Friday, May 18, 2012

New Barneys.com Launched May 17 Thursday after Facelift


Barneys.COM recieved a facelift with new social features on Thursday. For a department store that prides itself in being a trendsetter, its e-commerce website is lacking in everything from merchandise assortment to social shopping features. Online shopping is a growing market that is getting more crowded everyday: net-a-porte has over the years been joined by competitors like matches.com, shopbop.com which offer International shipping at competitive rates. Even Saks Fifth Avenue, a New York luxury department store that has a relatively conservative image compared to Barneys, has a more international shopper friendly e-commerce webite. Barneys.com's facelift has been overdue for years...but later is better than never





Extract from "Barneys.com Gets a New Look", www.wwd.com

“It’s a huge emphasis for us as a company,” said Daniella Vitale, chief merchant, executive vice president and general merchandise manager of women’s merchandising and barneys.com. “It represents one of the biggest opportunities in terms of revenue growth and market share. We wanted to create a completely dynamic and very emotional experience, which we couldn’t do with the old site.”

To that end, Barneys worked with digital agency Huge to retool its online presence. In collaboration with Barneys’ in-house team, they developed a cleaner aesthetic that mainly serves to highlight available product. Barneys sought to simplify the navigation process for visitors, and registered users can now shop with as few as two clicks.

Similar to Twitter or Facebook, shoppers can “favorite” items they like, and their selection will then appear on a personal list through a new “Favorites” tool. They can share the list through social-media platforms Facebook, Twitter, The Fancy or Pinterest. Based on their picks, Barneys will also propose items that these customers could like.

“With the list and things that you favor — it could be a designer, it could be a shoe — we will be able to tell your shopping patterns and recommend anything from a shoe size to a brand,” Vitale noted.

Effective Monday, the site will feature special lists by celebrities, fashion personalities and other tastemakers. For the launch, these include favorite lists from Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Julianne Moore, stylist Leslie Fremar, Katie Holmes and her co-designer Jeanne Yang, and chefs Melia Marden from The Smile and Michael Chernow from Meatball Shop.

The “Most Loved” feature displays the most trending items of the moment, which are measured against users “favoriting” pieces. “Exclusively Ours” informs visitors of items exclusive to Barneys, while “The Window” adds an editorial context to the site with information about art, lifestyle, culture, fashion and initiatives related to Barneys that can be linked back to the designer merchandise for sale.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Time Out Holding Free “New to Buying Art” Tours at HKArt12 May 18-20

While there is the perception that art collecting is something only the wealthy do, many of us can have the pleasure of owning original art. This interactive tour, hosted by Time Out Hong Kong Magazine, will give you the lowdown on art buying at the Fair, what to look out for, buying etiquette, as well as to view an interesting collection of works for under USD$7,000 from galleries participating in the ART FUTURES and ASIA ONE sections of ART HK 12.

Lasting roughly 45-60 minutes, the tours will include a brief talk on "the essentials of starting a collection", "special viewing", and Q and A session. The small groups will be led by Time Out contributing editors and columnists with a background on art writing, editing and consulting.

Kindly take note that we do not take advance bookings. For individual registration, please sign up at the Hall 3 Info Point on-site at ART HK 12.

Friday 18 May: 16:00 – 17:00

Saturday 19 May: 15:30 – 16:30, 17:30 – 18:30

Sunday 20 May: 15:00 – 16:00

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

A Rhino "had to go" at ArtHK12


And we found a rhino that "had to go" but couldn't find a toilet (notice pee pile behind his hinde-leg)


And of course a lot of wine was consumed, (highly recommended) which made the event all the more fun.

So go check ArtHK12 out, it has something for everyone even if you don't think you know art...cuz everyone does! Exhibition open till May 20 at HK Convention Center.

Update from ArtHK12 - Deutsche Bank Pavillion


As expected there was an intriguing exhibition on Cai Guo Qiang in the Deutsche Bank Pavilion

Video describing how the work "Vortex, 2006" was produced with gunpowder in Berlin


ARTHK12 showcases 266 galleries from 39 territories



ART HK’s 5th exhibition is organized by a JV between local Asia Art Fair and the organizer of Art Basel (MCH Group).  It’s an amazingly fun event that’s classic Hong Kong – international with a quirky Asian twist. Artists of international fame are showcased alongside rising Asian artists. Though young, this event has gained an incredible amount of attention from important art collectors all over the world. Art follows money, and China has money. Enough said for now, preview starts today (May 16), stay tuned for more pictures and updates tonight!




for more information http://www.hongkongartfair.com/

Fashionable Trendsetting Canine


Not everyone can be cool and cute at the same time but she came pretty close...won't you try the same today?

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

China to love or not, that is the question


9 months ago when CN was the only large economy growing…
Jul 13 Bloomberg: China’s economy and industrial output expanded more than analysts predicted, driving up stocks across Asia as the nation maintains momentum after monetary tightening to cool inflation

the world looked east, some applauding, some apathetic, some green with envy...
Dec 10 Economist: American foreign direct investment reaps returns of 13.5% in China, compared with 9.7% worldwide…Yet in America, China’s single biggest trading partner, sentiment towards the country has turned starkly negative. In a recent poll, 61% of Americans said that China’s recent economic expansion had been bad for America; just 15% thought it had been good.

now that China's economy is registering real slowdown...which will probably last for a while
April 13 BBC: China economic growth dips to 8.1% in the first quarter. China's economy, the world's second-largest, has expanded at its slowest pace in almost three years.

China bears are laughing & cheering...
May 13 Marketwatch: China bears have the upper hand after growth in everything from retail spending and investment to industrial output and imports declined in April, pointing to a widening economic slowdown.

May 14 Bloomberg: China's Economic Reckoning Is Coming

I'm just wondering with Euro Zone crisis, Japan continuing to slide and meager improvement in US economy...if China's growth engin comes to a halt, how are we getting out of this global slowdown???

Monday, May 14, 2012

Dogs are dressed Impeccably by God

She is the epitome of joy/ innocence/ simply living life to the fullest...

Aliexpress sells goods at factory-direct prices from china

Wish Taobao.com's sister company Aliexpress was more retail customer friendly! Taobao lists really interesting things from Chinese suppliers (not everything is fake on Taobao), there are actually cool original creations at rock bottom prices...

Sunday, May 13, 2012

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