VIPility ! Luxury's best blog: February 2007

The greatest celebrities at Oscar's Party by VAnity Fair

Top Luxury Brands 2006

World’s Most Powerful Brands 2006: Microsoft tops list of 100 Rankings: New Economy,
New Business Models, New Money

Europe leads the world in luxury brands: Louis Vuitton ranked (24), Mercedes (28), Porsche (44), Chanel (75) and Cartier (82). The study shows that demand for luxury goods is growing rapidly, fuelled by the rise in global wealth, and the increase of "super-affluent" consumers in developing countries.
Chinese brands are gaining global power: The rise of Chinese brands such as China Mobile, which was (4) in the ranking — and rapidly emerging brands like Lenovo — reflects both the size and growth of the Chinese market as well as the ability of these companies to run global operations.
Retail brands are becoming a more important factor in driving consumer shopping behaviour: Many retailers show strong brand contributions, which in some cases are higher than those of the products they sell. This proves that shopping is a "branded" experience e.g., Wal-mart ranked (6), Tesco (30), eBay (38), and Amazon (78), and puts retailers in a position of power to exert pressure on suppliers of branded products.
New economy, new business models and new money: New business models have enabled new brands such as Starbucks, ranked (48), and Zara (87) to establish their positions not only in the market but in consumers' minds — creating a strong foundation to help them earn lead positions among "old" brands. With the increasing acceptance of digital lifestyles, brands that enable customers to lead them such as Google ranked (7) and eBay are growing fast. The challenge here is continual innovation.

FORTUNE 500
Our annual ranking of America's largest corporations

See the full list of America's largest corporations, including detailed company profiles and contact information. (more)

1. Exxon Mobil	6. ConocoPhillips
2. Wal-Mart Stores	7. General Electric
3. General Motors	8. Citigroup
4. Chevron	9. AIG
5. Ford Motor	10. IBM

Best employers

Forty companies are on both the FORTUNE 500 and 100 Best Companies to Work For. (more)

• FedEx	• Nike
• Starbucks	• See the rest

more from CNN.com :

Businessweek The 100 Top Brands 2006

2006 Rank	2005 Rank	Name	Country	2006 Value ($Mil)	2005 Value ($Mil)	Change in Value (%)	Description

1	1	Coca-Cola	U.S.	67,000	67,525	-1%	Flagging appetite for soda has cut demand for Coke, but the beverage giant has a raft of new products in the pipeline that could reverse its recent slide.

2	2	Microsoft	U.S.	56,926	59,941	-5%	Threats from Google and Apple haven't yet offset the power of its Windows and Office monopolies.

3	3	IBM	U.S.	56,201	53,376	5%	Having off-loaded its low-profit PC business to Lenovo, IBM is marketing on the strategic level to corporate leaders.

4	4	GE	U.S.	48,907	46,996	4%	The brand Edison built has extended its reach from ovens to credit cards, and the "Ecomagination" push is making GE look like a protector of the planet.

5	5	Intel	U.S.	32,319	35,588	-9%	Profits and market share weren't the only things slammed by rival AMD. Intel's brand value tumbled 9%, as it loss business from high-profile customers.

6	6	Nokia	Finland	30,131	26,452	14%	Fashionable designs and low-cost models for the developing world enabled the mobile phone maker to regain ground against competitors.

7	9	Toyota	Japan	27,941	24,837	12%	Toyota is closing in on GM to become the world's biggest automaker. A slated 10% increase in U.S. sales this year will help even more.

8	7	Disney	U.S.	27,848	26,441	5%	New CEO Robert Iger expanded the brand by buying animation hit-maker Pixar and beefing up digital distribution of TV shows through the Internet and iPods.

9	8	McDonald�s	U.S.	27,501	26,014	6%	A new healthy-living marketing campaign—and the premium-priced sandwiches and salads that came with it—have led to a fourth year of sales gains.

10	11	Mercedes-Benz	Germany	21,795	20,006	9%	The new S-Class sedan and M-Class SUV are helping repair a tarnished quality reputation. High costs and weak

The Oscars! Every January, when the calendar has turned to a new year, the attention of the entertainment community and of film fans around the world turns to the upcoming Academy Awards. Oscar Fever hits, building to the crescendo of the annual presentation of golden statuettes, when hundreds of millions of cinema lovers glue themselves to their television sets to learn who will receive the highest honor in filmmaking.

After three-quarters of a century of recognizing excellence in cinema achievement, the annual presentation of the Oscars has become the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' most famous activity.

more:

http://www.oscar.com/

The Oscar awards nominees

“Babel”
“The Departed”
“Letters from Iwo Jima”
“Little Miss Sunshine”
“The Queen”

Leonardo DiCaprio in “Blood Diamond”
Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson”
Peter O'Toole in “Venus”
Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness”
Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland”

Penélope Cruz in “Volver”
Judi Dench in “Notes on a Scandal”
Helen Mirren in “The Queen”
Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada”
Kate Winslet in “Little Children”

“Babel” Alejandro González Iñárritu
“The Departed” Martin Scorsese
“Letters from Iwo Jima” Clint Eastwood
“The Queen” Stephen Frears
“United 93” Paul Greengrass

more from the official site:

what is Academy Awards

Luxury Cars !

A luxury car is a vehicle that emphasizes comfort, appearance, and amenities than anything else. Often times the car will be of higher quality with better materials and technology. One major distinction of a luxury vehicle is price as virtually all luxury cars have a Mean Selling Price (MSP) in excess of $36,000 however that doesn’t mean that all cars over $36k are luxury cars. In Europe, the luxury car it is often referred to as an “executive car”. Companies like Bentley, Rolls Royce, Maybach, Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Audi, and Cadillac are commonly viewed as luxury car manufacturers.

new luxury cars by automotive.com

• Acura	• Lincoln
• Audi	• Maserati
• Bentley	• Maybach
• BMW	• Mercedes-Benz
• Cadillac	• Rolls Royce
• Chrysler	• Saab
• Infiniti	• Volkswagen
• Jaguar	• Volvo
• Lexus