By Elaine Lies
TOKYO (Reuters) - From a phoenix-themed collection by a Japanese designer who has clothed Lady Gaga to touches of traditional Mongolian decorations, designers showing at Japan Fashion Week set their sights firmly on Asia and its huge market.
Chinese consumers have become the world's leading buyers of luxury goods and account for one quarter of this market globally with demand growing, according to a report by consulting firm Bain & Co.
The fashion extravaganza showcasing the autumn and winter collections of 2013/14 kicked off at the weekend but Japanese brands took to the stage on Monday with Masanori Morikawa and his self-directed label, 'Christian Dada'.
Morikawa has created several pieces for American pop star Lady Gaga including a pink dress reminiscent of an origami crane for her 2012 'Born This Way Ball' tour.
This time he turned to Asia for inspiration with an edgy, androgynous collection titled 'Fenghuang,' which is Chinese for the mythical bird phoenix, pairing long, loose pants with richly embroidered lace on shirt sleeves for men and women.
Leather pants and jackets mingled with down-paneled trousers and shirts in plain, solid colors of black, white, red, blue and gold, which Morikawa said represented the nature of the phoenix.
'There's also the idea that the phoenix contains within itself both the male and the female, so we took this concept of fusion for the collection,' Morikawa told reporters.
Asian influences came to the fore on Sunday as well as Mongolian designer Ariunaa Surenjav mixed modern designs with traditional raised forms on the shoulders and bunched sleeves.
'That part of the clothing design where the material goes up on the shoulder ... comes from the tradition in old Mongolia, where the local people who were noble and respected had that design,' said Surenjav.
A NOD TO CHINA?
Although Morikawa said taking a Chinese title for the collection was just a reference to Chinese mythology and not a nod to the huge potential Chinese market, other designers were more open about their goals.
Conny Groenewegen, a Dutch designer who led off the runway on Sunday with clothing heavily influenced by Japanese designers, said her ambitions in Asia do not end with Japan.
'I would be very much interested to visit Shanghai and present my work over there, because I think that it is moving very fast,' she told Reuters. 'It's like a big youth culture over there and it has also a big, very rich history.'
Although growth in China slowed last year, Bain is still forecasting growth of 4-6 percent a year for the global luxury market through 2015, after growth of 10 percent in 2012 to about $280 billion, largely driven by Chinese consumers.
With 1.3 billion consumers, many with a strong inclination for expensive brands that scream status, China remains a driving force in the luxury market.
Japan Fashion Week continues until March 24 with names such as Vivienne Tam and Hiroko Koshino also taking part.
(Additional reporting by Mariko Lochridge, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)
Monday, March 18, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
"Psy Style" scores as Gangnam rapper readies new song
By Narae Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) - As South Korean rapper Psy readies what he hopes will be his next hit song, aiming for a repeat of the viral 'Gangnam Style', retailers are keeping a close eye on what he wears, hoping another blockbuster will send sales surging.
From the tortoiseshell sunglasses to the two-toned Oxfords the chubby singer sported for his YouTube megahit, a wide range of brands - and Seoul's Gangnam district itself - have reaped rich rewards from the Psy effect.
Psy's stylist will say only that the 35-year-old will once more be clad in a suit for the new song, whose title also remains a secret. It will be released at an April 13 concert.
'The basic concept for his upcoming song is again a formal suit but with a humorous twist. I plan to add an unexpected twist of fun,' Hong Hye-won told Reuters in an interview.
'I made a point with a bow tie back in the Gangnam look. There is something like that for the new song.'
Psy's slicked hair and tuxedo jacket, in a broad range of electric colors, paired with a pleated white dress shirt and a black bow tie, run counter to the carefully manicured and primped young women and men typical of the K-Pop industry.
Much of what Psy wears is from his personal closet, since it is hard for him to find a suit that fits, Hong was quoted in a local newspaper as saying last year.
Both the Vivienne Westwood white shirt and the Thierry Lasry sunglasses he sports in the video, which made YouTube history by being the first to gain more than 1 billion views, are items he bought for himself some time ago, she was quoted as saying.
French eyewear designer Thierry Lasry has been besieged with questions about the two kinds of shades - the tortoiseshell, and black with gold temples, both called 'The Variety'.
'We have had a lot of requests from our customers who saw and loved his music video,' said Clara Mercier, marketing manager for Thierry Lasry, who said the tortoiseshell version was a limited edition. The black ones go for 335 euros ($430).
'We obviously could have sold thousands had it not been a limited edition,' Mercier added.
NOT SO TALL, NOT SO HANDSOME
Gabor, a German-based shoe maker, has also benefited. Psy's footwear was actually Christian Louboutin, but similar enough to one of Gabor's styles to send Korean sales shooting up 100 percent in September 2012 from a year before.
'Before Psy, Oxfords were not exactly popular,' said Lee Hyung-joo, Gabor marketing manager. 'But now everyone, man or woman, old or young, fashionable or not, wants to try the Oxfords Psy wears.'
Psy's broad appeal appears to be the key. The YouTube video has now been viewed more than 1.4 billion times.
'He is not a typical model type of person - quite chubby, not so tall and not so handsome. But it does not matter,' said shoe designer Jimmy Choo, in Seoul for a recent awards ceremony. 'We feel he is like us, like the guy next door.'
Gangnam, the upmarket Seoul suburb that has become a byword for affluence and consumption if not always good taste, has also seen a spillover effect that has kept its streets crowded - and the cash tills of its high-end stores ringing.
Tourist numbers have shot up 50 percent to 320,000 in January this year, compared with the same period in 2012, according to government data. Chinese tourists stand out although locals also spend more time in the area, especially Garosil-gil, the trendiest part.
'We think that Psy has brought 'Gangnam' closer to ordinary people, who were often uncomfortable with its luxurious, well-to-do image,' said Jeong You-sook, an official at the Tourism Promotion Division of the Gangnam District office.
Choo agreed that Psy's appeal was infectious.
'Everyone, including myself, wants to try not just his dance moves but his fashion and his hairdo. Just like everyone was going as Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson in their heydays,' he said.
(Reporting By Narae Kim; Editing by David Chance and Elaine Lies)
SEOUL (Reuters) - As South Korean rapper Psy readies what he hopes will be his next hit song, aiming for a repeat of the viral 'Gangnam Style', retailers are keeping a close eye on what he wears, hoping another blockbuster will send sales surging.
From the tortoiseshell sunglasses to the two-toned Oxfords the chubby singer sported for his YouTube megahit, a wide range of brands - and Seoul's Gangnam district itself - have reaped rich rewards from the Psy effect.
Psy's stylist will say only that the 35-year-old will once more be clad in a suit for the new song, whose title also remains a secret. It will be released at an April 13 concert.
'The basic concept for his upcoming song is again a formal suit but with a humorous twist. I plan to add an unexpected twist of fun,' Hong Hye-won told Reuters in an interview.
'I made a point with a bow tie back in the Gangnam look. There is something like that for the new song.'
Psy's slicked hair and tuxedo jacket, in a broad range of electric colors, paired with a pleated white dress shirt and a black bow tie, run counter to the carefully manicured and primped young women and men typical of the K-Pop industry.
Much of what Psy wears is from his personal closet, since it is hard for him to find a suit that fits, Hong was quoted in a local newspaper as saying last year.
Both the Vivienne Westwood white shirt and the Thierry Lasry sunglasses he sports in the video, which made YouTube history by being the first to gain more than 1 billion views, are items he bought for himself some time ago, she was quoted as saying.
French eyewear designer Thierry Lasry has been besieged with questions about the two kinds of shades - the tortoiseshell, and black with gold temples, both called 'The Variety'.
'We have had a lot of requests from our customers who saw and loved his music video,' said Clara Mercier, marketing manager for Thierry Lasry, who said the tortoiseshell version was a limited edition. The black ones go for 335 euros ($430).
'We obviously could have sold thousands had it not been a limited edition,' Mercier added.
NOT SO TALL, NOT SO HANDSOME
Gabor, a German-based shoe maker, has also benefited. Psy's footwear was actually Christian Louboutin, but similar enough to one of Gabor's styles to send Korean sales shooting up 100 percent in September 2012 from a year before.
'Before Psy, Oxfords were not exactly popular,' said Lee Hyung-joo, Gabor marketing manager. 'But now everyone, man or woman, old or young, fashionable or not, wants to try the Oxfords Psy wears.'
Psy's broad appeal appears to be the key. The YouTube video has now been viewed more than 1.4 billion times.
'He is not a typical model type of person - quite chubby, not so tall and not so handsome. But it does not matter,' said shoe designer Jimmy Choo, in Seoul for a recent awards ceremony. 'We feel he is like us, like the guy next door.'
Gangnam, the upmarket Seoul suburb that has become a byword for affluence and consumption if not always good taste, has also seen a spillover effect that has kept its streets crowded - and the cash tills of its high-end stores ringing.
Tourist numbers have shot up 50 percent to 320,000 in January this year, compared with the same period in 2012, according to government data. Chinese tourists stand out although locals also spend more time in the area, especially Garosil-gil, the trendiest part.
'We think that Psy has brought 'Gangnam' closer to ordinary people, who were often uncomfortable with its luxurious, well-to-do image,' said Jeong You-sook, an official at the Tourism Promotion Division of the Gangnam District office.
Choo agreed that Psy's appeal was infectious.
'Everyone, including myself, wants to try not just his dance moves but his fashion and his hairdo. Just like everyone was going as Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson in their heydays,' he said.
(Reporting By Narae Kim; Editing by David Chance and Elaine Lies)
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Supermodel Miranda Kerr OK after L.A. traffic accident
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr is in fine health despite a traffic accident, a spokeswoman for the model said on Wednesday, after the Victoria's Secret lingerie model was photographed in Los Angeles wearing a neck brace.
'Miranda was rear-ended, but is totally fine,' Kerr's spokeswoman said in a statement.
Kerr's Australian publicist Annie Kelly told media there that the model was traveling on a Los Angeles freeway on Monday when the accident occurred, and was in pain from the collision.
Kerr, 29, is also the face of Australian airline Qantas and has her own line of skin-care products.
Kerr married British actor Orlando Bloom in 2010. She gave birth to the couple's first child, a boy, in 2011.
Victoria's Secret is a subsidiary of Limited Brands Inc.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Jan Paschal)
'Miranda was rear-ended, but is totally fine,' Kerr's spokeswoman said in a statement.
Kerr's Australian publicist Annie Kelly told media there that the model was traveling on a Los Angeles freeway on Monday when the accident occurred, and was in pain from the collision.
Kerr, 29, is also the face of Australian airline Qantas and has her own line of skin-care products.
Kerr married British actor Orlando Bloom in 2010. She gave birth to the couple's first child, a boy, in 2011.
Victoria's Secret is a subsidiary of Limited Brands Inc.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Jan Paschal)
Small labels lure big bucks in fashion's latest trend
By Astrid Wendlandt
PARIS (Reuters) - Christophe Lemaire has spent the past three years designing dresses for Hermes. Now he wants to develop his own brand and ride a wave of investor interest in new labels which have the potential to become global brands.
He's not alone.
Whether it is private financing or takeovers by major luxury groups like LVMH, the latest trend in fashion is to find a promising niche label that has no history but plenty of imagination.
Fuelling the bull market for young designers is executives' conviction that demand for luxury goods is strengthening further in markets like China and the United States, especially for the kind of fresh looks that only new blood can create.
'People are taking comfort in the luxury goods sector's track record and growth prospects, which is encouraging them even more to invest in young niche fashion brands,' a Paris-based banker said, declining to be named.
Take Damir Doma, a 31-year-old Croatia-born designer who worked with Belgian designer Raf Simons, now at LVMH's Christian Dior. His brand's parent recently sold a 5 percent stake to Bernd Beetz, former chief executive of Coty who is still the board of the perfume and cosmetics maker.
And the designer has attracted the attention of another big name - Concetta Lanciaux, former adviser to LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, who built her reputation on her ability to spot talent and who sits on Damir Doma's board.
'I think designers are opening up their capital earlier now because they understand that it allows them to grow faster,' Lanciaux said, adding that Doma was for her a 'modern Armani'.
Lemaire, the women's ready-to-wear designer at Hermes who previously worked at Lacoste for a decade, is also hoping to find experienced partners for his own fashion brand, which targets sales of 2 million euros ($2.6 million) this year.
'We feel that there is money to invest in fashion and there has been a rise in interest in small brands,' said Lemaire, who is about start prospecting for new investors.
NICHE LABELS.
Retailers say appetite for niche labels has grown to the detriment of megabrands such as PPR's Gucci and LVMH's Louis Vuitton, which have seen their sales growth slow in recent quarters, even in vibrant markets such as China.
Competition for good designers is such that investments in fashion labels tend to be made at the early stage of a brand's development, aiming to lock-in the talent and give the brand a strong start.
And there are other factors at work.
Arnault's long and painful search for a replacement for disgraced designer John Galliano at his group's flagship Dior brand goaded many groups into widening their talent pool, experts say, as it showed how difficult it could be to find the right person for a brand.
Both LVMH and PPR have recently invested in young designers, with the former last month buying around 30 percent of the brand of 28-year-old Maxime Simoens. PPR earlier this year took a 51 percent stake in seven-year-old British brand Christopher Kane, known for its original mixes of fabric.
PPR is also in talks to buy a stake in Italian jeweler Pomellato, famed for its colored stacking rings.
Other promising brands in play include China-born French designer Yiqing Yin and British brand Erdem, known for its imaginative prints, who have both recently received interest from investors, according to industry sources who declined to be named.
'At an early stage, what the investor is buying is the brand's growth potential and its notoriety, as it will take several years before it makes a profit as start-up costs are huge,' a London-based investment banker said, adding that these costs usually ranged from 10 to 20 million euros.
UPCOMING TALENT
Yet these are small sums compared with the billions of euros in profits made by big luxury groups such as PPR and LVMH.
Valuations of young brands, most of them lossmaking, range between one and three times sales, depending on their maturity, compared with a ratio of two to three times at listed luxury groups such as LVMH.
'Big groups certainly have the means to afford investments in upcoming talents, also to get them ready for important future assignments and ambitious development plans,' said Renzo Rosso, founder and president of Only the Brave (OTB) which owns Diesel.
OTB, which has invested in smaller brands such as Maison Martin Margiela and Viktor & Rolf, in December bought control of Marni, a bohemian-chic Italian label that makes 130 million euros in annual sales. Financial details were not disclosed.
'We are constantly looking for upcoming talents to grow,' Rosso told Reuters in an email exchange.
Big groups have also started building closer contacts with fashion schools. Last year, LVMH created a scholarship at the Central Saint Martins school in London, while PPR launched a contest with the Parsons school of design in New York with winners getting internships at Alexander McQueen or Gucci.
Industry observers say there has not been so much interest in investing in fashion brands since the late 1990s and early 2000s, when LMVH and PPR were building up their empires.
Only back then, the trend was to resurrect old names such as Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent in the case of PPR, and Fendi, Celine and Loewe for LVMH. And if they did invest in new brands, it was at a much later stage of their development.
LVMH acquired Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan for instance more than a decade after they were founded in 1984, while PPR in December 2000 bought a controlling stake in Alexander McQueen, which was created in 1992. The brand's sales have since risen 12 fold to more than 100 million euros.
So far there seems little reason to think the latest investment upsurge has run its course.
The global luxury goods sector has shown tenacious growth in defiance of economic shocks. After growing 10 percent last year, global sales are set to expand by between 7 and 8 percent in 2013, according to analysts' forecasts.
Meanwhile the world's top three luxury groups - LVMH, PPR and Richemont - are cash-rich and competing with private equity and individual investors for acquisitions.
'There is a desire to invest in risk,' said Didier Grumbach, president of the French Fashion Federation. 'That did not exist five years ago.' ($1 = 0.7680 euros)
(Additional reporting by Pascale Denis; Editing by James Regan and David Holmes)
PARIS (Reuters) - Christophe Lemaire has spent the past three years designing dresses for Hermes. Now he wants to develop his own brand and ride a wave of investor interest in new labels which have the potential to become global brands.
He's not alone.
Whether it is private financing or takeovers by major luxury groups like LVMH, the latest trend in fashion is to find a promising niche label that has no history but plenty of imagination.
Fuelling the bull market for young designers is executives' conviction that demand for luxury goods is strengthening further in markets like China and the United States, especially for the kind of fresh looks that only new blood can create.
'People are taking comfort in the luxury goods sector's track record and growth prospects, which is encouraging them even more to invest in young niche fashion brands,' a Paris-based banker said, declining to be named.
Take Damir Doma, a 31-year-old Croatia-born designer who worked with Belgian designer Raf Simons, now at LVMH's Christian Dior. His brand's parent recently sold a 5 percent stake to Bernd Beetz, former chief executive of Coty who is still the board of the perfume and cosmetics maker.
And the designer has attracted the attention of another big name - Concetta Lanciaux, former adviser to LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, who built her reputation on her ability to spot talent and who sits on Damir Doma's board.
'I think designers are opening up their capital earlier now because they understand that it allows them to grow faster,' Lanciaux said, adding that Doma was for her a 'modern Armani'.
Lemaire, the women's ready-to-wear designer at Hermes who previously worked at Lacoste for a decade, is also hoping to find experienced partners for his own fashion brand, which targets sales of 2 million euros ($2.6 million) this year.
'We feel that there is money to invest in fashion and there has been a rise in interest in small brands,' said Lemaire, who is about start prospecting for new investors.
NICHE LABELS.
Retailers say appetite for niche labels has grown to the detriment of megabrands such as PPR's Gucci and LVMH's Louis Vuitton, which have seen their sales growth slow in recent quarters, even in vibrant markets such as China.
Competition for good designers is such that investments in fashion labels tend to be made at the early stage of a brand's development, aiming to lock-in the talent and give the brand a strong start.
And there are other factors at work.
Arnault's long and painful search for a replacement for disgraced designer John Galliano at his group's flagship Dior brand goaded many groups into widening their talent pool, experts say, as it showed how difficult it could be to find the right person for a brand.
Both LVMH and PPR have recently invested in young designers, with the former last month buying around 30 percent of the brand of 28-year-old Maxime Simoens. PPR earlier this year took a 51 percent stake in seven-year-old British brand Christopher Kane, known for its original mixes of fabric.
PPR is also in talks to buy a stake in Italian jeweler Pomellato, famed for its colored stacking rings.
Other promising brands in play include China-born French designer Yiqing Yin and British brand Erdem, known for its imaginative prints, who have both recently received interest from investors, according to industry sources who declined to be named.
'At an early stage, what the investor is buying is the brand's growth potential and its notoriety, as it will take several years before it makes a profit as start-up costs are huge,' a London-based investment banker said, adding that these costs usually ranged from 10 to 20 million euros.
UPCOMING TALENT
Yet these are small sums compared with the billions of euros in profits made by big luxury groups such as PPR and LVMH.
Valuations of young brands, most of them lossmaking, range between one and three times sales, depending on their maturity, compared with a ratio of two to three times at listed luxury groups such as LVMH.
'Big groups certainly have the means to afford investments in upcoming talents, also to get them ready for important future assignments and ambitious development plans,' said Renzo Rosso, founder and president of Only the Brave (OTB) which owns Diesel.
OTB, which has invested in smaller brands such as Maison Martin Margiela and Viktor & Rolf, in December bought control of Marni, a bohemian-chic Italian label that makes 130 million euros in annual sales. Financial details were not disclosed.
'We are constantly looking for upcoming talents to grow,' Rosso told Reuters in an email exchange.
Big groups have also started building closer contacts with fashion schools. Last year, LVMH created a scholarship at the Central Saint Martins school in London, while PPR launched a contest with the Parsons school of design in New York with winners getting internships at Alexander McQueen or Gucci.
Industry observers say there has not been so much interest in investing in fashion brands since the late 1990s and early 2000s, when LMVH and PPR were building up their empires.
Only back then, the trend was to resurrect old names such as Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent in the case of PPR, and Fendi, Celine and Loewe for LVMH. And if they did invest in new brands, it was at a much later stage of their development.
LVMH acquired Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan for instance more than a decade after they were founded in 1984, while PPR in December 2000 bought a controlling stake in Alexander McQueen, which was created in 1992. The brand's sales have since risen 12 fold to more than 100 million euros.
So far there seems little reason to think the latest investment upsurge has run its course.
The global luxury goods sector has shown tenacious growth in defiance of economic shocks. After growing 10 percent last year, global sales are set to expand by between 7 and 8 percent in 2013, according to analysts' forecasts.
Meanwhile the world's top three luxury groups - LVMH, PPR and Richemont - are cash-rich and competing with private equity and individual investors for acquisitions.
'There is a desire to invest in risk,' said Didier Grumbach, president of the French Fashion Federation. 'That did not exist five years ago.' ($1 = 0.7680 euros)
(Additional reporting by Pascale Denis; Editing by James Regan and David Holmes)
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Can Bowie turn acclaim and hype into record sales?
LONDON (Reuters) - He caught the music world napping in January with his first new song in a decade and soon had critics searching for superlatives to describe his new album 'The Next Day'.
The next big question for David Bowie and his remarkable comeback is whether the element of surprise and subsequent acclaim will turn into record sales.
'The Next Day' is in stores on Monday in Britain, where industry watchers are confident it will top the album charts, and on Tuesday in the United States, where the 'Space Oddity' singer has enjoyed more patchy success in the past.
It is already available in other key markets, and the early signs are that the 66-year-old master of reinvention has a hit on his hands.
According to his official website, the deluxe version of the recording went to No. 1 on the digital iTunes album charts in 11 of 12 countries where it was released on Friday, including Australia, Germany and Sweden.
'There has been a lot of interest in both the social and traditional media which will connect not only with the established fan base but also with younger fans,' said Gennaro Castaldo, head of press at British music retailer HMV.
'As a campaign, I can't think of many that have been more brilliantly orchestrated,' he added.
Ironically, part of that 'campaign' has been for Bowie to remain invisible, allowing collaborators like producer Tony Visconti to tell the media about how the star's first studio album since 2003's 'Reality' came about.
So rare had sightings of the 'Starman' become in New York, where he lives, that articles appeared in the British press late last year speculating the 'recluse' had unofficially retired.
'GRETA GARBO OF POP'
Simon Goddard, author of new Bowie book 'Ziggyology' published by Random House imprint Ebury, said his mystique was a part of the appeal, and showed that his interest in music far outweighed any appetite for the trappings of celebrity.
'He released two albums in the very early 70s featuring covers of himself in poses inspired by Greta Garbo,' Goddard told Reuters.
'Fast forward three or four decades and he becomes a rarely-sighted paparazzi quarry living in New York ... He engages with the media on his strict terms because he's surpassed any desire to engage otherwise. His art is all the engagement he needs.'
Bowie, who has shunned the limelight since he suffered a heart attack on tour in 2004, last performed on stage in 2006. It was with a sense of shock that his fans woke up on January 8, his 66th birthday, to the news he had released a new song.
'Where Are We Now?', a melancholic look back to the time Bowie spent in Berlin in the 1970s, was the first single from 'The Next Day', followed weeks later by 'The Stars (Are Out Tonight)'.
Both came with inventive videos which baffled as much as they entertained, affirming that Bowie was still the enigma who wowed the pop world in the late 1960s, 70s and 80s with glam-rock, androgynous alter egos and a radical sense of fashion.
Critics had barely a bad word to say about the 14-track album, with the Independent's Andy Gill calling it possibly 'the greatest comeback in rock'n'roll history' in a five-star review.
Alexis Petridis, writing in the Guardian, said: 'Listening to it makes you hope it's not a one-off, that his return continues apace.
Whether the return will include live performances remains to be seen, although Bowie's guitarist Gerry Leonard whetted appetites when he told Rolling Stone magazine he thought it was '50-50' Bowie would tour again.
Author Goddard attempted to sum up the level of excitement that has accompanied Bowie's return.
'Bowie's appeal has lasted because his influence is fundamental to everything that we in the 21st century understand as pop music,' he said. 'Remove Bowie and pop's whole house of cards as built up over the last 40 years or so collapses.'
Bowie's impact on modern music matched that of The Beatles - and the only contemporary star to combine music and art to the extent he did in the 70s was Lady Gaga, said Goddard.
'The hysteria is justified,' he added.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
The next big question for David Bowie and his remarkable comeback is whether the element of surprise and subsequent acclaim will turn into record sales.
'The Next Day' is in stores on Monday in Britain, where industry watchers are confident it will top the album charts, and on Tuesday in the United States, where the 'Space Oddity' singer has enjoyed more patchy success in the past.
It is already available in other key markets, and the early signs are that the 66-year-old master of reinvention has a hit on his hands.
According to his official website, the deluxe version of the recording went to No. 1 on the digital iTunes album charts in 11 of 12 countries where it was released on Friday, including Australia, Germany and Sweden.
'There has been a lot of interest in both the social and traditional media which will connect not only with the established fan base but also with younger fans,' said Gennaro Castaldo, head of press at British music retailer HMV.
'As a campaign, I can't think of many that have been more brilliantly orchestrated,' he added.
Ironically, part of that 'campaign' has been for Bowie to remain invisible, allowing collaborators like producer Tony Visconti to tell the media about how the star's first studio album since 2003's 'Reality' came about.
So rare had sightings of the 'Starman' become in New York, where he lives, that articles appeared in the British press late last year speculating the 'recluse' had unofficially retired.
'GRETA GARBO OF POP'
Simon Goddard, author of new Bowie book 'Ziggyology' published by Random House imprint Ebury, said his mystique was a part of the appeal, and showed that his interest in music far outweighed any appetite for the trappings of celebrity.
'He released two albums in the very early 70s featuring covers of himself in poses inspired by Greta Garbo,' Goddard told Reuters.
'Fast forward three or four decades and he becomes a rarely-sighted paparazzi quarry living in New York ... He engages with the media on his strict terms because he's surpassed any desire to engage otherwise. His art is all the engagement he needs.'
Bowie, who has shunned the limelight since he suffered a heart attack on tour in 2004, last performed on stage in 2006. It was with a sense of shock that his fans woke up on January 8, his 66th birthday, to the news he had released a new song.
'Where Are We Now?', a melancholic look back to the time Bowie spent in Berlin in the 1970s, was the first single from 'The Next Day', followed weeks later by 'The Stars (Are Out Tonight)'.
Both came with inventive videos which baffled as much as they entertained, affirming that Bowie was still the enigma who wowed the pop world in the late 1960s, 70s and 80s with glam-rock, androgynous alter egos and a radical sense of fashion.
Critics had barely a bad word to say about the 14-track album, with the Independent's Andy Gill calling it possibly 'the greatest comeback in rock'n'roll history' in a five-star review.
Alexis Petridis, writing in the Guardian, said: 'Listening to it makes you hope it's not a one-off, that his return continues apace.
Whether the return will include live performances remains to be seen, although Bowie's guitarist Gerry Leonard whetted appetites when he told Rolling Stone magazine he thought it was '50-50' Bowie would tour again.
Author Goddard attempted to sum up the level of excitement that has accompanied Bowie's return.
'Bowie's appeal has lasted because his influence is fundamental to everything that we in the 21st century understand as pop music,' he said. 'Remove Bowie and pop's whole house of cards as built up over the last 40 years or so collapses.'
Bowie's impact on modern music matched that of The Beatles - and the only contemporary star to combine music and art to the extent he did in the 70s was Lady Gaga, said Goddard.
'The hysteria is justified,' he added.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Monday, March 4, 2013
Supermodel Heidi Klum new judge on NBC's "America's Got Talent"
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Supermodel and television host Heidi Klum said on Monday that she will be a new judge on the popular summer TV talent show 'American's Got Talent.'
Klum will be the fourth judge on the talent show created by British entertainment mogul Simon Cowell. She joins comedian Howie Mandel, radio 'shock jock' Howard Stern and former Spice Girl Mel B on the show hosted by Nick Cannon.
'Excited 2 join @HowardStern @howiemandel @OfficialMelB & @NickCannon on @nbcagt as new judge! Will be so fun,' Klum tweeted.
Broadcaster NBC said Klum, 39, adds a discerning taste to the jury panel.
'As we look to develop an act that will get the world's attention, we and the contestants will benefit from Heidi's international sensibility and understanding of what works in today's global entertainment industry,' NBC president of alternative programming, Paul Telegdy, said in a statement.
NBC said last month that Mel B would replace Sharon Osbourne, who quit the show after her son Jack was dropped from another reality show by the network.
German-born Klum was due to join the other judges for the nationwide auditions set to start on Monday in New Orleans. The show is open to singers, dancer, magicians and other performers with a top prize of $1 million.
NBC is betting that Klum and Mel B will boost falling audiences for the summer show, which experienced record low numbers during the finale in September with less than 11 million viewers.
Klum is also the host on Bravo's fashion-design competition 'Project Runway' as well as model competition 'Germany's Next Top Model' in her native country.
Bravo is a division of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast Corp.
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Eric Kelsey and Mohammad Zargham)
Klum will be the fourth judge on the talent show created by British entertainment mogul Simon Cowell. She joins comedian Howie Mandel, radio 'shock jock' Howard Stern and former Spice Girl Mel B on the show hosted by Nick Cannon.
'Excited 2 join @HowardStern @howiemandel @OfficialMelB & @NickCannon on @nbcagt as new judge! Will be so fun,' Klum tweeted.
Broadcaster NBC said Klum, 39, adds a discerning taste to the jury panel.
'As we look to develop an act that will get the world's attention, we and the contestants will benefit from Heidi's international sensibility and understanding of what works in today's global entertainment industry,' NBC president of alternative programming, Paul Telegdy, said in a statement.
NBC said last month that Mel B would replace Sharon Osbourne, who quit the show after her son Jack was dropped from another reality show by the network.
German-born Klum was due to join the other judges for the nationwide auditions set to start on Monday in New Orleans. The show is open to singers, dancer, magicians and other performers with a top prize of $1 million.
NBC is betting that Klum and Mel B will boost falling audiences for the summer show, which experienced record low numbers during the finale in September with less than 11 million viewers.
Klum is also the host on Bravo's fashion-design competition 'Project Runway' as well as model competition 'Germany's Next Top Model' in her native country.
Bravo is a division of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast Corp.
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Eric Kelsey and Mohammad Zargham)
Spain's Ortega leaps to rank as world's third richest man: Forbes
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Spain's Amancio Ortega, the co-founder of the Inditex fashion group, leapt over Warren Buffett and France's Bernard Arnault to become the world's third richest person on Forbes' 2013 annual ranking of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of $57 billion.
Mexico's Carlos Slim, who has taken a hit from the slump in the share price of his America Movil telecoms group since the list was calculated as of February 14, remained the richest person with a fortune of $73 billion, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates held on to the No. 2 spot with a net worth of $67 billion.
Ortega's fortune increased $19.5 billion, the biggest gain for any of the billionaires, from the report in 2012. He jumped two places and bumped Buffett, chairman and chief executive of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc with a fortune of $53.5 billion, out of the top three to the No. 4 spot for the first time since 2000.
'Warren had a great year, it's just that Amancio Ortega had a better year,' Forbes magazine editor Randall Lane said of the co-founder of Zara. 'He has one of the dominant apparel lines in Europe.'
Arnault, of the LVMH luxury goods group, dropped to 10th place with $29 billion.
Slim, 73, made much of his fortune in telecommunications but also branched out into retail, commodities, finance and energy.
'To see Carlos Slim again broaden his lead and certify himself as the richest man in the world is a statement that wealth truly is global and not an American monopoly like it sometimes felt for many decades,' Lane added in an interview.
Rising stock markets fueled in part by monetary stimulus by the U.S. Federal Reserve, and robust consumer brands fortified the fortunes of those already on the list and drove many of the 210 new billionaires onto it.
Oracle Corp's Larry Ellison, with a fortune of $43 billion, rounded out the top five in the ranking that included a record 1,426 billionaires, with an average net worth of $3.8 billion.
Forbes' 27th annual ranking is the biggest ever and has the largest jump in total number of people added in one year.
'It is a very good year to be a billionaire, and a much easier year to be a billionaire. You have those economic forces and global markets going up and that is pushing more people over the threshold,' Lane explained.
Brazilian mining, energy and shipping magnate Eike Batista, whose net worth fell $19.4 billion, was the biggest loser on the 2013 list. He dropped from No. 7 in 2012 to 100.
The total net worth of the world's billionaires is $5.4 trillion, according to Forbes, up from $4.6 trillion in the previous ranking.
AMERICA, CHINA, RUSSIA HAVE MOST
The United States led the list with 442 billionaires, followed by 386 from Asia and the Pacific region, with 122 in China alone.
Europe was close behind with 366, including 110 in Russia. The Americas, not including the United States, had 129 and the Middle East and Africa 103.
'There will be more Asian billionaires than American billionaires by the end of this decade, actually by the middle of this decade,' said Lane. 'That is a statement about where global growth is.'
Americans captured five of the top 10 spots including brothers Charles and David Koch, owners of Koch Industries Inc, who tied for sixth place with $34 billion each.
France's Liliane Bettencourt, of the L'Oreal cosmetics empire, is the world's richest woman, coming in ninth with a $30 billion fortune.
Li Ka-shing, who controls the Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, is the wealthiest man in Asia with a $31 billion fortune, putting him in eighth place.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the founder of financial data firm Bloomberg LP, a competitor of Thomson Reuters Corp, just missed the top 10, rising to 13th place from 20th with a net worth of $27 billion.
WOMEN AND YOUNG MAKE GREATER STRIDES, MORE MONEY
Thirty-four more women, including American fashion designer Tory Burch, made the list for a total of 138.
The youngest billionaire was 28-year-old Internet entrepreneur Dustin Moskovitz. The former college roommate of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and an early investor in the social networking site, came in at No. 353 with a net worth of $3.8 billion.
Another newcomer was GoPro's Nicholas Woodman with a fortune of $1.3 billion. The privately owned company makes wearable cameras. Renzo Rosso of the Italian fashion company Diesel was also new to the list with a $3 billion net worth.
'It's a cultural sea change when you can come up with an idea, actualize the idea, monetize the idea and become a billionaire by your 40th birthday. That just didn't happen in the pre-Microsoft era,' Lane said of the young billionaires.
U.S. banker and philanthropist David Rockefeller, 97, was the oldest, placing 527th with $2.7 billion.
Sixty people dropped off the list, including Mark Pincus of social gaming company Zynga Inc and Aubrey McClendon, the outgoing CEO and former chairman of natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp.
Mexico's Carlos Slim, who has taken a hit from the slump in the share price of his America Movil telecoms group since the list was calculated as of February 14, remained the richest person with a fortune of $73 billion, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates held on to the No. 2 spot with a net worth of $67 billion.
Ortega's fortune increased $19.5 billion, the biggest gain for any of the billionaires, from the report in 2012. He jumped two places and bumped Buffett, chairman and chief executive of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc with a fortune of $53.5 billion, out of the top three to the No. 4 spot for the first time since 2000.
'Warren had a great year, it's just that Amancio Ortega had a better year,' Forbes magazine editor Randall Lane said of the co-founder of Zara. 'He has one of the dominant apparel lines in Europe.'
Arnault, of the LVMH luxury goods group, dropped to 10th place with $29 billion.
Slim, 73, made much of his fortune in telecommunications but also branched out into retail, commodities, finance and energy.
'To see Carlos Slim again broaden his lead and certify himself as the richest man in the world is a statement that wealth truly is global and not an American monopoly like it sometimes felt for many decades,' Lane added in an interview.
Rising stock markets fueled in part by monetary stimulus by the U.S. Federal Reserve, and robust consumer brands fortified the fortunes of those already on the list and drove many of the 210 new billionaires onto it.
Oracle Corp's Larry Ellison, with a fortune of $43 billion, rounded out the top five in the ranking that included a record 1,426 billionaires, with an average net worth of $3.8 billion.
Forbes' 27th annual ranking is the biggest ever and has the largest jump in total number of people added in one year.
'It is a very good year to be a billionaire, and a much easier year to be a billionaire. You have those economic forces and global markets going up and that is pushing more people over the threshold,' Lane explained.
Brazilian mining, energy and shipping magnate Eike Batista, whose net worth fell $19.4 billion, was the biggest loser on the 2013 list. He dropped from No. 7 in 2012 to 100.
The total net worth of the world's billionaires is $5.4 trillion, according to Forbes, up from $4.6 trillion in the previous ranking.
AMERICA, CHINA, RUSSIA HAVE MOST
The United States led the list with 442 billionaires, followed by 386 from Asia and the Pacific region, with 122 in China alone.
Europe was close behind with 366, including 110 in Russia. The Americas, not including the United States, had 129 and the Middle East and Africa 103.
'There will be more Asian billionaires than American billionaires by the end of this decade, actually by the middle of this decade,' said Lane. 'That is a statement about where global growth is.'
Americans captured five of the top 10 spots including brothers Charles and David Koch, owners of Koch Industries Inc, who tied for sixth place with $34 billion each.
France's Liliane Bettencourt, of the L'Oreal cosmetics empire, is the world's richest woman, coming in ninth with a $30 billion fortune.
Li Ka-shing, who controls the Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, is the wealthiest man in Asia with a $31 billion fortune, putting him in eighth place.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the founder of financial data firm Bloomberg LP, a competitor of Thomson Reuters Corp, just missed the top 10, rising to 13th place from 20th with a net worth of $27 billion.
WOMEN AND YOUNG MAKE GREATER STRIDES, MORE MONEY
Thirty-four more women, including American fashion designer Tory Burch, made the list for a total of 138.
The youngest billionaire was 28-year-old Internet entrepreneur Dustin Moskovitz. The former college roommate of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and an early investor in the social networking site, came in at No. 353 with a net worth of $3.8 billion.
Another newcomer was GoPro's Nicholas Woodman with a fortune of $1.3 billion. The privately owned company makes wearable cameras. Renzo Rosso of the Italian fashion company Diesel was also new to the list with a $3 billion net worth.
'It's a cultural sea change when you can come up with an idea, actualize the idea, monetize the idea and become a billionaire by your 40th birthday. That just didn't happen in the pre-Microsoft era,' Lane said of the young billionaires.
U.S. banker and philanthropist David Rockefeller, 97, was the oldest, placing 527th with $2.7 billion.
Sixty people dropped off the list, including Mark Pincus of social gaming company Zynga Inc and Aubrey McClendon, the outgoing CEO and former chairman of natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp.
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