fumoir, all are part of the hotel’s unique splendour and charm. Commenting on the awards Thomas Kochs, General Manager said ‘We are excited and honored to be part of such a distinguished travel site, and to receive the highest accolade of Five Stars is very prestigious to us. We will be very proud to share this achievement with our team as I really believe that it is the team who create the magic, and are the key factor in providing exceptional service experiences and in creating meaningful, lasting memories for our guests.’ I info - july / august - 23
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EDF advert
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Chanel opens new flagship store in London ||| On 12 June, Chanel opened its new London flagship boutique at 158-159 New Bond Street, in the heart of Mayfair. This 1,170 square-metre boutique showcases the universe created by Karl Lagerfeld: Ready-toWear, handbags, shoes and costume jewellery. The boutique also houses a selection of watches and fine jewellery as well as fragrance and beauty. The interior has been conceived by New Yorkbased architect Peter Marino, who is renowned for his ability to re-interpret the aesthetic codes which embody the brand in the design of Chanel boutiques worldwide (read the interview with him on page 44). The three-floor space, which is articulated around a central atrium, is the latest luxury concept from Peter Marino. The use of materials such as soft gold and bronze, and reflective surfaces like glass, marble, lacquer and mirror-glass, provides intriguing textual contrast while the architectural is juxtaposed with the artisanal. Each floor comprises of a series of intimate areas furnished with specially commissioned artworks and both contemporary and antique furniture. Every artefact has been chosen to reflect the brand and Mademoiselle Chanel’s legacy as a passionate patron of the arts. I
A focal point of the central atrium, Jean-Michel Othoniel’s ‘Collier Cascade’ was inspired by Coco Chanel’s famous strands of pearls
Hats off to... Raymond Blanc is honoured with Insignes de Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite On 28 June, Raymond Blanc was presented with the insignes of Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite by French Ambassador HE Mr Bernard Emié, who declared that Raymond is a truly magical Chef who gave French cuisine a tremendous boost in this country by turning a corner of Oxfordshire into a sanctum of French gastronomy. The Ambassador also mentioned Raymond’s successful series of books and joked that he has more Twitter followers than many senior ministers on both sides of the Channel. According to Bernard Emié, the overall experience of presenting Raymond Blanc with this award was ‘exhilarating’, and he went on to describe him as ‘a model of quintessentially French excellence’, a somewhat inspirational entrepreneur. Naturally, Raymond Blanc provided the nibbles for the occasion, to the delight of the guests who were present. I info - july / august - 25
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Feel better energy To find out more about our low carbon nuclear generation visit www.edfenergy.com/energyfuture. Character under licence from BeatBots LLC. 26 - info - july / august EDF Energy Customers plc. No. 02228297 England. Registered Offices: 40 Grosvenor Place, Victoria, London, SW1X 7EN, incorporated in England and Wales. EDF Energy London Eye: Conceived and Designed by Mark Barfield Architects. Photographed by Nick Meek.
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Estelle Brachlianoff to lead new Northern European Zone of Veolia Environnement As part of the transformation of Veolia Environnement, Estelle Brachlianoff has been appointed as Veolia Environnement Director of Northern Europe and UK Country Director, combining responsibility for its water and waste management activities. Estelle also joins the Veolia Environnement Executive Committee, chaired by Chairman and CEO, Antoine Frérot. As Director of Northern Europe, Estelle will be responsible for the UK, Belgium, Denmark, Eire, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Estelle said: ‘I am pleased to take on this new role as well as UK country manager for the newly merged water and waste Estelle Brachlianoff business. The evolution and joining together of our businesses will I believe make us stronger, more flexible and better able to adapt to our ever changing markets. I trust the forward-looking initiatives we are putting in place will accelerate our transformation and the deployment of a profitable growth strategy.’ I
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Dr Peter Hindle, MBE, has been appointed Senior Vice-President, Compagnie de SaintGobain in charge of Sustainable Habitat. He will lead the implementation of Saint-Gobain’s strategic priorities for Sustainable Habitat which include the deployment of global policies around eco-innovation, waste management and labelling schemes. Peter will continue in the role of General Delegate in the UK, Ireland and South Africa, where he leads a multi-national enterprise, employing 16,750 people across 1,000 sites. He will also now formally become Chairman of all businesses within the UK, Ireland and South Africa. These new appointments take effect from 1 September 2013. I Dr Peter Hindle, MBE
Stephen Burgin
Stephen Burgin is made Vice President of Sales in Northern and Central Europe for Alstom Steve Burgin, the UK president of Alstom has been named as the French engineering group’s Vice President for Sales in Northern and Central Europe for its power generation businesses. Steve will continue to be based in the UK and work from the business’s offices in Stafford. ‘I’m delighted to be taking on this new role with Alstom but will still be keeping very close ties with Stafford,’ said Mr Burgin who has a BSc honours degree in electrical engineering from Staffordshire University, where he is now chairman of governors and a trustee. Steve is also a fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology. I
Heather Hancock of Deloitte UK is invested as a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order Heather Hancock, a Managing Partner at Deloitte UK, commented on the London 2012 Olympics in INFO last year. Heather recently attended a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace to be invested as a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order. This honour is in the personal gift of HM The Queen. It was awarded to Heather for her services to the Royal Family and particularly her role for over a decade as a Trustee of The Princes Trust, the Prince of Wales’s charity for young people. I
Heather Hancock
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hello, goodbye...
Clare Hollingsworth
Clare Hollingsworth appointed Chairman of Eurostar International, succeeding Richard Brown Clare Hollingsworth has been appointed Chairman of Eurostar International, effective 1 July 2013. She succeeds Richard Brown, CBE, who stepped down at the end of his three-year term as Chairman on 30 June to focus on his role as Chairman of the Department for Transport’s Franchise Advisory Panel in addition to his other non-executive roles. Clare Hollingsworth joined the Board of Eurostar as an independent non-executive director in 2010. She is also on the boards of Savills, Virgin Healthcare, Mölnlycke AB, and Spire Healthcare. Previoulsy she was Chief Executive Officer of Spire Healthcare and its predecessor business, BUPA Hospitals, and Managing Director of Caledonian Airways. I
Warner Rootliep appointed General Manager UK & Ireland for Air France KLM, taking over from Henri Hourcade Warner has been General Manager for Air France and KLM in Germany since 2008. He began his career with KLM in 1990, holding various positions in the departments of Finance, Alliances and Pricing & Revenue Management. He was General Manager AF KLM and Northwest Airlines for the region India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives from 2003 to 2008. He takes over from Henri Hourcade who is now Vice President of Sales for Air France KLM France France. I Warner Rootliep
Robert Zadora appointed Executive Director of Nugeneration Ltd, taking over from Olivier Carret Robert Zadora joined EDF in 1977, and held various positions in the engineering and construction of nuclear plants in Europe, Africa and Asia. He has been on the Board of Directors of various project companies within GDF Suez and is currently Vice Chairman of GDF Suez, Poland. As joint Executive Director of Nugeneration (NuGen), he is responsible for NuGen’s Moorside project in Cumbria. He takes over from Olivier Carret, who becomes Vice-President, UK Nuclear Project, GDF Suez Energy Europe. I Robert Zodora
Henry Schmidt has taken over from Rachel Benessiano as manager of Ici Londres A graduate of the European Communication School in Paris, Henry started his career as a PR officer in the music Henry Schmidt industry representing French and international artists in the media, and spent four years working with major newspapers, television and radio stations, such as Libération, Metro, France Inter and Radio France. I
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Laurent Herpeux appointed Manager of Hotel Royal SaintHonoré, taking over from Danielle Stoll Graduating in hospitality management in 1990, Laurent worked as reception manager Laurent Herpeux in several four stars Parisian hotels before joining the hotel group Les Hôtels du Roy in April 1996. He ran several hotels within this group before moving to the Hôtel Royal Saint Honoré. I
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Š photo credits: MVB, VINCI and subsidiaries photo libraries, Andras Nemeth, Clarence Michel.
Constructing a Sustainable future. At VINCI Construction Grands Projets, we engineer solutions that are not only financially competitive, but work sustainably for the planet. It starts with putting Safety first, always, at all times, on every site. Health & Safety training, policies and guidelines are all in place, but to generate the best possible results, we go further with our innovative (A)live on Site programme. We understand that our people are more reactive to what concerns them directly, we have a team who visit the site, shoot a short movie and then broadcast it to the team. Each scene is analysed with behaviour experts, underlining the good (and less good) actions. (A)live on site has been successfully delivered to more than 2,000 people, in 12 languages, across 14 countries, including the UK. To learn more please visit www.vinci-construction-projects.com/british-isles
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news Schools
Sciences Po Network further strengthens UK presence ||| The Sciences Po Alumni UK network has This is one of a wide variety of clubs and been strengthened through the Sciences Po events offered by Sciences Po Alumni UK, a Women’s Network, organised by alumnae unique inter-generational gathering whose Cécile d’Angelin, Brigitte di Benedetto, members meet the first Wednesday of every Véronique Forge, Anne Notte, Lina Rashed month at the RAC. Recent exceptional events and Véronique Revington. This aims to have included a bread-making workshop at support women in their lives and careers PAUL in Covent Garden with alumnus and Frédéric Mion in the UK by addressing the specific issues PAUL CEO Maxime Holder, a gathering with encountered, whether professional or related to new Sciences Po Director Frédéric Mion and Londonexpatriation. Its media partner is Business O Feminin, based students and alumni at the French Institute, the first online international business women’s thanks to its Director, alumnus Laurent Burin des magazine. On 7 June the group was addressed by Roziers, and a dinner-debate on think-tanks at Ondra Pamela Ryckman, a former New York Times journalist Partners, an investment bank founded by alumnus whose newly released book, The Stiletto Network, is an Benoit d’Angelin, with alumnus Laurent Bigorgne, CEO investigation into the world of women’s power circles of Institut Montaigne and Gaspard Koenig, founder of that are changing the world. Génération Libre. I
New Business Analytics Masters at EISTI ||| EISTI is offering an international Master’s Degree in ‘Business Analytics: Architecture, Data Exploration and Optimisation’ which will open in September 2013 and be taught in English. The objective of this Master is to train specialists in information systems and decision support, holding a large range of mathematic- and computer-based tools which would allow them to deal with real problems, analysing their complexity and bringing efficient algorithmic and architectural solutions. The targeted applications concern optimisation in the processing of large
amounts of data (known as Big Data), logistics, industrial automation and the development of BI systems architecture. These applications have a role in most business domains: logistics, production, finance, marketing, client relation management. An industrial partnership has been developed with SAS (a leader in business analytics software and services) via the academic programme and a ‘chaire d’entreprise’, allowing students to access Business Intelligence modules such as Enterprise Miner (data mining) and SAS-OR (in operational research). I
Audencia: future dreams and concrete moves ||| On 18-19 March, Dreaming Audencia, a landmark event in European business education, brought together 420 students on the campus of Audencia Nantes School of Management, France, plus 1,500 others via the web for a novel exercise – reinventing their school. The event was based on the technique of design thinking and allowed students to co-create their school of the future. The project’s aim, born of the shared ambition of students on Audencia Nantes’ specialised masters in Marketing, Design and Creation and the school’s board, was to be inspired by Audencia’s own students’ dreams and hopes for the future. Back to the present, the school is opening a new site in Montparnasse, Paris, where from September 30 - info - july / august
certain business education programmes and the school’s alumni association will be based. I
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AACSB accreditation for La Rochelle ||| La Rochelle Business School has received AACBS (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accreditation, a distinction achieved by less than 5% of the world’s business programmes. Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the most enduring
global accrediting body for business schools. This hallmark of excellence in business education places La Rochelle Business School amongst the 684 schools in 45 countries worldwide which maintain AACSB accreditation. I
ESCP Europe: taking business lessons from art and luxury ||| For one of its key UK clients, ESCP Europe organised a series of executive development seminars at its Berlin Campus. One of the sessions, on Strategic Innovation and Value Creation, was based on the work of British artist Damien Hirst. Parallels were drawn between art and business along the three main axes of innovation: ‘What’/new products; ‘Who’/new customers; and ‘How’/ new processes. Hirst played on all three dimensions and by looking at his work, the group, led by Professor Martin Kupp, were able to discuss various paths for their company. Taking an outsider’s view of the art world helps to force participants to look at the topic of
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innovation with fresh eyes. Meanwhile, the dynamics of the luxury sector are currently under investigation by two ESCP Europe Business School professors. Dr Veronique Tran at the Paris campus is working with Dr Benjamin Voyer in London on ‘Risk and Performance in the Luxury Goods Industry’, looking at, among other things, how globalisation, and the emergence of Eastern luxury brands, are affecting risks faced by Western luxury companies. As with much of ESCP Europe’s research effort, the results will also have practical implications for businesses in the field. I
Marketers today have to evolve at an ever-faster pace. Consumers face neverending choices in everything they buy, and the only way for businesses to compete is by standing out and connecting more deeply with their customers. Success in marketing requires more than a business mind: creativity rules. ESCP Europe offers two Masters in Marketing and Creativity programmes aimed both at established marketers and newcomers to the discipline who want to put creativity at the centre of their practice and combine marketing knowledge with advanced management skills. Our full-time, postgraduate MSc in Marketing and Creativity (MMK) is an 18-month programme taught in London and Paris, and includes a professional internship and company consultancy project. Graduates of this programme have a track record of joining some of the world’s most respected marketing companies. And our new Executive Master in Marketing and Creativity (EMMK) is a 1-year, part-time programme designed for experienced marketing professionals wishing to stay ahead of the curve, as well as those planning to enter the sector. This programme takes ESCP Europe’s approach to a new level and is designed to support the next generation of Creativity Marketers. ESCP Europe is the World’s First Business School (est. 1819) and currently ranked 2nd in the UK and 10th in Europe by the Financial Times.
What are you waiting for? MMK Attend our next Open Day ESCP Europe London Campus Date: 26th October Website: escpeurope.eu/mmk
EMMK Book a 1-to-1 Info Session Contact: Crochenka McCarthy emmklondon@escpeurope.eu Website: escpeurope.eu/emmk
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spotlight on s m e s & s ta r t u p s
Briefs
Andaz Liverpool Street launches Catch Champagne Bar & Lounge
Catch Champagne Bar & Lounge
||| Andaz Liverpool Street hotel has just opened Catch Champagne Bar & Lounge which offers an intimate setting to meet, socialise or relax over one of the 70 Champagnes or signature Bellinis on its list, accompanied by light bites, sharing plates and charcuterie boards. The innovative design, blending contemporary styling and bespoke furnishings with the hotel’s period features, comes from Wilsdon Design Associates, the award-winning London architects that were largely responsible for the dramatic renovation of Andaz Liverpool Street in 2007, when the hotel was transformed from the former 19th century Great Eastern Hotel to the world’s first Andaz property. I
Movingdesign creates digital art for Hôtel de Paris in Saint-Tropez ||| Movingdesign is an art studio that, with the help of a team of digital artists, reinvents how brands communicate with their clients through the use of artistic films. This digital artwork creates ‘visual poetry’ to express a brand’s emotional essence in a more subtle, less intrusive way than conventional advertising. Its latest project for the Hôtel de Paris in the famous
village of Saint-Tropez is a monumental projection of an enchanting and mesmerising jellyfish ballet that welcomes guests as they step into the lobby and reappears on screens in the rooms. The movement and mutating colours of red, blue, purple and orange harmonise with Sybille de Margerie’s interior design scheme, becoming part of the hotel’s aesthetic. I
GYS award at STMicroelectronics’ Innovation Night ||| STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications hosted its 2013 Innovation Night, showcasing the successful outcome of collaboration with innovative French start-ups and SMEs in some of ST’s focus segments: automotive, fitness and wellness,
home entertainment, industrial applications and mobile. GYS was distinguished amongst others for their collaboration with ST. The company is a familyowned manufacturing group that engineers, designs and sells arc welding, collision repair and automotivebattery equipment. I info - july / august - 33
spotlight on s m e s & s ta r t u p s
Profile
Olivia Byrne, Eccleston Square Hotel ||| Just minutes from London Victoria’s bustling urbanity, lies a quiet, picturesque garden square, fringed with white Georgian townhouses. Eccleston Square Hotel occupies a pair of these, its elegant historical facade blending seamlessly with neighbouring private residences. But what really sets the hotel apart is revealed when the wide period door swings open automatically to reveal an unexpectedly modern, high-tech interior. Even more surprising is the fact that the manager and director of this family business, Olivia Byrne, was only 23 years old when the hotel opened in August 2011, having just graduated from Ecole Hotelière de Lausanne. Young as she is, Olivia’s hospitality apprenticeship had started long before: her English father owned and ran two hotels in Paris, and from the age of 11 she helped out in them, deciding very early on that this was what she wanted to do. Eventually Olivia’s father sold his hotels, but he wanted to pass on his know-how to his children, so they started looking all over the world for a project. ‘In the end London made perfect sense – we are half English, it is a cosmopolitan city,’ Olivia explains. The Byrnes bought an existing budget hotel and began a year-long £9 million refurbishment. ‘As it is a Grade II listed building, we had to preserve the facade and period features like the staircase, but everything else is new,’ says Olivia, who took charge of the interior design. Starting with the most important piece of furniture, she sourced the ‘world’s best bed’ from Swedish manufacturers Hästens – hand-made, electronically adjustable with massage functions they cost £12,000 each and are in every guestroom. From that, all the other high-tech features evolved on the premise that almost everything should be controllable from the bed: finger-tip control pads for lighting, curtains and temperature, iPads for inroom service and information, 46-inch HD 3D televisions, 3D Blu Ray DVD players, super-fast Wi-Fi, and even a choice of UK, European and US sockets. The marble-clad bathrooms followed suit with ‘smart glass’ walls that turn opaque at the touch of a button, bathroom TV mirrors, and rainfall showers with high-pressure massage heads.
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Even on the way up to the 39 rooms, the lift has small television screens streaming news, while the hotel’s media lounge has a massive 103-inch screen that can be used for 3D movie viewings or presentations. ‘We are one of the most high-tech hotels in the world,’ says Olivia proudly. While its technology is impressive, the hotel’s ethos revolves around well-being. ‘We want our clients to leave the hotel feeling better than they did when they arrived,’ Olivia explains. It is all in the details, starting with a subtle bespoke fragrance that infuses the hotel, filtered fresh air, those magnificent beds, underfloor heating, L’Occitane aromatherapy products and non-allergenic bed linens. Olivia has sought to tap into a tech-savvy, mobile business market and started by targeting local corporates. With a no children policy, the hotel caters for those who place a premium on peace and quiet. ‘Getting our name and brand known has been the biggest challenge,’ she observes, but she took the first step by getting affiliation with the Design Hotels brand, a collection of independent boutique hotels. The hotel has three room categories with rates that start at £210, including VAT, and come with a lot of extras including free Wi-Fi, cost-price mini bars, free London calls and VoIP (voice over IP) phones, which charge international calls at cost. Olivia’s 21-year-old brother James has also joined the hotel. A graduate of Babson College, the US school for entrepreneurs, he handles the maintenance and operations side of the business, while Olivia concentrates on management and marketing. ‘When you are young, I think the toughest part is managing people,’ she comments, but she now has an effective team of 22 in place, including those in the hotel’s Bistro on the Square. Although not directly involved in the day-to-day running of the hotel, Olivia’s father is always on hand for advice and guidance. ‘Initially I asked him a lot of operational questions, but now it’s more about bouncing ideas off each other and coming up with strategy. I’m still learning, but it’s exciting to see all our efforts starting to bear fruit.’ I KF
spotlight on s m e s & s ta r t u p s
Interview
Camille Goutal, perfumer for Annick Goutal ||| How did you come to be a ‘nez’ for Annick Goutal?
When my mother Annick Goutal died, I inherited half of the laboratory at the age of 24. My mother had worked very closely with Isabelle Doyen, and I did not want someone else to come in and work with her. We got on well and had the same taste, so we agreed I would start working with her in the laboratory while continuing with my professional photography. I did both for three years, but became more and more involved in the creation of perfumes and the company. Eventually I stopped doing photography professionally, although it remains a hobby. Do you and Isabelle work together on perfumes?
It depends, there are no rules. Sometimes we work together on the same formula, sometimes we work independently on different fragrances. But we do smell each other’s formulas at each stage of the process. It is like a creative balance – she might smell something and tell me ‘this is a bit weird’, or ‘this ingredient smells too strongly’. We don’t always like the same things and that is more important. How have you stayed true to your mother’s vision and spirit while putting your own mark on the fragrances?
I don’t really know, but as I was raised by her, I have the same universe. Her perfumes are so familiar to me and the way I love fragrance to be, so I make mine in the same way, but our personalities are quite different, and this comes through, for example, my mother loved roses, whereas I am fascinated by white flowers. In La Collection Les Colognes you reinvented three original perfumes. Why and how did you do this?
We did not try and update the originals – they are already modern. It was more a perfumer’s exercise in reworking and reinterpreting the fragrances, and it is interesting for our clients to try a different expression of a fragrance. For example, I made Néroli a bit more sweet and tender, although I still love the original.
Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal
How is Annick Goutal different from other perfume houses?
Thirty years ago it was one of the first niche brands to use amazing, expensive ingredients and be completely free in the creation of perfumes without following trends. That is not so unusual nowadays, but we still have that quality and our clients like the fact that our fragrances are not worn by everyone. Who are your clientele?
We have a lot of artists – painters, singers, actors, musicians – who are always interesting to work with. Of course, as our perfumes are a bit more expensive, I am sure we have a certain category of client, but we don’t do any market research. However, as creators we don’t make fragrances for a certain type of person, but rather to express emotions that are universal. For Petite Chérie we have clients aged from 7 to 77 years old! What things inspire you when making perfumes?
Books, paintings, music, movies, houses, designs, atmosphere and feelings – anything that brings a certain emotion. Different ingredients can express different moods, for example citrus fruits are fresh and dynamic, whereas amber and musk are sexy and sultry. What is your favourite fragrance and the story behind it?
Why would a perfume be discontinued?
Some fragrances don’t age well, for instance they might be considered a bit ‘eighties’, so their popularity declines. But apart from one or two, every perfume that we make sells well over time, probably because we don’t create fragrances to be fashionable, but rather to tell the stories of our lives, our emotions, our experiences, which are timeless.
I was in Mauritius a year after I lost my mother. Every evening from the beach I smelt this beautiful fragrance, which I eventually discovered was from a frangipani tree hidden behind the hotel. I wanted to capture this luminous flower and the whole holiday atmosphere of sunsets, sun lotion and the sea in a perfume. These are such contrasting things that it was difficult to recreate, but it finally came together in Songes. I KF
info - july / august - 35
s u cc e s s s to ry
Vision has certainly been key to James Cropper’s success, along with reinvention. In its earliest years, it became one of the first paper mills in the world to make coloured paper from the first synthetic dyes being produced in 1856
James Cropper What do Rememberance Day poppies, Selfridge’s shopping bags, fireproof adverts on the London Underground and archival boxes for precious artefacts in the Museum of Modern Art have in common? The answer is they are all made from bespoke papers manufactured by an English paper mill that has been in the same family for 168 years
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e continue to make all our products in the English Lake District at the same mill where we’ve been operating since 1845,’ says Chairman Mark Cropper, who represents the sixth generation of the Cropper family. In that time, James Cropper Plc has evolved into a world-class specialist paper-maker and advanced materials group with an operational reach in over 50 countries. The family commitment to the company is matched by a tradition of long service by its employees, many of them from local families who have worked at the mill for generations too, providing labour, technical skills, craftsmanship as well as stability, independence and long-term vision. ‘We invest a considerable amount in
Chairman Mark Cropper 36 - info - july / august
training, and have introduced a number of apprenticeship schemes at the mill – just one example of how we are passing our craft down the generations,’ Mark observes. With 500 employees, James Cropper is the largest private sector employer in Cumbria, and invests £17 million into the local economy annually. Vision has certainly been key to James Cropper’s success, along with reinvention. In its earliest years, it became one of the first paper mills in the world to make coloured paper from the first synthetic dyes being produced in 1856. Choosing to specialise in colours, cartridges and envelope papers (a specialised product in the 1860s), James Cropper found a niche and thereby dramatically reduced the competition. From wrapper and kraft papers it progressed to machine-glazed (MG) paper and more specialist grades; and more recently from pure paper making into paper converting and speciality high performance materials. These different activities are now carried out by three separate businesses – Speciality Papers, Converting and Technical Fibre Products – which make up the group. Colour-matching has remained a speciality to this day. ‘Our in-house team of colour technicians use sophisticated software to measure colour, but it is their specialist colour knowledgethatwerelyon,astheability to replicate and create unique colours is still very much a combination of
s u cc e s s s to ry
“art” and “skill”,’ CEO Phil Wild explains. ‘One element of good colour measurement and management is the source of light. We have calibrated light booths in all areas of the mill where the paper colour is assessed. To achieve fade resistance, good light-fastness, bleedfast colours, rubresistance, anti-tarnish qualities or archival properties in the end product, colourants must be carefully chosen.’ Virtually any colour can be matched or created: the library contains 3,500 shades, including 40 shades of black, and over 12,500 recipes. Two employees work full-time on creating new colour recipes for customers. This combination of technology and skill has enabled the production of ‘tailor-made’ paper for the most diverse and demanding requirements. Among the custom products created are a decoratively textured, high-lightfast, mould resistant, strong paper for window blinds; a wet strength paper with bleedfast colours for laundry ticketing; a pin-hole free paper for packaging light-sensitive films; and a rub-resistant black packaging paper to ensure the packaging colour does not transfer onto the packaged goods. To maintain its unrivalled position as a bespoke premium paper maker in the UK, James Cropper has invested heavily in its continued modernisation, which has transformed this small provincial mill into one of the most advanced paper-making operations of its size in the world. ‘In the 1980s and 1990s we invested about £50 million rebuilding our mill, and have continued to update it,’ says Mark. ‘In the last 20 years significant investment has been made in a Dewatering Plant to make possible the disposal of solid waste from the site for composting on local farms, a Heat Recovery unit resulting in an annual recovery of 2000kW of heat and a 4.5% reduction in carbon dioxide generation, investment in automated packing machines and Laser Guided Vehicles has resulted in more efficient and effective packing and movement of goods on-site. Most recently we have been working alongside Ellergreen Hydro to commission an efficient and non-polluting hydro scheme located on the river Kent to provide the mill with power from renewable energy.’ Sustainability is important to James Cropper, both because of its physical setting next to a national park – one of the UK’s areas of outstanding natural beauty – and its utilisation of finite natural resources in papermaking. ‘Responsible use and sourcing of our natural raw materials is something we have been committed to for generations,’ says Phil. ‘Our environmental stewardship encompasses all aspects of the business, from sustainable fibre sources in Scandinavia, Spain and Portugal, to production efficiencies, investment in alternative energy and waste management.’ The Converting side of the business began in the 1970s with a contract for laminating and sheeting products for another UK paper mill. Now it is the world’s only picture
The mill before 1919-1922 alterations
matboard/mountboard factory integrated with a paper mill. It also manufactures frame ready ink jet printable boards for retailers, display boards for point of sale advertising, archival storage and conservation products, luxury packaging materials and a selection of laminated and coated papers and films with special effects and functions for a wide range of industries. In 1986 research into non-cellulose fibre led to the formation of Technical Fibre Products (TFP). ‘This was without question the greatest departure for the company in its long history, not only in terms of technology but also products and markets,’ says Phil. TFP uses a unique and proprietary wet-laid manufacturing process to produce nonwovens that have a number of applications, most notably in the automotive and aerospace industries, but alsointhedefence,energy,consumerelectronics,industrial, construction and healthcare markets. Production is based around two speciality forming machines which were derived from technology inspired and developed by James Cropper paper making. These advanced production techniques enable the transformation of synthetic or mineral fibres into veils and mats. Among the uses for these products are conductive pathways in composite structures, electromagnetic shielding for electronics, thermal insulation and cryogenic super insulation, fire protection and power storage. ‘Our products are being adopted in next generation aerospace industries,’ notes Phil. ‘The leading automotive brands are working with us as well as F1 teams who are looking at new technology.’ Despite its momentum, James Cropper has not remained unscathed by the financial crisis, with 2012 sales in Speciality Papers, Converting and TFP down by 9, 12 and 16%, respectively. However, there are bright spots in the aerospace and automotive sectors for TFP and the global luxury sector for Speciality Papers and Converting. ‘The export market offers significant growth potential,’ Mark notes. ‘Identifying and converting these opportunities are key to our future prosperity.’ Given James Cropper’s history, its continued evolution seems only natural: ‘Being involved in making things is intensely satisfying and the challenge of continuing to manufacture products that fit every parameter – profit, customer needs, environment, etc – ensures it is always evolving and interesting. You can see, touch, feel (even smell!) our papers and see them doing a great job everywhere.’ I KF info - july / august - 37
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© Louis Vuitton / Mark Rigney
Art & Luxury
B
ritish street artist Ben Eine has been daubing the walls of Louis Vuitton’s summer pop up shop in Selfridges with his own particular typographic tag. There is something slightly shocking about this confluence of pristine French luxury brand and antiestablishment urban expressionism, and yet it is also refreshing and exciting. Strange bedfellows they may seem, but Ben Eine and Louis Vuitton are just one of the many collaborations between luxury brands and contemporary artists that have blossomed in recent years, and some luxury houses’ connections with the art world are so longstanding that they have become part of the brand DNA. So what exactly is behind this relationship? Why do luxury brands work with artists, or for that matter, artists work with luxury brands? Does luxury aspire to be an art form? Are artists becoming their own brands? Has art become a luxury commodity? These are some of the questions we posed to luxury houses, auction houses and art institutions, and the answers which
come through in the articles that follow are certainly not monochrome. While there are clear synergies between art and luxury, there are also divergences and tensions. To a large extent they share the same affluent audiences, so working together is mutually beneficial on various levels. Luxury soaks up the allure and authenticity of art, while art’s age-old need for patronage is met. But although some artists thrive on the exposure, for others the commercialisation is anathema. And no matter how closely they intertwine, there will always be a boundary between the physical purpose of a manufactured luxury product and the metaphysical nature of art, which serves no need. So does it all boil down to filthy lucre? And if not, where does patronage end and philanthropy begin? Many heads of luxury houses are serious art collectors in their own right, with a strong influence on the art world, and a disposition towards patronage. This has filtered down into the mindset of luxury houses, some of which have developed their own art foundations and social responsibility programmes involving art, or which sponsor art in one form or another. It could be argued that these ultimately serve the brand by association, but on a higher level they support and nurture emerging artistic talent as well as create access to art for an audience far wider than their own luxury consumers. Like any relationship, that between art and luxury is multifaceted, complex and with as many contradictions as there are connections. But it has long survived on mutual attraction, and in a world that craves originality, it is a relationship that produces much that is fresh, energetic and enriching. I KF
focus contents 39 Who’s in bed with whom? PART ONE: ARTISTIC COLLABOR ATIONS
PART TWO: INVESTMENT & PATRONAGE
50 How the art market became a luxury goods business – revisited
42 The Louis brand through the ages: from the XIVth to Vuitton
52 Art: the ultimate luxury
43 Louis Vuitton: the inextricable link between art and luxury
53 Cartier: luxury and arts patronage
44 Interview with Peter Marino: Chanel’s boutique architect 45 Perrier-Jouët and artistic heritage
PART THREE: SPONSORSHIP & SUPPORT
54 Nigel Hurst on art and luxury
47 Pommery and underground art
56 Luxury’s lessons in arts sponsorship
48 Burberry and acoustic art
57 Hermès: art, values and society
49 Luxury, art and digital engagement
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who’s in bed with whom? Louise Hamlin and Toby Skeggs of The Art Newspaper have compiled a rough guide to some of the biggest luxury brands that are forging connections with the art world
Absolut Parent company: Pernod Ricard Prize: Absolut Art Award Sponsorship/collaborations: Le Palais de Tokyo, Art Basel (Basel, Miami & Hong Kong), Documenta 13 Artist collaborations: Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Damien Hirst et al. In 1986, Absolut invited Andy Warhol to create an advertisement inspired by the vodka brand’s bottle (right). Since that initial collaboration, more than 500 artists have worked with Absolut, including Keith Haring, Maurizio Cattelan and Damien Hirst.The spirits maker is now expanding its art initiatives under the auspices of the Absolut Art Bureau, which is responsible for the company’s significant art investments: sponsoring the Art Basel fair and supporting the Absolut Art Award. The company recently announced a long-term deal with Art Basel to become associate sponsor and presenting partner of Art Talks at the fairs in Miami, Basel and Hong Kong. The Absolut Art Award has also undergone a revamp. It will now offer prizes for both works of art and art writing, each category carrying a €20,000 cash prize.The artist is to receive an additional €100,000 to realise a ‘dream’ project and the writer will get a further €25,000 to fund the publication and distribution of a new book.The winners of the 2013 Absolut Art Award will be announced in Stockholm on 20 September.
Chanel Private company: its only shareholders are Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, the grandsons of Pierre Wertheimer, one of Coco Chanel’s business partners Sponsorship: Venice Biennale in 2007 and Zaha Hadid’s Mobile Art Pavilion Artist collaborations: the brand has invited contemporary artists, including the German artist Ingo Maurer, to create settings in which to display collections Although the fashion house’s founder, Coco Chanel, counted numerous artists, including Picasso and Juan Gris, among her friends, the company did not take its first major step into arts sponsorship until 1997, when it backed the Tate’s centenary celebration dinner. In 2007, Chanel became the principal sponsor of the Venice Biennale and commissioned a travelling pavilion designed by Zaha
Hadid. The aluminium, steel and fibre reinforced plastic structure went to New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong before reaching its permanent base outside of the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, where it will host exhibitions of work by Arab artists. The company has supported the Tribeca Film Festival Arts Awards since 2005. A collection of photographs taken by designer Karl Lagerfeld, in close collaboration with Carine Roitfeld, of celebrities wearing Chanel’s iconic ‘Little Black Jacket’ has been launched as a book, accompanied by a worldwide exhibition, which began in Tokyo in 2012, travelling to destinations such as New York, Moscow, Paris, Sydney, Berlin, Seoul, Beijing and London, where it was showcased in the Saatchi Gallery.
Burberry Foundation: Burberry Foundation Award: The Burberry Design Scholarship, Royal College of Art (RCA) Sponsorship: global portfolio of partners including the Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts, the Hepworth Wakefield and Reach Out RCA Burberry is in the second year of its 10year partnership with London’s RCA, which is offering the largest sponsorship programme in the history of the college. As well as sponsorship, the Burberry Design Scholarship offers students an iPad to aid their studies and a two-week internship at the brand’s headquarters. The Burberry Foundation, a philanthropic organisation dedicated to helping young people realise their full potential through the power of their creativity, funds the college’s ‘Reach Out RCA’ community programme, the Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts, the Hepworth Wakefield, and numerous other arts and creativity initiatives, including young British musicians through Burberry Acoustic.
Burberry Acoustic musician Jake Bugg in concert at the brand’s London flagship store
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© Ron Mueck. Photo courtesy Anthony d’Offay, Londres et Hauser & Wirth
© Ron Mueck. Photo © Gautier Deblonde
Cartier Parent company: Richemont Group Foundation: Fondation Cartier Exhibition space: Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Paris Sponsorship: commissions works by contemporary artists The historic French jeweller carries out numerous arts initiatives through the 28-year-old Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, which has been housed Atelier de Ron Mueck, Janvier 2013 in a building on Boulevard Raspail designed by Jean Nouvel since 1994. The foundation’s collection contains more than 1,300 works by around 400 contemporary artists. The foundation operates independently from the brand, from which it receives 80% of its funding. The current exhibition is Ron Mueck, which runs until 27 October and the next exhibition will be American Latina 1963-2013, which opens in October and runs until March 2014, in collaboration with Museo Amparo in Puebla, Mexico. The exhibition will offer a unique perspective on Latin American photography from 1960 to today.
Drift, 2009
Christian Dior Parent company: Christian Dior owns 100% of Christian Dior Couture and 40.9% of LVMH. In turn, LVMH’s Arnault family have a 70.4% holding in Christian Dior Artist collaborations: on collections and window installations In conjunction with an exhibition devoted to the history of the brand at Beijing’s National Museum of China (until January 2013), Dior commissioned several Chinese artists to create work inspired by the brand. It is not the company’s first foray in to the region’s art scene – in 2008 it commissioned 23 Chinese artists to create work for a show at the Ullens Center of Contemporary Art in Beijing. In 2011, the brand collaborated with the American artist Daniel Arsham on window installations in Paris, Milan and New York. That same year, in time for Art Basel Miami Beach, Dior created a pop-up shop filled with a collection designed by the German artist Anselm Reyle. Dior was also sponsor of ‘Impressionism and Fashion’ at the Musée d’Orsay, Paris. ‘Lady Dior As Seen By’, is a travelling exhibition showcasing more than 50 artistic interpretations of the Lady Dior handbag, and in the past two years has visited Beijing, Tokyo, Milan and San Paolo. Also at the Christian Dior Museum and Garden in Granville, France, the current exhibition, entitled Impressions Dior (until 22 September) explores how Dior’s designs were partially linked to the Impressionist movement. More than 70 dresses are paired with a selection of impressionistic masterpieces from Monet to Degas, Renoir to Berthe Morisot (left).
Dom Pérignon Parent group: LVMH Artist collaborations: Sylvie Fleury, David Lynch, Martin Szekely, Mark Newson Dom Perignon has a history of working with artists and designers, and most recently has launched a platform entitled, ‘Power of Creation’, and under this initiative in 2012, the film-maker and artist David Lynch created limited-edition bottle designs, priced at around £120. Receiving rare approval from the Warhol Foundation, the brand released a collection of Warhol-inspired bottles in 2010, enlisting the Design Laboratory at Central Saint Martins as designer. The Australian designer Marc Newson and the Swiss artist Sylvie Fleury have also worked with the company.
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Hermès Foundation: Fondation d’Entreprise Hermès Prizes: Prix Marcel Duchamp, Hermès Foundation Missulsang for contemporary art in Korea; Prix Emile Hermès for design Exhibition spaces: Brussels, New York, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo and Berne The Paris-based fashion house formalised its support of the creative arts by creating the Fondation d’Entreprise Hermès in 2008. The foundation supports the visual arts almost exclusively through its own activities as a producer or coproducer of events and programmes. These include a residency programme for young artists in the Hermès workshops and two prizes for emerging talent: the Hermès Foundation Missulsang prize for contemporary art in Korea, and the Prix Emile Hermès for design. Hermès produces around 20 exhibitions each year across six spaces worldwide.
Ruinart Parent company: Moët Hennessy, LVMH This was Ruinart’s third year as Champagne sponsor for Masterpiece London Art & Antiques fair where renowned sommelier Gérard Basset MW, OBE hosted a series of ticketed tastings. The fair launched the collaboration between Maison Ruinart and Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek who created a limited edition Blanc de Blancs Collection. Hand signed and numbered, each limited edition Champagne box is created out of recycled wood and designed to hold a bottle of Ruinart’s signature Blanc de Blancs Champagne. In October, Ruinart will also be the Champagne partner of PAD London (the 20th century art, design and decorative arts fair) and sponsored PAD Paris in March.
Louis Vuitton Parent company: LVMH Foundation: currently being set up Exhibition spaces: spaces in its global stores and especially conceived ‘Espace Culturels’ in Paris and Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore,Venice and, at the end of 2013, Munich Sponsorship: numerous exhibitions The French fashion label is perhaps best known for its collaborations between a roster of established contemporary Great Adventures Giant Square Scarf. artists including Takashi Murakami and Louis Vuitton - Lara Schaffner Yayoi Kusama, and the brand’s creative director Marc Jacobs, many of which consist of signature prints for handbags. The company has its own ‘Espace Culturel’ in Paris and Tokyo, as well as an exhibition space in its London Maison. The Tokyo and Paris centres provide exhibition space for younger and less established artists. The brand has also recently opened a temporary store in Miami’s Design District. Louis Vuitton’s new collaborations for 2013-14 include the Chapman Brothers and British graffiti artist Ben Eine, whose distinctive letters create the ‘Great Adventures’ scarf (above). Louis Vuitton is also supporting artist Tania Kovats on her project ‘Oceans’, an artwork in which she is attempting to collect water from all the world’s seas through a global network of people. She will then turn these bottles of water into a sculpture which will be shown in an exhibition in Edinburgh in 2014. As part of the project Tania is travelling to places where oceans meet, supported by Louis Vuitton. Perrier-Jouët Parent group: part of Martell Mumm Perrier Jouët, which is owned by Pernod Ricard Sponsorship: exclusive Champagne sponsor of Design Miami and Design Miami/Basel Prize: The Perrier-Jouët Arts Salon & Prize This French Champagne House is proud of its artistic roots and holds a private collection of around 200 Art Nouveau masterpieces. The collection is kept in the Maison Belle Époque, a house built as a tribute to the French artist Émile Gallé who designed the iconic anemone of its Belle Epoque bottle in 1902. Gallé’s commission went on to set the tone for the company’s engagement with the arts which has included commissions of works by artists such as Daniel Arsham, Makoto Azuma, Claire Coles, Kareem Iliya, Makiko Takehara and most recently Tord Boontje’s rather stunning ‘The Enchanting Tree’, unveiled at the Saatchi Gallery in March. In 2013, Perrier-Jouët launched The Perrier-Jouët Arts Salon & Prize and the inaugural winner is Hitomi Hosono, a London based ceramicist. ‘Hitomi’s works are truly emblematic of the Art Nouveau ethos of the house, which like the iconic Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque and its anemone motif are inspired by the beauty of nature,’ says Vicky Wood, Head of Luxury Marketing (Champagne, Whisky and Cognac), Pernod Ricard UK. info - july / august - 41
focus Part One: Artistic Collabor ations
The Louis brand through the ages: from the XIVth to Vuitton Art and luxury share a joint focus on contemporary consumers with a new concept of status, observes Professor Dr Dirk Boll, Managing Director Continental Europe, Christie’s
A
© L ou i s Vu it ton
rt and luxury have always combined successfully. Leading artists have been in the service of the luxury industry, at least since Jean-Baptiste Colbert promoted French luxury manufactures in order to raise funds for his sovereign’s vision of Versailles. The reason that we associate the subject today rather with shop window displays at Louis Vuitton boutiques is part of a process which started over 30 years ago. In the early 1980s consumers began to develop an increasing awareness of style. Ever since, an interest in art and art collecting have become an indispensable part of the lifestyle of consumers of luxury products. The collector surrounds himself with art objects to enhance his standing and provide him with a positive ambience. At the same time, contemporary
Yayoi Kusama in a Louis Vuitton store window
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art became more and more avant-garde in character, charged with metaphysical and philosophical meaning, and regarded as a nucleus of the essence of life. To be avant-garde, art has to challenge now more than ever traditional viewer preferences and tastes. This brought about a status change for art: previously, art works which demonstrated the owner’s affluence would not be brand new, so as to indicate inherited wealth. Contemporary art has turned into a status symbol not only because of its (unconsciously assumed) high price, but mainly because it reflects back on the owner as a person of intellectual curiosity and education, who has the nous to engage with the work. For the first time, ownership of art took on a double meaning comparable to other status symbols: a haute couture dress conveys not just that the wearer has the wherewithal to buy it, but also that the selection is informed through being part of a ‘community’. Not only do I consume, I also choose – intellego, quid emo. At the King’s pleasure: while artists of the Ancien Régime strove to improve on the familiar, the status of today’s art is rooted in its avant-garde characteristics. Art and lifestyle are joined under the banner of lifestyle, combining the autonomous work with the popular aesthetics of marketing. The artist becomes the creative centre and motor of this universe, creating art, designing consumer products and being regarded as a rock star. Broadening art ownership into intellectual status is only possible through contemporary art. Art and fashion share the absolute focus on the present, and it is therefore not surprising that many companies driven by innovation now seek to sponsor cultural and artistic endeavours. This is especially true for industries whose concept of luxury comprises the longevity of their products, which in turn become fashionable through the influence of contemporary art. Louis Vuitton’s seasonal shop window doubles up as a museum! I
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Louis Vuitton: the inextricable link between art and luxury Louis Vuitton has long collaborated with artists and the art world in creative, philanthropic and sometimes surprising ways. Tom Meggle, Managing Director, Louis Vuitton UK and Ireland describes how the links are forged
How does Louis Vuitton decide which artists to collaborate with and why?
© L ou i s Vu it ton
For over 155 years, Louis Vuitton has entertained a close relationship with art and has established successful collaborations with some of the world’s most innovative and dynamic artists. As early as 1874, Louis Vuitton and his son Georges were regular visitors to the studio of the pioneering photographer Felix Nadar, which was also a meeting place for a group of virtually unknown painters by the names of Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Cezanne, Degas and Berthe Morisot. Today, constantly renewed under the influence of Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton’s commitment to the arts has been recently underscored with a number of collaborations in the UK. Louis Vuitton is working with the controversial artists, the Chapman Brothers, most famous for their twisted sculptures and visions of hell. How will this translate into fashion?
The commission for the Chapman print was an organic process. Kim Jones, our Men’s Style Director, under the creative direction of Marc Jacobs, has known Jake Chapman for some time, and always wanted to work with him and his brother Dinos. They were given Jones’ inspiration for the Men’s Autumn Winter 2013 collection, the wildlife in the Himalayas, and created the ‘garden in hell’ pattern that features some of the iconic animals from the Kingdom of Bhutan. This Chapman commission was then translated throughout the entire Autumn Winter Collection – bags, shoes, accessories and ready to wear throughout the collection. What does street art bring to a luxury brand?
Since the 1980s, Louis Vuitton has signed its name to textiles created in collaboration with artists, including, Takashi Murakami, Stephen Sprouse, Richard Prince or Yayoi Kusama. In his limited edition scarf for Louis Vuitton, Ben Eine pairs his vibrant, urban and graphic style with the theme of travel, one of the Maison’s own values, thereby transgressing the letters’ utilitarian function into a colourful and adventurous graffiti expression. Eine’s work epitomises the street art culture of London, and we wanted to celebrate his collaboration by inviting him to paint our Summer Pop-Up Store at Selfridges.
How and why is Louis Vuitton supporting artist Tania Kovats in her Oceans artwork?
Oceans is an artwork that Louis Vuitton was very keen to support as it embodies the Art of Travel, the root of the brand’s heritage. Kovats’ project is about engaging a global network of people through digital media and communication. Louis Vuitton is supporting Tania’s travels to places where oceans meet and helping with communicating on the project. Next year we will see a special exhibition designed exclusively for the New Bond Street Maison, which will preview Kovat’s Oceans exhibition at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh in 2014. What do these artistic collaborations bring to the brand?
Luxury and art are inextricably linked. There is an increasingly symbiotic relationship between the two, founded on shared values of passion and creativity, excellence and exclusivity. Together, art and luxury have come to define a vision, a lifestyle, an art de vivre, to which millions of people throughout the world have always aspired. I info - july / august - 43
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Interview with Peter Marino: Chanel’s boutique architect Peter Marino is the New York-based architect behind Chanel’s new London flagship store – and many others. He is credited with being able to capture the essence of a luxury brand in his designs. INFO asked him how he does it.
You have worked with Chanel for over 25 years. How did the relationship start and what has made it so enduring?
I’ve worked with the owners for 25 years, and for the brand since 1995. Chanel is the epitome of French tradition and modernity combined. As a client, they are always looking to evolve the brand and push it forward architecturally, while maintaining the brand history. How have your designs helped redefine modern luxury?
Fortunately, the work of Coco Chanel was so modern and timeless that it translates extremely well to contemporary architecture and interiors. Clean lines, proportion, and a wonderful sense of texture and colour all allow a rich framework within which to work with the evolution of the brand.
In every Chanel boutique, we try to reference the iconography of the brand. Here we referenced the feel of Coco Chanel’s Paris apartment, giving the boutique a residential feel. Why is art such an integral part of this boutique design, and does it have particular associations with Chanel as a luxury brand?
I commission artists to create site specific works for nearly all my projects. Coco Chanel herself cultivated visionary artists in her time, and we drew on that tradition for the New Bond Street boutique. How and why did you select and commission these 22 (23 including yourself) artists to create works for this space, and is there a common theme?
Each work of art selected for the New Bond Street 44 - info - july / august
Photo: Katja Rahlwes
What was your brief for the Chanel flagship store in New Bond Street and how have you interpreted it?
Peter Marino
boutique echoes the legendary iconography of Chanel with contemporary references to the Chanel black and white, the geometric intricacies of the Chanel tweed, new expressions of Coco Chanel’s favourite flower, the camellia, and the classic strands of pearls she made so famous. As an artist yourself, what is your take on the association between art and luxury?
The combination of art and architecture is meant to make the whole greater, and creates an exceptional environment for customers. I
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Perrier-Jouët and artistic heritage Artistic collaborations are part of a long heritage as well as an expression of values for Perrier-Jouët explains Charles Armand de Belenet, International Marketing Director for Martell Mumm Perrier-Jouët
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oday’s consumers need to know why they are buying a brand and want to be touched emotionally. Collaborations with artists enable a brand to illustrate and communicate about its essence and story in a different way – it is about inspiring, engaging and giving a brand substance with a higher meaning to the consumer. With Perrier-Jouët, artistic collaborations are of particular interest and relevance. Perrier-Jouët is an iconic luxury House of Champagne associated with craftsmanship and a strong artistic heritage. Founded in 1811, the House has always been dedicated to craftsmanship, and cultivates its love for arts and design. The first artistic collaboration goes back to 1902 when renowned French Art Nouveau artist Emile Gallé created the anemone design of its iconic Belle Epoque cuvée. Since then, the House has continued to engage with leading designers and artists, with Art Nouveau as a field of artistic expression. The Maison Belle Epoque, the historic Perrier family home in Epernay (capital of Champagne), now a guesthouse for visiting VIPs, is further evidence of this heritage – it houses about 200 original works by some of the greatest Art Nouveau masters. We are very selective with our collaborations in the sense that we do work with artists who share the same values of Perrier-Jouët such as passion for Nature, Art Nouveau and craftsmanship. For instance we launched last year the first very first Limited Edition of our prestige Cuvée Belle Epoque with Japanese floral artist Makoto Azuma. We chose this artist because of our strong historical link with Japan (Emile Gallé’s choice of white Japanese anemones for his original 1902 design was inspired by his admiration of Japanese art as much as his passion for botany) and the common values of tradition, passion for Nature and genuine originality. We have worked with other artists such as Dutch designer Tord Boontje to create a unique champagne accessory: The Enchanting Tree brings theatre and poetry to the gesture of tasting the Belle Epoque cuvée. For the bicentenary of the House in 2011, we also collaborated with American artist Daniel Arsham, who crafted a unique diptych sculpture, revealing glimpses of the bottles through an original and distinctive architecture, designed to express the philosophy of Perrier-Jouët continuity. Our collaborations are global, to ensure the
Dutch designer Tord Boontje with The Enchanting Tree
consistency of our messages and positioning around the world. We do have the support of a Brand Style Director within our Company; whose role includes the sourcing and recommendation of relevant designers and artists. It is a mutual beneficial relationship; the artists we work with fall in love with the brand and its artistic heritage. They appreciate the challenge of bringing to life its essence, with their contemporary vision. And for Perrier-Jouët, it helps strengthen its story and generate greater visibility. Beyond our product experience collaborations, Perrier-Jouët has since last year been the exclusive champagne sponsor of Design Miami/, the world’s premier design fair including Basel & Miami Fairs. This strong international partnership enables PerrierJouët to support young talented designers, but also to express its artistic heritage in a contemporary way with a dedicated Art Nouveau inspired design project, such as the installation piece entitled Lost Time by Londonbased designers Glithero, unveiled at the Miami fair in December last year. In the UK, Perrier-Jouët is very much involved in the artistic community with the Perrier-Jouët Arts Salon, a jury made of the most important designers and personalities in the Arts and Design world. The annual award – a £10,000 prize to support the winner’s work – will be awarded to a London-based creative, working in contemporary craft. I info - july / august - 45
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Pommery and underground art MadamE Pommery first recognised that art ennobled wine over a hundred years ago, and in that same spirit the Pommery domaine has become a unique hub for contemporary art
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ne of the more unusual gallery spaces in the world must be the 18 kilometres of interconnected underground vaults on the Pommery Champagne estate. Thirty metres below the surface and accessed by one monumental 116-step staircase, the cellars were carved out of ancient Gallo-Roman chalk quarries in 1868. The cellar ‘galleries’ are punctuated by about 50 ‘plazas’, formed by the old pits, their 30 metre walls tapering up to small windows through which natural light is cast. Pommery’s associations with art go back to the late 19th century, when Madame Pommery, armed with a desire to ennoble wine through art, had the sculptor Gustave Navlet create a series of bas-reliefs on the soft chalk walls of the underground plazas. These immense 10 by six metre creations, depicting scenes that celebrate wine, became the highlight of cellar tours, and were perhaps the precursor of the Expériences Pommery that were to be initiated more than a century later. Soon after the Vranken group bought the Domaine Pommery, a decision was made to organise contemporary art exhibitions in these unique underground spaces and around the estate. Inspired by an ‘Esprit des Lieux’ and their own love of art, Paul-Francois and Nathalie Vranken invited artists to create works of art for an annual event. ‘The idea behind the Expériences Pommery is that creation, whether of art or wine, is about research,’ says Paul-François Vranken. ‘For artists it is about dealing with the unique structure of the Domaine; most of the works are created in-situ and therefore incorporate the experience of the site. For visitors, the experience is about experimenting with art, confronting art.’ Some of the pieces are bought by the Vrankens and remain at the Domaine as part of a permanent collection, while others are replaced each year by a new crop, a cycle that has made Expériences Pommery a major contemporary art event. In the 10 years since it was inaugurated, the exhibitions have displayed an ambitious and eclectic range of works from artists around the world. Pieces have ranged from the monumental, such as Tadashi Kawamata’s ‘Cathédrale de Chaises’ in 2007, and Daniel Firman’s upside-down elephant ‘Wurza’, to the sublime, such as ‘Varese/Calder’, Bertrand Lavier’s installation of a Calder mobile with Varese’s music superimposed over the movements. While the Expériences Pommery do form an integral part of the visitor experience at the Domaine, Paul-François Vranken does not view the collection as a business: ‘We are collecting memories of our life. It is the outcome of all the past years, and we don’t do it to create a collection or promote it to sell at an auction. Our relationship to art is open and generous.’ Beyond the obvious prestige of associating the brand with art, Paul-François sees it bringing something else to the company: ‘Art unequivocally fashions the mind and contributes to motivating our employees in their professional paths. By offering emotional experiences, creating memories, we are helping to make them satisfied. They are also participants in a world and a work in progress…’ I KF
Works of art in Pommery’s cellar galleries info - july / august - 47
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Burberry and acoustic art Quintessentially British luxury house Burberry embraces its rich heritage stretching back to 1856, but positions itself as a ‘young old company’ with a particular focus on the younger, social media-savvy ‘millennial customer’. Music is the art form it has chosen to manifest this
Burberry ‘Live at 121 Regent Street’ launches with Kaiser Chiefs
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urberry needed a sound ‘to capture the attitude, spirit and distinctly British charm of the brand’, so Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey started showcasing an eclectic (and very British) selection of budding artists, who performed live at his shows. One of the first of these young, cutting-edge and unknown musicians was then 16-year-old Misty Miller, who went on to release her first album in 2011. Burberry now has its own Head of Music who goes looking for young, unsigned British bands and artists, and in exchange for exclusive content, they get exposure through Burberry Acoustic. This initiative, launched in 2010, finds, develops and supports emerging British musical talent, collaborating with the artists across different Burberry platforms including tracks for shows and campaigns. Beautifully filmed videos of the artists mix their acoustic melodies with a distinct Burberry visual aesthetic. These appear in a special ‘Acoustic’ section on the Burberry website, and selections of the Burberry Acoustic tracks have been released via iTunes and other channels, sometimes together with tracks by established British artists, such as The Pogues and Elton John. Burberry has also featured the bands via its YouTube and Facebook pages. Dozens of bands have now been featured by Burberry Acoustic, including Wolf Gang (now signed to Atlantic Records), Keane, the London quartet Life in Film, and One Night Only. In February, Burberry Acoustic musician Tom Odell literally stole the show when the runway at the Burberry Prorsum Womenswear Autumn/Winter 2013 collection opened up to reveal a stage with the 2013 Critics’ Choice BRIT award winner behind a piano, accompanied by a choir of backing singers. His performance of his forthcoming single ‘Hold Me’ served as the backdrop for the show finale, concluding a British 48 - info - july / august
soundtrack by Paloma Faith and Misty Miller. Through the Retail Theatre concept, live fashion shows, featuring Burberry Acoustic music, are broadcast simultaneously to 25 stores around the world. Customers are invited to these ‘exclusive digital events’ via a personal video message from David Bailey. One of the soundtracks for Burberry’s Spark Sunglasses campaign comes from Britishbased pop noir band, The Night IV, who met while at the French Lycée in London. The band is releasing its first album later in the year. The most recent platform Burberry has offered for British musical talent is its flagship London store itself. The building in Regent Street was originally a cinema and has an auditorium-like space, which can hold up to 1,000 people. Since opening last September, the store has hosted private gigs for some of its Burberry acoustic musicians including Jake Bugg, who played songs from his acclaimed self-titled debut album, which was released in October 2012 and reached number 1 in the UK Album Chart. But the first public music event took place in April when the renowned British band Kaiser Chiefs performed live to an audience of 1,000, with content from the event shared live through the Burberry Twitter and Instagram accounts. This concert launched a new series of ticketed music events called Live at 121 Regent Street, through which Burberry will continue to support established and emerging musical talent, while tapping into that cool, connected vibe in its own fashion. I KF
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Luxury, art and digital engagement Luxury and art were both latecomers to digital, but luxury brands are now leveraging their relationships with the art world to engage with digital audiences, writes Rachid Ait Addi, Head of FT Weekend Digital Sales
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t was not mere coincidence that Chopard started using Tumblr, the microblogging platform (http:// chopardredcarpet.tumblr.com/) a few days before the opening of the Cannes Film Festival this year. Chopard’s 15year association with the ‘Seventh Art’ is strategic. The Swiss jeweller, which created the famous Palme d’Or trophy, is using the Festival as a platform to present its latest collection to VIP clients, journalists and their brand ambassadors. In this, Chopard is far from unique – developing relationships with the art world has always been strategic for high-end luxury brands, as both target the same global, affluent and sophisticated audience. Amongst the bidders at Christie’s latest contemporary art auction that set all-time world record ($495 million) were financier Eli Broad, captains of industry such as Leonard Riggio (founder of Barnes and Noble) and British jeweller Laurence Graff. These are the very same affluent clientele that consume luxury brands. Beyond sharing the same audience, the art world and luxury brands also shared the same initial reluctance to embrace digital mediums. In stark contrast to industries such as finance and travel, which started Internet transactions in the mid-nineties, luxury brands and auction houses only began to think digitally within the last eight to 10 years, and take online transactions seriously in the past two. Christie’s started online bidding in 2006, but the first time they auctioned online exclusive items was in 2011 with The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor. Among the onlineonly items at this auction were
Chanel earrings, Chopard jewels, Dior and Valentino handbags. The onlineonly component of The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor totalled $9.5 million. Christies’ second online only auction was with Hermès. This time it tripled expectations and managed to raise $229,000 for charity by selling vintage Hermès handbags. These initiatives show how digital eventually managed to impact the bottom line of both worlds when they work together. Digital, and in particular social media, has been used recently as a tool to get instant digital PR exposure around art events. This strategy proved successful for luxury brands like Dior and Audemars who sponsored dinners and parties at Art Basel Miami and Hong Kong. By posting content on social media (pictures, tweets) they were able to leverage their association with the art fair to reach online art enthusiasts. Charity and philanthropy is another area where art and luxury meet. Many luxury brands support art and artists through their foundations, and here again the digital platform has helped both worlds to engage with their audience. Rolex has successfully taken its ‘mentor & protégé’ initiative online through a dedicated website (www.rolexmentorprotege.com). The aim of this initiative is to raise the profile of emerging artists by pairing them with great masters. The depth and quality of interactive content Rolex created for each of its protégés demonstrates how committed the Swiss watch manufacturer is to promote this new generation of artists. Each has a dedicated page with videos, slideshow and articles to introduce their work with their mentor to the wider public. It certainly gives exposure to both the protégé and the programme. With the latest research by GlobalWebIndex showing that consumers around the world are now spending more time on digital than traditional media, luxury brands have to adapt quickly to this fast-changing media environment. They have to find innovative ways to engage with their online audience. Leveraging their relationship with the art world has proved to be a successful strategy that other brands might follow. I info - july / august - 49
focus Part Two: investment & Patronage Annabelle Gauberti is the founding partner of Crefovi, a law firm specialised in advising the creative industries, in particular the art and luxury goods sectors. She is also President of the International Association of Lawyers for the Creative Industries (IALCI)
How the art market became a luxury goods business – revisited While many relationships between art and luxury flourish, some artists are ill at ease with the concomitant commercialisation of their art. Annabelle Gauberti argues for a recognition of the reality that is the art market business and the need for artists to take control
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came across an interesting piece on Phaidon’s website recently, entitled ‘How the art market became a luxury goods business’. This article describes the reactions to, and contains an interview about, artist Andrea Fraser’s essay ‘L’1% c’est moi’, freely available to download from the Whitney Museum’s website as part of its 2012 Biennial. In her essay, the California-based artist and professor at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) stresses her concerns that today, art is not only an asset class for the financial elite, but has also become a financial instrument. She also states that, the greater the discrepancy between the rich and the poor, the higher prices in the art market rise. According to Ms Fraser, while there is a direct link – quantified in recent economic research1 – between the art market boom and economic inequality that has reached levels not seen since the 1920s in the US and the 1940s in Britain, it is not just the art market that has expanded from this unprecedented concentration of wealth – museums, art prizes, residences, art schools, art magazines have also multiplied in the past decade. She expresses her uneasiness at working in the art field, which has benefited from, and, as an artist, having personally benefited so directly from, the anti-union, anti-tax, anti-regulation, anti-public sector politics that have made this concentration of wealth possible. Ms Fraser concludes her essay by saying that ‘a broad-based shift in art discourse can help bring about a long overdue splitting off of the market-dominated subfield of galleries, auction houses and art fairs. Let this subfield become the luxury goods business it already basically is, with what circulates there having as little to do with art as yachts, jets and watches. European museums have the potential to be the birthplace of a new art field that could emerge from this split, where new forms of autonomy can develop’. 50 - info - july / august
It is not the first time that an artist has expressed concern, resentment and even cynicism at having to play the game of capitalism and conform to harsh business realities. Sarah Thornton, in her book Seven days in the art world,2 cheekily describes her conversation with Marc Jacobs, artistic director of Louis Vuitton, about artist Takashi Murakami referring to his Louis Vuitton work as ‘my urinal’. After taking an audible puff on his cigarette, Marc Jacobs, who deeply understands the art world – he collects, attends the auctions, visits the Venice Biennale – replied coolly, ‘I’m a big fan of Marcel Duchamp and his ready-mades. Changing the context of an object is, in and of itself, art. It sounds like a put-down, but it’s not’. As Ms Thornton notes, ‘given that Duchamp’s “urinal” is one of the most influential works of the twentieth century, one might argue that Murakami is in fact glorifying his LV affiliations’. However, one can only wonder how this play on words might be interpreted, coming from an artist. To further expand on this point, it is worth noting that some street artists have a radical take on the luxury goods business, trying to differentiate themselves as much as possible from this industrial sector. For example, French street artist Zevs made many works of art parodying logos of famous luxury brands, such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren, criticising the role these brands play in society. Since these street art works may damage and dilute the image of luxury houses, some of them have put in place some robust anti-copying and anti-counterfeiting teams, who do not hesitate to threaten litigation if artists do not stop using their protected trademarks in artworks.3 The paradox is that, the more street art boldly criticises and parodies the luxury goods business and consumerism, the more expensive it becomes on art markets, fetching ever increasing prices at auctions, just like any luxury good!
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It is true that there is a correlation between the fine luxury marketing specialists M Chavelier and G Mazzavolo, arts and luxury goods sectors, as buyers of the former are ‘an art collaboration will attract the attention of the press often buyers of the latter. To give clues about their status and the public, invigorating the brand’s creativity, giving and wealth, high net worth individuals (HNWIs) tend, the brand a renewed pertinence since it will become in general, to surround themselves with luxury goods associated to celebrities of the contemporary art world, and art works. With a rising trend of HNWIs becoming giving it the proof of aesthetic sensibility of the brand’.7 more numerous, especially in emerging economies such It all makes sense from a business standpoint anyway, as China, Brazil and India, the demand for luxury goods since, according to luxury strategists Kapferer and Bastien, and art works is bound to increase. ‘In Asia, Russia and ‘luxury is the artist’s means of financial subsistence. the Middle-East, the purchase of artworks has acquired Working for the luxury industry allows an artist to live enormous cultural, economic and lifestyle importance. decently while pursuing his or her artistic work’.8 In The decade’s new millionaires, hopping from art fairs addition, corporate collectors and patrons can benefit to auction sales the world over, have transformed the from substantial tax advantages when putting money in auction market into an increasingly high-end market’.4 As fine arts: both the US and France grant hefty tax relief to one of the most important economic features of the art companies that buy works of art to constitute corporate market is that it is essentially supply-driven (i.e. there is art collections. Another Gallic example is the tax cuts a limited amount of high-quality fine granted to French companies that arts pieces available on this market), make donations to public bodies, the increased demand cannot necessarily ...artists need to have a well main activity of which is to organise increase supply, and instead elevates contemporary art fairs for the public.9 thought-out business plan 6 prices of art works. As a result, only In the UK, the British government has to reach financial success either the 1% (or, most likely, 0.1%), recognised the importance of providing mentioned by artist Andrea Fraser in as well as recognition from reductions in corporate, capital gains her essay, or corporate art collectors, the art world, while holding and income tax in exchange for true to their ethical beliefs can afford to buy fine art. donations of qualifying gifts of preIndeed, companies play an eminent property to be held for the essential role in the current art world, benefit of the public or nation. A new as corporate collectors, patrons, scheme entitled ‘gifts of pre-eminent charity-event organisers, supporters of art exhibitions and objects and works of art to the nation’ was introduced in collaborators with artists. Luxury houses, in particular, are April 2012 to boost philanthropy by living individuals and very attracted to the art world and, despite the ‘disdain’ corporations. shown by certain artists towards commercial endeavours I agree that the art market has become a luxury goods and the luxury goods sector in general, actively get business, controlled by the economic rules of supply and involved on artistic projects. At the forefront of this demand. If some artists are unhappy with this state of movement, Louis Vuitton has even recently published a affairs, it is down to them to control the ‘demand’ chain for book, entitled Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion and Architecture, their art works. If they do not want to sell their art pieces to publicise its many collaborations with artists. From the above a certain price and/or to certain types of buyers, they Louis Vuitton Foundation, expected to open in 2014 at should make it clear when dealing with art gallery owners the zoological gardens in Neuilly, in the outskirts of Paris, and other distributors of their work. Artists could even to the many fashion collaborations with artists Takashi directly approach the types of buyers they want to sell or Murakami, Olafur Eliasson, Richard Prince and, more donate their work to, such as museums, art foundations recently, Yayoi Kusama and Daniel Buren, Louis Vuitton is or non-profit organisations, obtaining written warranties, the all-time winner of art accolades, even having set up an covenants and undertakings from these ‘selected’ buyers access and arts education programme for disadvantaged that they will not put the art works in the secondary children in partnership with five London museums.6 market (in particular, at auctions). As the demand side for Other important corporate collectors are François contemporary art works is ever increasing, inflated by the Pinault, the founder of luxury goods conglomerate Kering cohorts of HNWIs who seek highly visible labels and for (ex PPR), who has created a contemporary art foundation whom buying from an internationally renowned gallery at the Palazzo Grazzi and La Punta della Dogana in Venice is similar to buying from Louis Vuitton, Prada or Chanel, and who is the owner of the world’s largest auction house artists need to have a well-thought-out business plan to Christie’s; and jewellery house Cartier and its highly reach financial success as well as recognition from the art original contemporary art foundation. In the words of world, while holding true to their ethical beliefs. I 1. ‘Art and Money’ by William N. Goetzmann, Luc Renneboog and Christophe Spaenjers, 28 April 2010; 2. Seven days in the art world, Sarah Thornton, Granta 2008; 3. ‘Art attacks: Perspectives on the use of fashion logos’, Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law School, 8 February 2012; 4. Contemporary Art Market 2010/2011, The Artprice annual report; 5. Fine art and high finance, edited by Clare McAndrew, Bloomberg Press 2010; 6. Corporate art collections, Charlotte Appleyward and James Salzmann, Lund Humphries 2012; 7. Management et marketing du luxe, Michel Chevalier and Gerald Mazzavolo, Dunod, 2011; 8. The luxury strategy, J N Kapferer and V Bastien, Kogan Page 2012; 9. ‘Art tax law: a double-hedged sword’, Annabelle Gauberti, http://crefovi.com, 2013.
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Art: the ultimate luxury Art – particularly contemporary art – is increasingly viewed as the ultimate luxury: its acquisition by the newly wealthy signifies membership of a global cultural elite, observes Lord Mark Poltimore, Deputy Chairman, of Sotheby’s Europe
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n Sotheby’s nearly 270 years of history, there have been countless ‘firsts’ but even many of us who have worked in the auction business most of our professional career were truly taken aback this past March when we held a view to launch our first-ever selling exhibition of Contemporary Art from Central Asia and the Caucasus. The aim of the pioneering ‘At The Crossroads’, which featured non-conformist and socialist-realist artworks from the 1960s, right the way through to emerging contemporary artists, was not only to introduce new artists to the market but also to capitalise on the new wealth emerging from the former Soviet territories. Imagine our surprise when over 700 new clients from the region attended the opening party in London, surging with proud nationalism, over art which was showcasing their creativity and modernity. The exhibition was a solid success, very quickly exceeding our expectations for what is a very new category for the company. In truth, one of the transforming influences on the art market in the past decade and a half has been the successful introduction of contemporary art from many of the newly wealthy regions of the world onto the international stage. During this period we’ve introduced sales of Contemporary South Asian Art, Russian Contemporary Art, Chinese Contemporary Art, Contemporary Art of the Middle East, Turkish Contemporary Art, and Ukrainian Contemporary Art. The phenomenon we’re dealing with here is newly wealthy people celebrating their national identity often most keenly expressed through the creative talents of their native artists. The contemporary art of these nations may have been offered locally quite successfully for a number of years, and both public and private museums have recently opened in metropolises as diverse as Kiev, Doha and Baku, spreading awareness and appreciation of this art to a wider local audience. But the move to the international stage through sales and exhibitions at Sotheby’s global centres and elsewhere allowed these markets to reach new levels. While this has been going on for a long time (Sotheby’s began sales of Latin American Art in the late 1970’s) the huge increase of wealth in the new markets has accelerated the trend. To give an idea of the geographical growth we are referring to, in 2005 clients of Sotheby’s 52 - info - july / august
Sotheby’s sale of Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art
involved in transactions in excess of $500,000 in value came from about 35 countries, whereas by 2008 clients from 64 countries transacted at that level. At a sale of Contemporary Art we mounted in Doha, Qatar in April of this year, we set records for nine artists. Created in 2010, Chant Avedissian’s Icons of the Nile is an extraordinary work in 120 parts that presented a mosaic of Egyptian culture retracing the country’s past through nostalgic imagery and iconographical motifs. It was irresistible to collectors and after competition from four bidders it set a record for a living Arab artist when it fetched $1,565,000 (estimated $1/1.5 million). There is no doubt that art is seen as the ultimate luxury; whether it is bought for decoration or investment, it opens the doors to the international stage and signifies membership in a global cultural elite. On a personal level it proclaims a collector’s unique individuality even as it enriches lives. The passion that drives collectors is the ultimate communication with people all over the world binding them closer together in a shared passion, regardless of the objects of their desire. The symbols of wealth have increased their vocabulary from one international standard which generations ago might have been Old Masters and French Furniture to a more diverse celebration of excellence which now prizes these along with art which speaks dozens of languages and evokes countless human experiences. The art world is a richer place for it. I
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Cartier: luxury and arts patronage Alain Dominique Perrin, Director of Compagnie Financière Richemont and founder of the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, speaks to INFO about Cartier’s relationship with contemporary art through the Foundation
What does the Fondation Cartier do for the brand’s reputation?
The success of the foundation has a very positive impact on the image of Cartier. Cartier is one of the greatest symbols of jewellery and luxury, but we are now equally synonymous with contemporary art. We were the first French company patron to promote and develop contemporary art. The foundation has become indispensable to Cartier’s history. How important is the role of luxury companies in the field of art, especially contemporary art? The Fondation Cartier building, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel in 1994
What was your objective in establishing a foundation dedicated to contemporary art?
The Cartier Maison has always been a creator of art, and with this title in mind we aim to promote and encourage the arts. One of the initial aims was to safeguard the creations of the artists because we led actions to counteract counterfeits. The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain began with a legal department dedicated to preserving the art of creation. What has the Fondation Cartier achieved in contemporary art, and what is its role within the landscape of art both in France and internationally?
We have become a credible international gallery without foregoing our interests towards the work of artists. Through this rigour and level of engagement we gain the confidence and loyalty of the artists and this is why artists do not want to display in other galleries. Which exhibitions have been the most important, and why?
‘Born in the Streets, Graffiti’, 2009, because urban art is a true phenomenon and it publicly honoured a generation of artists not publically well known. And ‘Mathematics, A Beautiful Elsewhere’, 2011, which united science with art. Two worlds, a priori distanced, were juxtaposed to reveal unexpected similarities. How does the Fondation Cartier form its own collection?
Our collection is unique and reflects an aspect which is essential to the Fondation, it is a testimony to special orders that have been made for each exhibition. Today this collection consists of about 1,200 works, which were acquired via an ethical committee composed of international people from the art world.
This role is indispensable: firstly it provides the finance and also the possibility for artists to bring their projects to life; and secondly, this in turn gives the artist freedom, autonomy and independence. The world of art should not be exclusively one of politics or bureaucracy. It is very important to be attentive to changes in vision, thoughts and the methods used. How is the Fondation Cartier different from other art foundations?
The Fondation Cartier is almost 30 years old now, and our positioning has not changed. The work realised by the different directors has always been very original. The foundation acts as a blueprint of style and of their spirit. These exhibitions provide new visions, new thoughts, whether discovering new talent, or exploring themes. We have this image of being pioneers, inventors, that cannot be underestimated. What is the future for the foundation? Like Cartier, it is perennial! I info - july / august - 53
focus Part Three: Sponsorship & Support
Nigel Hurst on art and luxury As a platform for contemporary art and emerging artists, the Saatchi Gallery introduced the world to artists such as Damien Hurst and Tracey Emin. Chief Executive Nigel Hurst tells INFO how its collaborations with luxury brands are part of its endeavour to bring the fresh, unexpected and very contemporary to its audience, and sheds light on the relationship between art and luxury
The Saatchi Gallery’s focus is on contemporary art, which you define as art from the last 10 years or less. Why and how does the Gallery do that?
The Saatchi Gallery’s role is to bring contemporary art to as wide an audience as possible, by providing a constantly evolving and innovative platform for emerging artists to show their work. If I’m tight for time it’s sometimes easier to describe modern art as art of the past 100 years and contemporary art as that of the last 10. Of course it’s not quite so straight-forward and for the Saatchi Gallery at least, contemporary art is work being made right now – new art that gives our audience an insight into possible future trends and movements rather than charting the last decade. Is there a growing appetite for contemporary art, and who is the audience?
When the Saatchi Gallery first opened its doors to the public in 1985, access to contemporary art was regarded by many as the privilege of a specialist few. Since then the Gallery has gone from attracting 100,000 or so art enthusiasts to over 1.4 million visitors a year – hosting 10 of the 15 most visited exhibitions in London over the past four years, according to The Art Newspaper’s annual surveys of international museum attendance – testament to the Gallery’s accessibility and the growing appetite for new art. The Gallery’s audience is young in comparison with most museums, with well over half its audience aged between 18 and 35 years. How has the Saatchi Gallery collaborated with luxury brands in exhibitions?
Over the last year the Gallery has been fortunate to collaborate with several luxury and premium partners including: Hugo Boss on ‘The Art of Chess’, which brought together 16 specially commissioned chess sets designed and created by some of the world’s leading contemporary artists including: Maurizio Cattelan, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Yayoi Kusama, Paul McCarthy, and Rachel Whiteread. Each set 54 - info - july / august
was individually crafted in a wide variety of different materials including wood, porcelain, glass, amber and silver and the exhibition provided diverse, surprising and complex responses to the subject from each of the contemporary artists, with each piece infused with their individual style. Chanel on ‘The Little Black Jacket’, Chanel’s photographic exhibition dedicated to the book, The Little Black Jacket: Chanel’s classic revisited by Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld. The Gallery’s audience had the opportunity to discover the versatility and timelessness of the iconic Chanel jacket through Karl Lagerfeld’s 113 larger than life photographs, modelled by a range of friends of the House, with each personality adapting the garment to reflect their own inimitable style. This special event underlined the brand’s values of creativity, modernity and excellence. Hermès on Festival des Métiers, an exhibition showcasing 10 different Hermès crafts. Working just as they would in the Hermès workshops in France, craftspeople were in situ for seven days making a wide selection of Hermès objects by hand. It provided a fascinating insight into the traditions and values of Hermès in the crafting of fine objects; visitors had the opportunity to meet and exchange with the Hermès’ artisans and experience first-hand their unique techniques. The famous Hermès silk scarf was printed before their eyes and, to rhythmic sounds of the artisans’ tools, handbags, saddles, fine jewellery and other iconic objects from Hermès were brought to life. How important are partnerships with luxury brands to the Saatchi Gallery, and how do they work?
These special collaborations and partnerships are hugely important not only in terms of the support and funding they provide the Gallery, which receives no Government nor Lottery funding, but also by bringing exhibitions to the Gallery that give our existing visitors and a new audience the opportunity to see something exciting, fresh, unexpected and also very contemporary. These exhibitions also provide our staff with the opportunity
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our regular visitors discovered they are also interested in fashion and craft. Is art the finest form of luxury?
It could be said that no-one needs art. You can’t eat, wear or live in it so it could be described as the ultimate luxury. However much contemporary art isn’t ‘fine’ by any means, but instead chooses to highlight the commonplace, mundane, overlooked and sometimes unpleasant or shocking elements of the world in which we live. Consequently it can sometimes be controversial, repellent, subversive or visceral. In many cases artists make art because they are compelled to make it. There have always been people who need to make images and objects that do no more than reflect their feelings and ideas based on what they see in the world around them. Can a luxury product ever be art? Nigel Hurst, Chief Executive of Saatchi Gallery
to work with other creative organisations, where both teams learn something stimulating and new. What draws art and luxury together?
Part of art’s allure is that it is hard to pin down – it is constantly changing and re-inventing itself. Luxury brands have been quick to appreciate this for many years, particularly fashion houses, which continually change and re-define their design and production. Also throughout history people have found arresting and beautiful images or objects desirable, whether they be artworks or artfully made luxury items. Who needs who more?
I hope the benefit is mutual. My experience to date certainly leads me to believe so. You are a great believer in cross-pollination – how does that work in the London context?
Although the audience for contemporary art has grown significantly over the last decade, the Saatchi Gallery is continually trying to find new ways to bring contemporary art to the widest possible audience and attract visitors who wouldn’t necessarily choose to go to an exhibition of new art. Collaborations with luxury brands and fashion houses are a very good way to achieve this. For example our attendance figures increased significantly during The Little Black Jacket and Festival des Métiers, but remain higher in the wake of these shows. So it would appear that people primarily interested in crafted design and fashion discovered they also liked contemporary art and the environment at the Gallery. Likewise some of
Many luxury products are beautifully and artfully made but have a function, whether they are bags, clothes or watches, so I don’t think they can be described as art, although they are hugely desirable. Even jewellery provides decoration, indicates status and can be worn. Also very high production values can sometimes be problematic for an artwork, making its surface too seductive and hard to get beyond. So I think to turn a luxury item into an artwork there would have to be some kind of intervention. For example for a collaborative exhibition with the Saatchi Gallery a couple of years ago, Vitra invited 31 architects and designers to reinvent a design classic – the Panton chair – to celebrate the design’s 50th anniversary. In almost all cases the Panton chair remained a chair with a makeover or twist. However, designers HKS International placed a white Panton chair on its side and floated an oval sheet of glass on top of it so that only a small portion of the chair protruded above the glass. The finishing touch was a tiny polar bear placed on the tip of the iceberg. It could no longer be used as a chair, and was too small, low and unstable to be a coffee table, but the viewer could only look on and wonder at the sheer simplicity of how a plastic chair had been turned into an Arctic landscape and conservation statement. Does purpose ultimately separate art and luxury?
I think so. Artists tend to be creative, problem solving sole-traders who reflect on the world around them and visualise their ideas based on what they see or feel. Nearly all of us have this ability in life to envision and create to a greater or lesser degree, but to see someone take this to a different level to make visually arresting images or objects with no particular purpose, can be inspiring, uplifting, interesting, perplexing, disconcerting... I KF info - july / august - 55
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Luxury’s lessons in arts sponsorship The luxury sector may not be the richest sponsor of art, but by being creative, innovative and engaged, it has added value all round, explains Angharad Lloyd-Jones, Deputy Director of Development, Royal Academy of Arts
A
rts sponsorship is often perceived the kid sister of its multi-million-pound brother, sports sponsorship. However Manchester City Football Club’s Head of Partnerships Luis Vicente, recently summoned his industry to start talking strategic partnerships, not sponsorship, declaring that, ‘Sponsorship in its traditional form is dead. You have to come up with something that is an embedded, engaging experience with your partners’. Fortunately for Vicente that model already exists in a corner he might not naturally look, a place where art and luxury intersect. Business investment in the arts fell with the economic downturn representing a loss of £25million in partnership income for the arts between 2006 and 2010 according to Arts & Business. Nowhere was this more obvious than in the financial services sector where companies renowned for their arts investment fell by the wayside leaving a dedicated quorum, in the RA’s case of BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon and JTI to name a few, to lead the way. Rising to the challenge and pressures of securing funding, the arts market has responded with an increasingly innovative, sophisticated and flexible approach towards corporate partnerships. This innovation is strikingly clear in the luxury sector. From the Louis Vuitton Young Arts Project and Van Cleef & Arpel’s ‘Grace Kelly’ collaboration to Vertu’s Global Art Commission 56 - info - july / august
Funded by the Louis Vuitton Young Arts Project, Don’t think about Gravity was an event held for young people, at the RA in February 2013. Participants engaged in activities that guided them through the exhibition, Mariko Mori: Rebirth.
or Hermès’ Leather Forever and Festival des Métiers exhibitions, cultural connections are being made across the luxury sector. But, what is it that these companies are doing so well? There are obvious connections between the two sectors such as shared high net worth audiences, products that are both rare and valuable and global sales footprints. However, none of these are surprise. Indeed many are traits shared by other art sponsor sectors. So, if these were the only points of similarity, why would Vertu have commissioned Richard Wilson RA to create a sound sculpture, or Louis Vuitton
invest in giving young Londoners unique access to curators, artists and collectors shaping the British contemporary art scene? The real success story is that luxury brands have looked beyond the sponsorship pitfall of simply buying a platform from which to promote one’s logo. Instead they have tried to work out what the authentic link is between themselves and their art partners and tell its tale. The resulting partnerships have not only added value to their consumers’ experience but also frequently give back to the arts by nurturing creative talent. Luxury brands have understood that ultimately Art’s ideas and stories are its currency and in leveraging these ideas they can connect to people in a truly memorable way. Taking this one step further they have learnt to embrace the creative. Milton Glaser is a living legend in the world of graphic design, responsible for iconic 20th century illustrations from ‘I NY’ to the 1967 Bob Dylan silhouette poster. One day, aged sixteen, he decided to draw a portrait of his mother. However hard he tried he couldn’t sketch her face. She’d become fixed in his mind at the age of two or three and the woman he kept drawing no longer existed in front of him. In that moment he realised that ‘We’re always looking, but we never really see.’ Art forces you to see not just look. The most successful partnerships help people do the same. I
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Hermès: art, values and society For luxury house Hermès, its foundation supporting culture, art and artisanship is a philanthropic expression of its humanist values and the belief that ‘a business that makes nothing but money is poor indeed’, explains Fiona Rushton, Communications Director, Hermès GB
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he Hermès Foundation was created in 2008 as a more formal and consolidated commitment to the support of culture, art and artisanship that has been part of the spirit of Hermès since its own foundation in 1837. Catherine Tskenis, Director of the Foundation explains: ‘The house of Hermès has always had a strong cultural heritage nourished by the artisanal values of its métiers. Through its actions, the Fondation d’Entreprise Hermès, supports this heritage beyond the commercial activity of the house and so embodies a longstanding commitment by Hermès to work towards the common good of today’s society’. The projects the Foundation supports must, however, resonate with the core values of Hermès: the promotion of traditional skills, support for the creative arts, a commitment to education and training and environmental concerns. This is structured through support for not-for-profit partner organisations across the globe; NGOs (non-governmental organisations) on the ground in countries where they consider the need is greatest.
At the same time Hermès develops and supports its own projects; in the contemporary visual arts, through a series of exhibitions and artist in residence programmes; in the performing arts through The New Settings programme; in design, through the Prix Emile Hermès international design award and through projects in biodiversity. The Artist in Residence programme, active since 2010, has recently culminated in an exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris called ‘Condensations’, running till 9 September, which explores the relationship between contemporary art and artisan excellence through the 16 works on public show for the first time. Each one showcases exceptional materials – leather, silk, crystal and silver-plate – and the artisan crafts needed to work with each of them; each work is the product of collaboration and exchange between the emerging visual artist and the expert artisan and takes the visitor on a journey to the heart of its particular material and along the path of its many mutations in art.
Artists of theatre and dance are also close to the heart of the Hermès Foundation and its programme, ‘The New Settings’, has been designed to nurture and encourage the performing arts by providing support for the development and staging of new productions. The projects supported involve collaboration and creative dialogue between artists from the performing and visual arts; innovative and ground-breaking new works that once chosen will be staged at the Théâtre de la Cité Internationale in Paris, in 2014. Humanist at its core, the Hermès Foundation is committed to supporting men and women working outside its own immediate sphere of activity. It is a style of philanthropy that is rare: disinterested, open and responsive patronage. Pierre-Alexis, the President of the Foundation and sixth generation of the Hermès family, believes that each director of Hermès has carried on in the belief that ‘a business that makes nothing but money is poor indeed: that a truly successful business must also know how to ‘add value’ in human and cultural terms.’ I
Works from ‘Condensations’: Marcos Avila Forero, ‘Cinq Tambours’, 2013 (left & right); Benoît Piéron ‘Le Lit’, 2010 (centre) info - july / august - 57
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Compiled by Melonie Gault
‘Disturbance’: art on architecture ||| The Royal Academy of Arts prides itself on being a living institution, as much concerned with nurturing future talent as showcasing that of previous generations. As such the RA Schools, the UK’s only fully funded, threeyear postgraduate diploma in art, encourages students to experiment within the RA’s public spaces. For four months this year, RA Schools graduate, Blue Firth, transformed the Architecture Space at the RA in an exploration of the ways architecture informs our understanding of myth and history. Her words give a unique insight into the creative journey from which the germ of an exhibition idea starts: ‘It’s two am and I am woken and bundled into a car. I hear a succession of goodbyes and soon the familiar tone of tarmac on the M1, A1 and A9 pass successively underneath. City gives way to town, which in turn gives way to nothing. We arrive somewhere. It looks old, it is alone in the landscape and we can go inside it. But within there is nothing but stone, and outside there are only the stones, the wind and the sky. These first childish encounters, of what I later learned to be Orkney’s Neolithic burial grounds, sank very deep in me – an experience of the ancient but filed away with experiences of amusement parks, playgrounds and children’s television. Years later I remember those past encounters which have now become filled with mythical and magical possibilities. They have become sites of untapped historical narratives, embedded and waiting to be excavated. From episodes of Time Team to the popularity of car boot sales, the idea of digging up the past in the hope of finding lost treasure is a common one. The British landscape has quite literally become a map or guide to folklore and hearsay, the imagination played out through geography. It struck me that one such space is the Architecture Space within the RA which forms a hinterland between the main RA galleries to the north and Burlington House due south. What was once exterior walls exposed to the elements, became covered public space with function and purpose, the windows, stucco and drain pipes becoming indoor architectural features. The age and architectural style ever present, but now with the added quandary, am I inside or out? So here I chose to place a new Disturbance, alongside other visual works that tamper with the experience of the space. Columns, teeter under a striped moiré effect whilst a large-scale
Blue Firth
digital image warps in and out of perspective, lights shine out through a colour gradient, suggesting a presence trying to escape. As with the burial mounds of my childhood, the stones and walls at the RA have soaked up the times in which they have existed till we reach my Disturbance, between a central hall and modern day restaurant but a necessary passageway if lunch is the end of your journey.’ I Celebrating one of the most successful and influential architects and urbanists in the world, the RA gives an insight into the influences and ideas behind Richard Rogers’ pioneering projects. For a contemporary take on architecture and its power to shape and influence modern day political and social concerns ‘Richard Rogers RA: Inside Out’ opens in Burlington Gardens from 18 July until 13 October. www.royalacademy.org.uk info - july / august - 59
w h at ’ s o n design museum
United Micro Kingdoms (UmK): A Design Fiction politics, science and sociology to provoke debate around the power and potential of design. The exhibition challenges assumptions about how products and services are made and used, through reinterpretations of the car and other transport systems. The four micro kingdoms explored in the exhibition are Digitarians, Communo-Nuclearists, Anarcho-Evolutionists and Bioliberals. I Until 26 August. Open daily 10.00 – 17.45. Full price: £10.75 © Dunne & Raby
‘United Micro Kingdom: A Design Fiction’ is an exhibition which presents multiple perspectives on a fictional United Kingdom, as imagined by designers and educators Dunne and Raby. The exhibition sees England devolved into four self-contained counties or micro kingdoms, each free to experiment with governance, economy and lifestyle. Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby use elements of industrial design, architecture,
n at i o n a l p o r t r a i t g a l l e ry
© Reproduced with permission of The Estate of Dame Laura Knight DBE RA, [2013]
Laura Knight Exhibition
Self Portrait
The famous gallery will be holding a major exhibition of portraits this summer by Dame Laura Knight (1877-1970), one of the leading British artists of the twentieth century. The exhibition spans her life-long career and celebrates the centenary of the creation of Knight’s innovative ‘Self Portrait’. The exhibition will include commissioned portraits alongside those made with members from specific social groups such as circus performers and gypsies. Other highlights will include works from Cornwall, the ballet and war portraits. Together these portraits will show a distinctive picture of twentieth century Britain. Knight used portraiture to capture contemporary life and culture, and her paintings are remarkable for their diverse range of subjects and settings. This exhibition of over 30 portraits will reveal Knight’s highly distinctive and vivid work, and also illustrate her success in gaining greater professional recognition for women in the arts. I 11 July – 13 October. Open daily 10.00 – 18.00, apart from Thursdays & Fridays: 10.00 – 21.00. Full price: £7
r oya l a c a d e m y o f a r t s This exhibition explores the multifaceted artistic personality of one of Britain’s most popular architects of the 20th century. Sir Hugh Casson (19101999) bridged the often acrimonious gap in art and architecture between traditionalists and modernists, drawing Britain into the modern age, most notably as Director of Architecture of the 1951 Festival of Britain. As President of the Royal Academy from 1976 to 1984 he greatly rejuvenated the institution, above all as founder of the Friends of the RA membership scheme. This display brings to life his charismatic personality and includes his famously beautiful watercolours, sketches, architectural drawings, publications and other memorabilia. I 31 May – 22 September. Open 10am-4pm Tuesday to Friday + 10am-6pm Saturday-Sunday. Full Price: £3 60 - info - july / august
© Royal Academy of Arts, London
Sir Hugh Casson PRA: Making Friends
Elephant House
w h at ’ s o n r oya l o p e r a h o u s e
The Sleeping Beauty. Evgenia Obraztsova
Perrault’s beloved fairytale, ‘The Sleeping Beauty’, is imbued with wonder and excitement in this sumptuous ballet. Exquisite costumes by Franca Squarciapino and spectacular sets by the celebrated Italian art director Ezio Frigerio provide a brilliant visual feast. The tale of an ill-fated princess, an enchanted sleep and the magical power of a prince’s kiss is brought to life through Tchaikovsky’s incomparable score. The Bolshoi Ballet presents ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ to Covent Garden audiences as part of its Golden Jubilee season at the Royal Opera House I 5 – 9 August. Tickets from £10. For times, dates and details of performances, or to book visit www.roh.org.uk
Photo: Marc Haegeman
Photo: Damir Yusupov
The Sleeping Beauty
The Sleeping Beauty. Vyacheslav Lopatin
tat e b r i ta i n
Lowry and the Painting of Modern Life
© Christie’s Images Limited / The Bridgeman Art Library
This summer, Tate Britain presents a major exhibition of landscapes by the much-loved British painter LS Lowry – the first of its kind held by a public institution in London since the artist’s death. Focusing on the best of Lowry’s urban scenes and industrial landscapes including Tate’s ‘Coming Out of
School 1927’ and ‘The Pond 1950’, alongside significant loans, this timely and carefully selected exhibition aims to re-assess Lowry’s contribution to art history and to argue for his achievement as Britain’s preeminent painter of the industrial city. ‘Lowry and the Painting of Modern Life’ demonstrates Lowry’s connections and debts to French painting of the later 19th century and its determination to make art out of the realities of the emerging modern city. It reveals what Lowry learned from the strange symbolist townscapes of his Frenchborn teacher, Adolphe Valette, and demonstrates important parallels with the painters of modern life such as Vincent van Gogh, Camille Pissarro, Georges Seurat and Maurice Utrillo, drawing upon these artists’s continuous search for ways to depict the unlovely facts of the city’s edges and the landscape made by industrialisation. I 26 June – 20 October. Open 10.00 – 18.00 Monday to Thursday, 10.00 – 20.00 Friday to Sunday. Full price: £16.50
t h e wa l l a c e c o l l e c t i o n
The Discovery of Paris: watercolours by early nineteenth century British artists Focusing on the period 1802-40, this exhibition includes 70 outstanding works by Turner, Girtin and Bonington among others, charting the remarkable contribution of the British to the iconography of Paris,
depicting the French capital as it became the major destination for mass middle-class tourism that it has remained ever since. Rarely seen works have been lent by great museums including Tate, V&A and the British Museum, as well as several private collectors. I 20 June – 15 Sept. Open daily 10.00 – 17.00. Free admission info - july / august - 61
book reviews
In the kitchen with Alain Passard
A French Novel
by Christophe Blain Published by Gallimard, Translated by Elizabeth Bell
by Frédéric Beigbeder Published by HarperCollins Publishers Translated by Frank Wynne
||| This is a non-fiction graphic novel of scenes in the kitchen and restaurants of Alain Passard, the three Michelin-starred French Chef of L’Arpege in Paris. The book is part portrait of a master Chef, part inside look at his creative process, and part humorous riff on fine dining by an outside observer. In France, this book sold 25,000 copies in two months. I
Nothing holds BACK the night by Delphine de Vigan Published by Bloomsbury Publishing Translated by George Miller
||| Only a teenager when Delphine was born, Lucile raised two daughters largely alone. She was a former child model from a Bohemian family, younger and more glamorous than the other mothers: always in lipstick, wayward and wonderful. But as Delphine grew up, Lucile’s occasional sadness gave way to overwhelming despair and delusion. She became convinced she was telepathic, in control of the Paris metro system; she gave away all her money; she was hospitalised, medicated, and released in a kind of trance. Young Delphine was left to wonder: What changed her, or what shaped her all along? In this brilliant investigation into her own family history, Delphine de Vigan attempts to ‘write her mother’, seeking out something essential as she interviews ageing relatives, listens to recordings, and reads Lucile’s own writings. It is a history of luminous beauty and rambunctious joy, of dark secrets and silences. There are untimely deaths and failures of memory. There are revelations and there is the ultimately unknowable. And in the face of the unknowable, personal history becomes fiction: Vigan must choose from differing accounts and fill in important gaps, using her writer’s imagination to reconstruct a life. I
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||| In his most autobiographical book to date, the author of the award-winning Windows on the World recounts his stay in police custody, when in January 2008 he was arrested for snorting cocaine outside a Paris nightclub. As he lies in his cell, he revisits his childhood, from the carefree days when his grandfather taught him to skim pebbles at the beach in Cénitz, to his parents’ divorce; the conflicting influences of his hedonistic father and his studious, seemingly conventional brother. And then Beigbeder recalls his first, unrequited loves. This patchwork of memories is as much a portrait of the era as it is the story of a fragile, self-critical man who has finally dropped the mask. Witty, sharp, with a pitiless, self-deprecating irony, and yet tender and true, A French Novel is a gem. Beigbeder’s search for answers in the lost country of his childhood will speak to a whole generation searching for its soul. I
Summertime all the cats are bored by Philippe Georget Published by Europa Editions Translated by Steve Rendall
||| It’s the middle of a long hot summer on the French Mediterranean shore. The town is full of tourists and at the Perpignan police headquarters, Sebag and Molina, two tired cops who are being slowly devoured by dull routine and family worries, deal with the day’s misdemeanours and petty complaints. But out of the blue a young Dutch woman is brutally murdered on a beach at Argelès, and another disappears without a trace. A serial killer obsessed with Dutch women? Maybe. Gilles Sebag finds himself thrust into the middle of a diabolical game.I
c h e ese a n d w i n e p r ess
Cheese of the month by La Cave à Fromage: Cheese Macarons
||| I must confess that, in my eyes, cheese is neither artistic nor a luxury. It is only a simple ancestral food item made of milk by genuine individuals. But as humans, we have a facility to transgress natural laws and create delightful objects. I have always been fascinated by colours and by the arrangement of diverse colours, and being a ‘gourmand and gourmet’, my eyes and palate have often been attracted by macarons. Great patissiers like Ladurée, Pierre Hermé have taken these delicacies to a totally new level, combining innovation, quality, taste and presentation, transforming them into food jewels. Modestly, I have tried to capture these qualities and working along with a talented young French patissier, we have created unique sweet-and-savoury macarons, marrying tradition and modernity. Old Parmegiano and Raspberry, Pear and Roquefort, Hazelnut and Goat’s Cheese, Blackcurrant and Epoisses, Chocolate and Brillat Savarin – pretty and delicious, if not artistic or luxurious. I by Eric Charriaux
Your wine with Cheese Macarons by Wine Story ||| The ideal wine with the traditional sweet macaron should be fruity and medium sweet. Not too sweet to avoid overpowering the macaron but with a minimum of residual sugar to complement this sugary delicacy. Also macarons are rarely eaten for dessert but during tea time and as a little break in the afternoon, so it’s better to avoid wines that are too alcoholic. So why not try a Clairette de Die from the centre of France or its Italian twin, a Moscato d’Asti? These are both medium sweet Muscats with only 5% volume of alcohol. One of the best Moscatos is the Moncalvina from the Coppo brothers in Piedmont. It has delicate bubbles and aromatic scents of ripe fruits without the richness of some Muscats: a wine that puts a smile on your face. But the macarons chosen by our friends from La Cave à Fromages are not totally sweet and are a revolution for our taste buds. The Pear and Roquefort one is the easiest to match as Roquefort generally goes very well with a sweet wine such as a Loupiac or a Monbazillac, although in combination with pear, it would go better with a lighter wine such as a fruity Petit Manseng grape from the Domaine de Miselle in Gascony. For the Walnut and Goat cheese macarons try a dry Savagnin from the Jura. It is usually ideal with the local Comté but its nutty aromas should complement the walnut. The Old Parmegiano and Raspberry needs the freshness of a Rosé to go with the red fruit of the raspberry. A Pineau des Charentes Rosé has more character to support the strength of the Old Parmigiano, but it’s 18% volume alcohol, so don’t work after your wine matching! I by Thibault Lavergne
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News @ the Chamber F
rom rooftop vistas of Trafalgar Square and London’s skyline to a grand table overlooked by the masterpieces of great artists, the venues of the Chamber’s recent events have been as spectacular as they have been varied. It is so often the venue that sets the mood of an occasion, and when that is inspiring, it can spark great things, which is just what we at the Chamber aim to do. The events at these two locations were the Summer Champagne Reception on the Trafalgar Hotel’s rooftop terrace, and the Luxury Club Breakfast in the Royal Academy’s board room; both were inspiring and fruitful in different ways. Among the other gettogethers of the past two months was a wine-tasting hosted by one of the Chamber’s more unusual members – the Government of South Australia – took place in the grand edifice of Australia House. It was a rare and privileged treat to be inside this stunning building on the Strand. Indeed, its interior has such a magical quality that it was used for the Gringotts Bank in the Harry Potter films. A blind wine-tasting of both French and Australian wines here was both fun and, let’s just say... revealing! We also launched a new format of event – the Rendez-vous Chez... within the charming shop of The East India Company, surrounded by tantalising and seductive wares that just had to be sampled. It was conceived in response to a request from members for more pure networking events, while giving companies a way of showcasing themselves to other members.
On the subject of gourmandise, the most recent Dîner des Chefs was with Chef Olivier Limousin at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, who lived up to his reputation for surprising and innovative cuisine. Food for thought, on the other hand, was served by Paul Mortimer-Lee, Chief Economist for BNP Paribas, who presented a frank and fascinating economic review for the Quarterly Economic Update. The Chamber’s various Clubs and Forums have continued to meet regularly to listen to presentations, ask questions and engage in debates on some very topical issues, including social media and resource scarcity. We are very pleased to welcome 28 new members to the Chamber, including De Beers UK, which joins as a Patron; four Corporate members, namely GYS, Intercontinental London Westminster, OP Search and Viadeo, as well as 23 Active members. Meanwhile, our Recruitment Service has been actively signing partnerships with a number of member schools and universities to enrich its database of candidates with graduate and alumni profiles, which will give member companies a richer pool of talent for their recruitment needs. Summer holidays are just around the corner, but we are already planning a packed programme for the autumn including the Energy Conference, the inaugural Annual Legal Lunch, the Annual Gala Dinner and many more, so now is the time to pencil in all those dates. I KF
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new members
1 New patron member
De Beers UK Ltd De Beers is the world’s leading diamond company with unrivalled expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds Represented by Philippe Mellier, Chief Executive Officer | www.debeersgroup.com De Beers Group is a member of the Anglo American plc group. Established in 1888, De Beers is the world’s leading diamond company with unrivalled expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers employs more than 16,000 people across the diamond pipeline, and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. As part of the company’s operating philosophy, the people of De Beers are committed to Living up to Diamonds by making a lasting contribution to the communities in which they live and work, and transforming natural resources into shared national wealth.
4 new corporate members
GYS Ltd | www.gys-welding.com
OP Search Ltd | www.opsearch.com
Manufacturer and distributor of welding machines and battery maintenance products Represented by Bruno Bouygues, Group CEO
International executive search Represented by Sophie Turpin, Partner
GYS is a family-owned manufacturing company, which has grown substantially in the last decade through consistent investment in Research & Development and a large modern manufacturing plant in Laval, France. The Group now employs 600 people in France, Germany, UK and China. GYS manufactures three product groups: industrial welding machines; battery maintenance equipment; and car body repair equipment. GYS Ltd is the UK subsidiary set up in 2008 in Warwick to launch and support sales in the UK.
Intercontinental London Westminster | www.intercontinental.com/westminster Hotel / private dining / meeting rooms. Represented by Heloise Deparisse, Corporate & MICE Sales Manager
InterContinental London Westminster is located in the political and royal heartland of Britain; a short walk from Parliament and Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. It has 256 luxury guest rooms including 45 luxurious suites and there is free WiFi throughout the hotel. Seven meeting rooms set the scene for a successful meeting, private dinner or large reception. Enjoy afternoon tea in The Lounge or a cocktail in Emmeline’s and feast at Blue Boar Smokehouse & Bar. 66 - info - july / august
OP Search is an international executive search company with offices in Paris, San Francisco, London and the Hague. The firm specialises in C-level and senior executive positions in a wide range of functions. The group was created over 15 years ago and is made of 50 seasoned partners, consultants and researchers with fine expertise of every industry. OP Search is a long-term business partner of SMEs, midcaps and major corporates.
Viadeo | www.viadeo.com The world’s second largest professional social network. Represented by Olivia Claudeville, Head of Sales - Business Education
Founded in France in 2004, Viadeo boasts over 50 million members, making it the world’s second largest professional social network. Employing 400 people in 11 countries, Viadeo has built strong growth since its creation, particularly in French-speaking regions and emerging markets such as China, Russia and Africa. Whatever your profession or location, Viadeo allows you to reconnect with former classmates or colleagues, meet your next manager, exchange with your peers, recruit new team members, grow your business and make the most of your image online.
new members
23 new Active members
Calixea www.calixea.com Relocation and education Represented by Cécile Monico, Managing Director
Finance Active
Moët Hennessy UK Ltd
www.financeactive.com Financial risk management services & technology solutions Represented by Jacques Descourtieux, General Manager and Founder
www.lvmh.com Luxury spirits Represented by Julien Morel, Commercial and Marketing Director
Chesterton Global Ltd T/A Farleys www.farleysres.com Property specialist for sales and lettings in South Kensington Represented by Patricia Farley, Director
FlexiJobs Global Ltd
CityJobs.com
France 24
www.cityjobs.com UK’s leading finance professionals’ job site Represented by Melani Nair, Marketing Manager
Création Méditerranée – Pain de Sucre www.paindesucre.com Designers of swimwear and bodywear for women Represented by Christine Desloges, Export manager
www.flexijobs.fr E-learning & coaching services Represented by Violette Lemery, Director
www.france24.com International news channel (French, English, Arabic) Represented by Nathalie Lenfant, Director of Marketing, International Business Development
French Touch Properties Ltd www.frenchtouchproperties.com Lettings, sales, relocation in London Represented by Ségolène Chambon, Director/Founder
Parfums Givenchy / LVMH Fragrance Brands UK Ltd www.givenchy.com Perfumes & cosmetics company Represented by Mélanie Bois-Sevestre, Managing Director
Roland Mouret www.rolandmouret.com Luxury womenswear fashion brand Represented by Eugenia NunezVillaveiran, Marketing Manager
SMTC www.smtc.fr Composite sandwich panels designer & manufacturer Represented by Jean-Emmanuel Wattier, Sales Engineer
GHMC Eccleston Square Hotel www.ecclestonsquarehotel.com Luxury boutique hotel in Central London Represented by Olivia Byrne, Company Director / Founder
EM Normandie www.ecole-management-normandie.fr Higher education institution Represented by Jean-Guy Bernard, Director
Facebook www.facebook.com Social networking website Represented by Julien Codorniou, Head of Platform Partnerships
Fadkar Ltd www.fadkar.com Commodity trading Represented by Yassine Hamdi, Senior Trader/Founder
www.ghmcweb.com Integrated marketing agency Represented by Amaury de Villele, Head of New Business
Strand Palace Hotel www.strandpalacehotel.co.uk Hotel Represented by Marco Orru’, Sales Manager
GlobaLexicon www.globalexicon.com Translation and language services Represented by Charleyn Pensivy, Project Manager
IDiPC LLP Investment and consulting Represented by Pascal Cagni, Partner
Miki House Harrods London www.mikihouse.co.jp/en Luxury clothes for children 0-4 years Harrods Represented by Nadège Gallas, Director
Tax & Advise Ltd www.taxandadvise.fr Tax consulting company for incorporation and tax management Represented by Claudio Fioresta, Marketing Manager
Trotters Childrenwear & Accessories Ltd www.trotters.co.uk Childrens’ retail Represented by Sophie Mirman, Founder/Owner
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chamber shorties
© wikipedia/
Our Business Consultancy Department means business in the second semester!
Renewable Energy Trade Mission with a focus on Offshore Wind: 9-10 October in London After the success of last year’s mission which gathered 16 French businesses and over 20 representatives of UK based companies involved in the Offshore Wind Industry, we are organising another mission in 2013 in partnership with Ubifrance involving, amongst others, representation from Alstom, Areva, EDF Energy, Altran, Atkins and Renewable UK. City Tour 2013: October/November 2013 With 19 French businesses taking part in 2012, we are renewing, in partnership with Ubifrance the matchmaking exercise between prominent London financial institutions and French businesses offering innovative IT solutions for the Banking sector. After a thorough selection, the businesses will be offered the chance to present their solutions to our panel of financial institutions.
First European Meet-the-Buyer event for the Healthcare Industry: 23-24 October in Paris In partnership with French Chambers of Commerce in Europe, we are proud to promote UK opportunities for French businesses specialised in Healthcare equipment and services. 40 buyers from around Europe will meet in Paris and benefit from a series of one-to-one meetings with French suppliers. The UK will be represented by buyers from the NHS, BUPA and hospitals in London and Manchester. I
For more information on these three events, please contact Sabrina Mimid at smimid@ccfgb.co.uk
France on the Move! is out! Written by working professional people who have first-hand experience of both the risks and rewards of expatriation, this sixth edition of the guide contains the most up-todate information on all aspects of a move to France, from the practicalities of relocation to buying property, and from education to taxation and setting up a business. Areas covered include: Administrative Issues, Real Estate, Education, Healthcare, Banking & Finance, Recruitment, Taxation, Commercial Contracts, etc. Contributors include AXA, Barclays, Mazars, etc... I For sale on www.ccfgb.co.uk for £20 / €25
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chamber shorties
Information updates on the new Franco-British Trade Directory (2013-2014) The Franco-British Trade Directory compiles details of members of the French Chamber. With over 300 pages divided into 3 major sections (Patron, Corporate and Active members), this publication lists details of more than 1,600 representatives from 600 member companies. The French Chamber is currently working on the new edition (20132014) to be published in October. In order to update information, new forms have been sent to members. This useful tool allows communication between members and provides company visibility. I For more information, please contact us at: directory@ccfgb.co.uk To discuss advertising opportunities, please contact Lorraine Germaix, lgermaix@ccfgb.co.uk The Directory is also available to read on www.ccfgb.co.uk/membership/search-for-members
Recruitment Service forges links with key business schools Our Recruitment Department is forging links with member schools and universities, with the aim of attracting the best profiles, whether young graduates or alumni. The partnership signed with Reims Management School in November 2012 was the very first one. Since then, more partnerships have been signed with Grenoble Management School, HEC Paris, ESSCA and EISTI. All candidates from these schools/universities benefit from the Recruitment Service’s consultancy expertise and support in their search. I
c l ass i f i e d s would like to meet... For further information contact aruchet@ ccfgb.co.uk or smimid@ccfgb.co.uk
jobs BOARD For full job descriptions and to apply online visit www.recruitment-ccfgb.co.uk
We are looking for distributors and end-users in the UK industrial sector A French manufacturer of industrial cleaning equipment and degreasers is looking for companies in need of cleaning equipment for their factories or offices as well as companies to distribute a large range of cleaning products throughout the UK.
Key Account Manager A leading supplier of sealing systems for the transportation industry is looking for a UK Key Account Manager with confirmed experience in the UK rail rolling stock sector and in sales with a strong contact database in the transportation sector.
We are looking for premium gift shops and high-end retailers in the UK A French company specialised in traditional, romantic French fragrances (perfumes, eau de toilette, perfumed soaps, scented candles and home fragrances) is looking for companies to sell its range of products. We are looking for distributors in the lighting sector in the UK A French manufacturer of lighting solutions for museums and industrial spaces is looking for companies specialised in museum lighting as well as industrial firms and wholesalers to distribute its large range of lighting systems throughout the UK.
Economic Development Consultant A successful management consultancy is looking for an Economic Development Consultant to join its Foreign Direct Investment team. Ideally a native English speaker fluent in German. Business Development Manager A consulting company specialised in the life sciences, chemistry, energy and aeronautics is looking for a UK Business Development Manager. The ideal candidate would be a highly motivated sales person with good commercial and sales experience.
Business Development Managers and Engineers; Recruitment/Office Administrator A global leader in innovation and high-tech engineering consulting, operating in over 20 countries throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas, is looking for Business Development Managers and Engineers in several fields including the pharmaceutical, aerospace and automotive sectors. The company also seeks a Recruitment/Office Administrator for its Warwick office. Steward/Stewardess A company specialised in providing high quality board services on trains is looking for stewards/stewardesses to join its team. Ideally, candidates should have a good command of both English and French. Commercial Agents for... • A French company specialised in elegant and contemporary furniture • A French brand selling exclusive technical products for the dance industry • A manufacturer of specialised chemical products (adhesives, sealants, coatings) • A producer of protection equipment info - july / august - 69
South Australia: open for business
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n common with the rest of Australia, South Australia is now in its 22nd consecutive year of economic growth. Compare that with the current difficult conditions in Europe and it is easy to see why so many UK companies looking to increase turnover while defending market share at home are looking to the Antipodes for market opportunities. Not only does Australia share a common language with the UK but also similar legal structure, education and culture. This makes prospection and setting up an operation extremely easy. A lot of companies have also used Australia as a base from which to approach the Asian market, both for its proximity and its familiarity with key markets there. South Australia, of which Adelaide is the capital city, has a number of key sectors which offer opportunities to companies in advanced manufacturing and knowledge based industries. For example, in the Defence sector, the new fleet of Australian Air Warfare Destroyers is being assembled in Adelaide and the ongoing throughlife maintenance of the fleet of Collins class submarines takes place in the same dockyard. The Australian Defence Minister has announced that not only will the next generation fleet of 12 submarines be constructed in Adelaide, a project valued at $30 billion, but that he will be bringing forward construction of patrol vessels and auxiliary supply ships to 2017, a contract for which Adelaide is hotly tipped. In total some 25% of Australia’s entire defence budget is spent in South Australia. Renewable energy is another strong pillar of the South Australian economy. Just less than 50% of all Australian wind energy is generated in South Australia and over 90% of all R&D into geothermal ‘Hot Rock’ energy takes place in the north of the state. Although the national target is 20% of all electricity to be generated from sustainable methods by 2020, South Australia achieved this milestone in 2011 and is aiming for 33% by 2020. Current generation is 1,200MW installed, with
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projects representing the same amount again going through the approvals process. The state’s other natural resources are underground, specifically uranium, copper, gold, iron ore, oil and gas. While not yet on a par with the vast projects in the East and West of the country, if only half of the projected growth in this sector comes to fruition then South Australia will be needing people, skills and technology to meet the phenomenal demand this will create. In short, opportunities abound for companies looking at the potential of South Australia for setting up their business. Recognising that setting up a subsidiary on the other side of the world is fraught with potential problems, the Office of the Agent General (OAG) for South Australia – a government organisation based in London – has created a service called Soft Landings (see www.softlandingsaustralia. com). This service brings together experts in Banking, Tax, Property, Legal, Visa and Relocation for a bespoke day of meetings with interested clients. This service is free of charge and takes place at the OAG offices at Australia House in London. I For further information please contact John Rees, the Business Development Director for the OAG at john.rees@south-aus.eu
recent event a u s t r a l i a n v s f r e n c h w i n e ta s t i n g
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Not such worlds apart Old world and new world wines were pitted against each other in a blind wine tasting at Australia House that revealed there was much more in common than perceptions would suggest, and much scope for business opportunities in South Australia
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t could be said that Australia had something of a home advantage when it came down to the contest between Old World and New World wines, mainly because the magnificent setting – Australia House (in London’s Aldwych) – is every inch Australian from its stones and marbles to its gilded wood decor, all brought over during the First World War. Nevertheless, while retaining a quiet confidence that their wines would stand up to French scrutiny, the hosts – the Government of South Australia – were exceptionally warm and gracious. Welcoming the assembled group of French Chamber members, Bill Muirhead, the Agent-General for South Australia, explained that the State was an ‘open doorway into Australia’, which had seen two decades of growth, averaging 2.5% per annum over the last 10 years, and offered European countries great opportunities for business and investments. Getting on to the subject of wine, he noted that 60% of the country’s wine comes from the state of South Australia, including what is considered by some critics to be the world’s best red – Penfolds Grange 1990 vintage. Presuppositions were then put to the test with a blind wine-tasting of four whites and six reds, with participants forming teams at tables, each named after a different wine region of South Australia. Sarah Ahmed, ‘The Wine Detective’, who led the tasting, proffered clues to help tasters discern between Old and New World wines, but then issued a caveat that climate change, globalisation and cross-pollination of methods could blur or even reverse the distinctions. And how true this proved... none of the tables correctly identified which countries the whites came from, and although more points were scored when it came to the reds, many were surprised by what they discovered. When points were totted up, there were blushes at some of the low scores, although they did show what a revelation the quality and maturity of Australian wines had been. It was an evening of fun, good humour and friendly rivalry, but most of all it showcased what South Australia could offer to businesses and investors. I KF
Bill Muirhead, Agent-General for South Australia
From left to right: John Rees, Peter Alfandary, Sarah Ahmed, Bill Muirhead and Florence Gomez
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Eastern delights in the West End The Chamber’s very first ‘Rendez-vous Chez...’ visited the London abode of The East India Company, where a pleasant evening was spent amidst teas, spices and tantalising treats
An Aladdin’s cave of gourmet delights greeted those who gathered at The East India Company shop for the first ever ‘Rendez-vous Chez...’ event. Amidst fragrant teas, spicy biscuits, aromatic preserves and exotic treats such as white chocolate-enrobed strawberries, Chamber members chatted to each other while sipping tea cocktails, concocted from some of the ingredients around them. There were no speeches or presentations, other than the experiential one of being in the shop itself and sampling its wares. An intimate ambiance and the shared discoveries of new tastes and beautiful objects fostered a relaxed, sociable atmosphere for networking. This new kind of event came about by marrying a request by Chamber members for more pure networking events with a desire by others to showcase their businesses to fellow members. Many of those who attended had not come across The East India Company’s store, tucked away on Conduit Street, just off Regent’s Street, and were delighted to discover its carefully curated range of fine foods and wares, inspired by the cultures and cuisines brought back by the original East India Company, which traded in the East under Royal Charter in the 17th to 19th centuries. By the end of the evening, sated and enlightened, most left with stocks of their favourite products, having made many new connections. I KF
A treasure trove
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Exotic wares from faraway lands
Treats to try while networking
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The heights of London in summer Guests toasted the onset of a good British summer with excellent French Champagne at an elevated Summer Champagne Reception with sweeping views of the capital
Atop the Trafalgar Hotel, almost eye-level with Admiral Nelson on his column, the roof garden venue of the Summer Champagne Reception was a sublime setting in which to drink Vranken Pommery’s Champagne Brut Rosé and converse with fellow Chamber members. As with all open-air ‘summer’ events in Britain, the weather prospects had caused some anxiety, but it turned out to be dry, breezy and benign, contributing to a prevailing good mood amongst the 120 gathered guests. Vranken Pommery was, of course, the Champagne partner of the evening, and Cyrille Laupie, CEO of Vranken Pommery UK introduced the Champagne, which, as he explained took its ‘vibrant salmon’ hue from the small quantity of Pinot Noir wine blended with the Chardonnay. Deputy President of the Chamber, Peter Alfandary, then said a few words and conducted the Lucky Draw for eight prizes, several on a Champagne theme, courtesy of Vranken Pommery, and others donated by CdeC by Cordelia de Castellane, Josephine Home, Jean Rousseau and Eurostar. With such a unique perspective of London’s skyline, the promise of summer in the air and an abundance of that elegant Champagne, networking was ebullient, until a fiery sunset heralded the end of the evening – and another superb Chamber event. I KF info - july / august - 73
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An evening to remember The Luxury Club’s first Diner des Chefs of the year at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon was a perfect combination of exquisite food, Champagne and atmosphere
The kitchen team
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n 29 April, the Chamber hosted a fantastic Dîner des Chefs at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. This exclusive rendez-vous for the Club’s members and all gastronomes was indeed a memorable evening! L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon opened in London in 2006 and is the creation of Joël Robuchon, the only Chef to hold a remarkable collection of 28 Michelin stars worldwide. Since its launch, the London restaurant has been headed by Michelin-star Chef and Joël Robuchon protégé, Olivier Limousin. The evening started with a Champagne reception on L’Atelier’s beautiful terrace where guests enjoyed the elegant and refined Cuvée Belle Époque Rosé 2004 from the House of Champagne Perrier-Jouët. It was then time to sit down to the six-course menu, specially designed by Chef Limousin for the occasion, starting with the exquisite caviar served on a bed of crab meat and lobster jelly, paired with the PerrierJouët Cuvée Belle Epoque 2004. The menu included some of Robuchon’s signature dishes such as the iconic quail, as well as innovative and surprising modern classics. The final – and divine – indulgence of the evening was the ‘Sphère en chocolat’ designed by Pastry Chef Joakim Prat, which was paired with smooth, rich Chivas Regal 25 year-old whisky. The Luxury Club and the Chamber wish to again thank L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon and Pernod Ricard UK for such a wonderful gastronomic experience and their most generous support. I Karim Mijal 74 - info - july / august
Guests enjoyed the intimate atmosphere...
...and superbly executed six-course menu
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i n t e rv i e w w i t h o l i v i e r l i m o u s i n
Olivier Limousin spills the beans The head chef of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon tells INFO about his art and passions, revealing some surprising truths
Did you always aspire to be a Chef and how did you get where you are? Funnily enough I did not! I am
a motorcycle fanatic, so I aspired to be a traffic policeman on a patrol bike! After looking into it I discovered it required a further 4-5 years schooling and that did not appeal to me. So I went for my second love – food! Looking back, I’m very glad indeed that I made that decision, for in spite of the hard work and long hours, the challenge of consistent excellence and the ever-evolving preferences of customers energise you. Working in the open kitchen of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, the instant response you get from customers is just priceless! What is your signature dish and how does it fit in the style of cuisine for which L’Atelier Joel Robuchon is renowned?
Being in the best gastronomic experimental ground, my team and I have many signature dishes. We create our dishes based on the ethos of L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, with the aim of enhancing our London menu with the capital’s originality and at the same time complement the great master’s creations.
Olivier Limousin
As a French Chef, how do you find working in London?
I love London, I think London is the European gastronomic capital. The diversity of the city excites your senses, so you are hungry and inquisitive… this is the biggest driver for me to stay at the top of the game… Your cuisine is said to be surprising, modern and innovative. Is London more receptive to this kind of cuisine and why? Yes I believe so. Britain’s shipping heritage
of bringing exotic goods from far and wide has built a legacy of cultural diversity in London. You can find and taste almost every cuisine of the world here. Hence Londoners are highly receptive to changes and adventurous enough to try. Also they have become quite vocal in their opinions, so you are never short of ideas to set course for your next experiment.
What are your sources of inspiration and what keeps nourishing your creativity? Travelling, meeting
different people, being open minded, understanding what people want and what they don’t want. And really important is the provenance of the products! I KF and Karim Mijal
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l u x u ry c l u b b r e a k f a s t
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Breakfast at the Academy Art and luxury was on the menu and in attendance at the Luxury Club Breakfast, hosted in the refined splendour of the Royal Academy, with guest speakers Charles Saumarez Smith and Nigel Hurst
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happy meeting of art and luxury took place in the refined 18th century John Madejski Fine Rooms of the Royal Academy of Arts where the Luxury Club breakfast was hosted on 14 May. Surrounded by works from the RA’s permanent collection, such as Joshua Reynolds, John Constable, Thomas Gainsborough and David Hockney, members of the Luxury Club – representing many of the pre-eminent luxury brands – were joined by Dr Charles Saumarez Smith, CBE, Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts and Nigel Hurst, Chief Executive of the Saatchi Gallery as guest speakers. In his first duty as the Luxury Club’s new chair, Bertrand Michaud, Managing Director of Hermès GB, introduced both guests and with these words, the topic of art and luxury: ‘“The world will be saved by beauty” said Christian Dior who was echoed by Matisse when he said “give joy, pure joy”. What is therefore the association between the world of Art and Luxury? Who helps whom? How much do they need each other and whose need is greater? We can joke and say that the difference between supporting and sponsoring, is that the first is money at the service of art and the second is art at the service of money... The Foundations of Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Cartier and the others create exceptional partnerships with international museums and galleries...However what is the profound meaning of all this, beyond marketing or communication?’ Dr Charles Saumarez Smith spoke of the relationship between the art world, luxury goods and London as a capital, citing an Economic Impact Review of a Raphael exhibition at the National Gallery, which revealed that up to 25% of those attending were well-heeled international visitors who had come to London especially for the exhibition and while in London had spent a lot of money notably on luxury goods. Both he and Nigel Hurst explained the ways in which luxury brands are involved with their institutions. Nigel went on to give a fascinating and insightful overview of the differences, similarities
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and cross-overs between the two worlds, concluding with the remark: ‘What gives art its allure, is that it’s so hard to pin down – and luxury brands have always recognised this.’ I KF
Nigel Hurst speaking at the breakfast
Florence Gomez, Bruno Allard, Jean Falcon de Longevialle
Bertrand Michaud presents Nigel Hurst with a gift
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Managing Director of Hermès GB and the new Chair of the Luxury Club, Bertrand Michaud, shares some thoughts on luxury and sets a course for the Club this year
What is your definition of luxury? Time – the greatest luxury
of all. What is your vision for the Club? To create an environment
that allows us to be open-minded for innovation and creativity. Do you think that the Club has a special role to play considering the growing importance of London for the luxury industry ? Absolutely. I feel it is an excellent
way to reinforce the links between French companies in London. Competition is tougher so together it is important we remain unified in one spirit. Your first meeting as Chair was the Luxury Club Breakfast on art and luxury. How do you view the relationship?
Dr Charles Saumarez Smith, CBE, Secretary and Chief Executive of the RA and Nigel Hurst, Chief Executive of the Saatchi Gallery, gave very inspiring presentations. It is my view that when ‘art’ and ‘luxury’ coexist, it is the business that is at the service of the art rather than the art at the service of business. Ultimately they enrich each other.
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l u x u ry c l u b c h a i r i n t e rv i e w
A word with Bertrand Michaud
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4 j u n e 2 013
Full steam ahead... It has been down to business at the Legal Forum, as the subcommittees report back on their work towards a forum publication, and the Annual Legal Lunch takes shape
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he Legal Forum has met twice in the past two months. Under the umbrella theme of ‘How better to understand the role of legal departments and legal culture in a Franco-British context’, three subcommittees were formed – Director’s Responsibilities, Litigation and the Bribery Act. Following discussion of their reports of their work in plenary session, it is proposed to produce a publication that compares and contrasts the French and British legal regimes focusing on cultural differences, practical recommendations and best practice. At the session on 4 June, Guido Santi gave a presentation on EDF’s procurement of legal services. Meanwhile, plans have been laid for the French Chamber’s first Annual Legal Lunch on 17 October, which has been inspired by the model – and success – of the Chamber’s Annual Financial Lunch. The Right Honourable The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers KG, PC, first and immediate past President of the Supreme Court, will deliver the keynote address on why we have recently established a Supreme Court and will answer questions from the audience. This milestone activity for the Chamber and its members hopes to bring together the leaders and decision makers of both the legal and business communities. I
What is coming up for the Club and what are the themes you hope to explore? For our next breakfast, we wish to focus
on the iconic London department stores and discuss how luxury houses can best leverage such retail opportunities. We also hope to host our first open session on the new luxury consumers in order to better understand emerging trends and behaviours impacting the industry, from the Chinese tourists on Regent Street to digital shoppers buying via their iPads. Finally, following the success of the first Luxury Cocktail Reception hosted last year at the May Fair, we will again partner with Walpole and the Financial Times for a second edition. This milestone activity for the Club resonates with our ambition to celebrate the best of British and French luxury as well as reaffirm the positive economic footprint of the luxury industry for London and beyond. I
The Chamber’s Legal Forum is inaugurating an Annual Legal Lunch, the first of which will take place on 17 October at the Connaught. We are very honoured to welcome The Right Honourable The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, KG, PC, immediate past President of the Supreme Court of England and Wales, as our guest speaker. For more information, please see page 83
info - july / august - 77
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r e c e n t q u a r t e r ly e c o n o m i c u p d at e
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10 m ay 2 013
So what’s the good news? Paul Mortimer-Lee, Global Head of Market Economics at BNP Paribas, gave an overview of the state of the UK economy in comparison to that of France, with some interesting perspectives on policies, politics and politicians
A
lthough the UK’s position is better than it has been for some time, the big picture is somewhat uninspiring. Since 2008 the UK has made slow progress towards recovery with the level of output still 2.5% below its pre-recession peak, although slowly drifting upwards. Out of all the G7 countries, only Italy is worse. By comparison, France did not fall as hard in the economic crisis but has since flat-lined. The UK’s GDP growth has been, at best, mediocre, with huge sectoral differences: the service sector looks healthy but construction and energy remain the biggest drags. Nevertheless, British Chambers of Commerce surveys indicate improving export prospects, and GDP is expected to accelerate from just under 1% this year to about 1.4% in 2014. In contrast, France is unlikely to see any growth this year and 0.5% in 2014. UK consumption, which was slashed by 5 percentage points in 2008, falling far below real income growth, has been up and down – affected first by retrenchment and then by the weak pound. Now that inflation has come down, consumption is more in step with real income growth and rising, thanks to a robust labour market. Successive rounds of quantitative easing have boosted money supply but had a very limited effect in getting credit going. In the UK, credit matters: it is directly related to activity because typically you borrow to do something. Instead, uncertainty is keeping companies sitting on their cash. And why is credit falling? Basically because the banks have not been fixed. The way to do that would be to follow the Swedish model and take the bad bank out, leaving the good one, but exactly the opposite was done in the UK – a good bank had a bad bank shoved into it – and the government won’t take the politically unpopular step of putting more money into the banks, nor will it admit that it has been blind to the obvious for the past three years. That will limit the UK’s recovery. There is, however, more optimism about the UK’s growth performance in 2013 relative to the eurozone. Since 2010, French and UK GDP performance has been remarkably similar, although the UK is now edging ahead. Most notably unemployment figures have not mirrored this: French unemployment has gone up while the UK’s rate is down. This is a reflection of their different ways of
Paul Mortimer-Lee presents his overview
‘taking the pain’ – maintaining real wages has been at the expense of jobs in France, while in the UK more flexible wages and depreciation have supported employment. Despite depreciation, the UK current account position has not improved due to an excessive budget deficit, while the traditionally better French balance is on a persistent downward track that is indicative of the need for more structural reform. Inflation in the UK has been variable and significantly higher than France as a result of monetary policy. A weaker exchange rate policy has not boosted UK exports but instead cut real wages, pricing people into jobs. This lack of wage growth has clearly had implications for the budget deficit by subduing consumption and therefore tax revenues. The UK’s weak economy has delayed fiscal consolidation, pushing its debt to GDP ratio higher. Indeed, relative to peers, the UK’s debt position makes it look increasingly bad and fiscally it should be rated below France. However, UK government spending is not as high a percentage of GDP compared to other EU nations, and because it had lower debt levels in the past the UK has to sell less debt than France. As far as monetary policy goes, George Osborne is clearly ‘not for turning’, and has hired Mark Carney to ease it in a bid for growth. Flexible inflation policy is likely to continue, as is quantitative easing and a weaker exchange rate, but this will not address the real problem which is that the banks need to be fixed. History shows it can take up to 10 years to recover. The good news is that we only have another five to go. I KF info - july / august - 79
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2 2 m ay 2 013
The social media effect on HR: key issues, trends and best practice Social media has taken over the world. Conventional barriers have fallen away as we interact with film stars, corporations and strangers on Twitter and share our private lives on Facebook. Kevin Poulter, Senior Associate at Bircham Dyson Bell and a social media and employment law specialist, tells all
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ocial media already plays a key role in the workplace. Employers should be aware of what their employees are saying and doing online and any consequences this may have for their business. Indeed, experienced employees and the next generation of job-seekers are realising the hard way that what they say online may come to work against them, no matter how many ‘followers’ they have. Kevin Poulter
Recruitment Social media can be a critical part of the recruitment process. It can be used to promote vacancies and focus on a specific demographic. It can also be a legitimate tool for vetting prospective employees. It is good practice to only go so far as is reasonable for the particular role. Typically, the more senior the position, the more thorough any investigation can and should be. It should not normally be necessary to look beyond privacy settings or to ask for details of anonymous accounts. Employers should be careful not to breach an individual’s human rights or treat a candidate unfavourably due to a protected characteristic, such as age, disability, sexual orientation or race which is uncovered as part of any social media search. In employment The internet is a storage space which is readily accessible and searchable. Once an individual’s name is connected with a comment, photo or story, it is a permanent record and part of their online footprint. It is not sufficient to simply introduce a social media policy. Employers must educate their employees on what is and isn’t acceptable and how they are expected to behave online when acting on behalf of the organisation or whenever they are associated 80 - info - july / august
with it, however unwittingly. Brand and reputation management are more important to successful businesses than ever before. Any risk to reputation might reasonably and fairly result in disciplinary consequences for employees and employers’ policies and practices should reflect this. Social media can be used by employees to harass and bully colleagues and third parties, often under the radar of management. An open and positive approach to the use of social media in the workplace can encourage victims of such behaviour to come forward.
Assessing fairness Although there is no specific legislation in place, the courts and tribunals have developed a set of considerations when assessing the fairness of any employee disciplinary or dismissal. In all circumstances, it is essential that there is a fair and reasonable investigation and that due process is followed. Factors to consider include: status of employee and remoteness from the organisation; intention; audience and potential audience; damage caused; speed of rectification/removal; remorse of employee. For example, a message seen by only five people would not necessarily warrant a dismissal on grounds of bringing the company into disrepute, unless those five people were significant to the organisation. Social media can be a great tool for business. It can drive employee and customer engagement, build a brand and develop relationships. A sensible policy, suited to an employer’s needs and properly monitored will protect the business and its employees. Social media is here to stay, but how effective it is depends on how it is used and not abused. I Kevin Poulter can be followed on Twitter @kevinpoulter and has a popular social media and employment law blog on kevinpoulter.com
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r e c e n t c l i m at e c h a n g e f o r u m
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2 8 m ay
Resource scarcity, natural capital and building sustainable business models Tom Barnett, Account Director at environmental data experts Trucost, gave an insightful presentation to the Climate Change Forum, highlighting both the context and practical solutions for managing natural capital at risk
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rucost, which helps companies value the economic impact of their usage of and dependency on natural capital, reported that the total cost of all environmental externalities is around $7.3 trillion a year globally. In a recent report, the World Economic Forum asked industry leaders, experts and representatives from civil society and government bodies how they perceive the impact of 50 global risks. Green house gas emissions were listed as the third most likely global risk. However, natural capital – and especially scarce resources – should not only be understood as an actual cost for businesses but also a risk that can induce rising prices, shortages or lead to stricter regulations. Tom Barnett explained that a business that is capable
of understanding and assessing its environmental impact (e.g. air pollutants, coal power generation, etc.) is in a position to better control such variables and manage its usage of natural resources. To achieve this objective, it is essential for businesses to set up tools that efficiently measure the environmental impacts of their activities from sourcing the natural material to operational and supply processes without neglecting to assess consumer behaviour. Beyond managing costs more efficiently, it is also an opportunity to deliver greener products and services, anticipate possible future regulations and ultimately be able to strengthen an organisation’s capacity to lead sustainable business practices and impact consumer behaviour. I Karim Mijal
Roundtable with Nicolas Hulot On 21 May, the Climate Change Forum, chaired by Richard Brown, had the privilege of hosting a leaders’ roundtable with Nicolas Hulot, Special Envoy of the French President for Protecting the Planet. This meeting took place during Hulot’s two-day visit to London and was a unique opportunity for the Forum’s members to learn more about the mission pursued by the Special Envoy. Nicolas Hulot pointed out the necessity of fully appreciating that social and economic challenges are intrinsically linked to issues and risks created by climate change. However, these challenges offer a number of opportunities for businesses to deploy the best of their creativity and ingenuity in order to design and deliver smarter products and greener services. Nicolas Hulot also underlined the need to build a coalition with business leaders and beyond that will ensure the success of the forthcoming climate conference in Paris in 2015. Richard Brown explained that a survey conducted by the Forum last year demonstrated the commitment
Richard Brown and Nicolas Hulot
expressed by business leaders to tackle climate change. He further noted that the essential mission of this Forum is to foster co-operation and exchange of best practices as well as showcase innovative and sustainable solutions developed by its members. I Karim Mijal
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f o rt h co m i n g f o ru m s & c lu b s
Climate Change Forum Visit to Veolia Environmental Services Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) in Newhaven
Finance Forum
When: 23 July, 10.30 – 13.30 Where: North Quay Road, Newhaven, East Sussex, BN9 0AB Chaired by Richard Brown, Chairman, Eurostar International Ltd. By application only
When: 5 September, 08.30 – 10.00 Where: The French Chamber of Commerce Co-chaired by Patrick Gougeon, UK Director ESCP Europe and John Peachey, Managing Director – CFO Global Markets, HSBC Bank Plc Theme: To be defined according to the economic climate
f o rt h co m i n g e v e n t s
Quarterly Economic Update
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At: Institut Français Guest speaker: John Hawksworth, Chief Economist, PwC Chaired by Philippe Chalon, Director of External Affairs at International SOS & Managing Director of the Cercle d’outre-Manche. Cost: £25 + VAT per person
Sept 08.15 - 10.00
John Hawksworth is an economist who specialises in global macroeconomics and public policy issues. He is Chief Economist in PwC’s UK firm, editor of its Economic Outlook reports and lead author of its ‘World in 2050’ series of publications on long-term prospects for the world economy. He has written many other reports and articles on macroeconomic and public policy topics and is a regular media commentator on these issues. contact: Karim Mijal at kmijal@ccfgb.co.uk or 0207 092 6638
John Hawksworth
Dîner de la Rentrée At: The Grand Connaught Rooms 61-65 Great Queen St, London WC2B 5DA Guest speaker: Philippe Varin, Chairman of the Board of PSA Peugeot Citroën Sponsored by Citroën In partnership with Vranken Pommery, Le Conseil des Vins du Médoc Cost: £100 + VAT per person; £950 + VAT for a table of 10; £1,140 + VAT for a table of 12 Dress code: business attire
SPONSORED BY
GUEST SPEAKER: PHILIPPE VARIN, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD PSA PEUGEOT CITROËN
sponsored by
Open to all members and non-members ddlr_print2.indd 1
7/2/2013 2:17:35 PM
Philippe Varin has been Chairman of the Board of PSA Peugeot Citroën since 2009. In 2003 he became Chief Executive of Corus, one of the world’s largest steel producers with nearly 42,000 employees in over 40 countries. Philippe started his career with Pechiney Group in 1978 and over the years held various positions within the company. Prior to joining Corus he was Senior Executive Vice President of the Aluminum Sector and a member of Pechiney’s Executive Committee. Philippe Varin is a Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite, Chevalier dans l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur and Commander of the British Empire. Philippe Varin
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contact: Cécilia Gonzalez at cgonzalez@ccfgb.co.uk or 0207 092 6641
f o rt h co m i n g e v e n t s
27 Sept
08.00 - 10.00
CEO Breakfast
Sponsored by
At: The Andaz Hotel, 40 Liverpool Street, London EC2M 7QN Guest speaker: Robin Southwell, CEO, EADS UK Cost: £40 + VAT per person Dress code: business attire
Robin joined EADS in 2003 initially as CEO of Airtanker Ltd during which time he secured the largest military PFI in history. He was subsequently appointed CEO of EADS UK. Robin’s early career at BAE Systems included marketing and negotiating contracts for commercial and military aircraft worldwide. Robin is Chairman of Quest Aviation Services, Concord Ltd and Airbase Group Ltd. He is also President of ADS, a Trustee of the RAF Museum and a NED of Farnborough International Limited. He was appointed a UK Business Ambassador by Prime Minister David Cameron. Robin Southwell
contact: Kim Darragon on kdarragon@ccfgb.co.uk or call 020 7092 6643
Trade delegation to Scotland
3-4 Oct
12.00 - 14.30
The next trade delegation will take place in Scotland and will be led by HE Mr Bernard Emié, French Ambassador to the UK. This is a unique opportunity to meet local key decision makers and businesses, whether you already have a subsidiary in Scotland or are planning to expand your business there. Cost: £390 + VAT per person which includes a return flight to Scotland, one night at the Balmoral, lunches, dinners and visits. Contact: Cécilia Gonzalez on cgonzalez@ccfgb.co.uk or call 0207 092 6644
17 Oct
Annual Legal Lunch At: The Connaught, Carlos Place, Mayfair, London W1K 2AL Guest speaker: The Right Honourable The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, KG, PC Cost: £100 + VAT per person; £950 + VAT for a table of 10 Dress code: business attire
12.00 - 14.30
The Right Honourable The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, KG, PC is a retired Law Lord and past President of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. He was called to the Bar in 1962 and took silk in 1978. During his time at the Bar, he specialised in Commercial Law and Admiralty Law. He was appointed a Judge of the Queen’s Bench Division, where he sat in the Commercial Court. In 1999 he was elevated to the Court of Appeal, appointed Master of the Rolls in 2000 and Lord Chief Justice in 2005. Lord Phillips was appointed as Senior Law Lord in 2008 and oversaw the transition of the House of Lords to the Supreme Court in 2009, when he became the Court’s first President. He remains a non permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong and also the President of the Qatar International Court Lord Phillips & Dispute Resolution Centre. During his time in Judicial Office he presided over some of the most celebrated legal cases, including the complex prosecutions relating to the Maxwell Pension Funds,and also of Barlow Clowes. He also conducted the Public Inquiry into the outbreak and effects of BSE. Following his retirement, Lord Phillips became the first Dickson Poon Distinguished Fellow and Visiting Professor in The Dickson Poon School of Law. He is currently President of the British Maritime Law Association and is an honorary member of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. He is Patron of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and holds roles with various other bodies. Lord Phillips holds a number of honorary degrees and is an Honorary Fellow at King’s College, Cambridge and at the Society for Advanced Legal Studies. contact: Karim Mijal at kmijal@ccfgb.co.uk or 0207 092 6638
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f o rt h co m i n g e v e n t s
22 Oct
19.00 - 23.00
The Annual Gala Dinner At: The Landmark Hotel, 222 Marylebone Rd, London NW1 6JQ Guest speaker: Lionel Barber, Editor of the Financial Times Gold sponsors: EY, HSBC Silver sponsors: Accor, Colas Rail, EDF Energy, International SOS & Safran Cost: £179 + VAT per person; £1,650+ VAT for a table of 10; £1,900+ VAT for a table of 12 Dress code: black tie In Partnership with Le Conseil des Vins de Saint-Emilion, Les Vins de Pessac-Léognan, Champagne Perrier-Jouët Lionel Barber, Editor of the Financial Times, is the guest of honour and speaker at our Gala Dinner in the year that marks the FT’s 125th anniversary and the Chamber’s 130th. Lionel Barber joined the FT in 1985, becoming news editor in 1998 and editor of the continental European edition in 2000. He has also been the Brussels bureau chief. Before becoming Editor of the FT in November 2005, Lionel Barber was the newspaper’s US managing editor, based in New York. In February 2011, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees at the Tate. contact: Cécilia Gonzalez at cgonzalez@ccfgb.co.uk or 0207 092 6641
Lionel Barber
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Date : 31/05/11 Validation DA/DC : Validation Client
29 Oct
08.30 - 13.45
The Franco British Energy Conference 2013 Meeting the UK challenges – partners in action www.thefrancobritishenergyconference2013.com At: One Great George Street, London SW1P 3AA Main sponsors: Alstom, EDF Energy, HSBC, Total Supporting sponsors: Altran, Areva, SPIE, VINCI Energies Partners: ESCP Europe, Franco British Council With the support of the French Embassy in the UK Cost: CCFGB member: £100 + VAT per person; non-member: £190 + VAT per person Dress code: Business attire This conference will address whether the UK Energy Policy will enable the UK to meet its energy challenges and how Franco-British partnerships can be developed to deliver the investments required. Confirmed speakers so far: Ed Davey, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change; Michael Fallon, Minister of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change; Stephen Burgin, Vice President of Sales in Northern and Central Europe, Alstom; Robert Davies, Chief Executive Officer, Areva UK; Renaud Digoin Danzin, Executive Director, SPIE UK; Patrick Gougeon, Director, ESCP; Angela Knight, Chief Executive, Energy UK; Vincent de Rivaz, Chief Executive, EDF Energy; Patrice de Vivies, Senior Vice-President Northern Europe, Total Exploration Production, Chairman of Total Holdings UK; Rochdi Ziyat, Managing Director, Vinci Energies UK. contact: Kim Darragon on kdarragon@ccfgb.co.uk or call 0207 092 6643
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