LuxLust - LuxLust.net (beta)

‘Ratatouille’ Movie: Micky Mouse goes Luxury

jas — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:16:56 +0000

To cater to the worldwide $1.5 trillion Dollar worth luxury market the wal Disney Company is trying Luxury Branding with theie lastest movie …

Disney Deluxe

Disney Tries Luxury Branding with ‘Ratatouille’

* IBTimes RSS

* Print

* E-Mail

* digg

* Del.icio.us

A movie about a rat in a kitchen may not appear to be the best hook for a high-end merchandising campaign, but Walt Disney Co. is using the upcoming film “Ratatouille” to expand its move into upscale branding.

Article Tags

disney ratatouille

* Disneyland’s Redesigned ‘Submarine Voyage’ Accommodates Disabled Guests

* USA Network Gets ‘Pirates’ Film Rights

* ‘Pirates’ Grabs $58M Wednesday, Thursday

More News Related to disney >>

More News Related to ratatouille >>

The animated Pixar film about a cuisine-loving rat who risks his life to follow his passion for French cooking will debut in theaters on June 29. It will be accompanied by a small but posh merchandising program featuring items that appeal to the gourmet sensibility in adults, while attempting to cultivate a taste for the finer things in children.

“Given that so much of the movie is set in a kitchen, it’s fairly logical to go from there to a high-end collection,” Disney Consumer Products Chairman Andy Mooney said in an interview.

In addition to toys, books, stationery and video games, the program includes bedding, cookware and tableware for kids and adults sold at the high-end kitchen store chain Sur La Table.

For the first time, Disney will offer red and white wines to compliment the film’s backdrop, a five-star Parisian restaurant, as well as cheese platters, both from Costco Wholesale Corp.

Carrefour will carry “Ratatouille”-branded water, tomato sauces, milk, cheese and yogurt.

“I am totally confident that everything will sell through rapidly so we’ll probably do a higher level of business around the DVD release,” Mooney said. “I think we’re going to have a good year(-long) run with ‘Ratatouille.’”

Disney has had a better run with luxury goods than Mooney said he expected, although taking the brand upscale was one of his priorities when he took over the division in 2000.

The upscale marketing push marks a different approach for the company, which for decades made its mark using the mass appeal of family-oriented movies, theme parks and related merchandise.

The company does not break out sales from its high-end products or costs related to designing those goods, Mooney said.

KEEPING MASS MARKET TIES

Meanwhile, Disney’s consumer products division has strengthened its relationships with mass market retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Carrefour and C and A, which Mooney said he believed “were destined to become bigger and global, and we wanted to grow with them.”

“Having a significant presence in mass (market) and having committed to growing with mass (market retailers), we felt that simultaneously we had to go up-market, which is a challenge,” he said.

Disney began its push into the upscale market by giving top clothing designers access to the company’s archives for inspiration. The result was a line of casual couture, called Disney Vintage, sold at the world’s priciest boutiques that later drove the company’s mass market apparel sales.

“You get influential people who show up (at high-end boutiques) and wear the stuff, like celebrities, particularly in Los Angeles,” Mooney said.

“But more important, I would argue is the buyers for mass channels show up there … to look because they figure whatever’s happening there is going to be happening in their stores in 12 months or 24 months from now,” he added.

Lines of jewelry and home furnishings — including high thread-count linens, silverware and china — as well as couture wedding dresses and furniture inspired by Walt Disney’s life and era have followed, licensed to category leaders such as Drexel Heritage, or up-and-comers like Kidada Jones and Kirstie Kelly.

Michael Stone, chief executive of the Beanstalk Group, said Mooney was “doing a smart thing” by positioning Disney at both ends of the price spectrum.

“It’s a multi-channel strategy,” Stone said. “Disney is not abandoning the mass market, as a matter of fact, they are mining it, not with a shovel, with earth movers.”

No Disney characters appear in many of the luxe products, although designers often draw on color schemes, background art or themes from the company’s animated movies.

“We very much want to move upscale because we think moving upscale is good for the brand, it’s turned out to be better than we anticipated for the business, bigger business than we thought it would be,” Mooney said.

Michael Silverstein, a senior partner with The Boston Consulting Group and author of “Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the New Consumer,” pegs the total new luxury market worldwide at close to $1.5 trillion.

The segments in which Disney has a presence — apparel, jewelry, travel and home goods — account for around $500 billion worldwide, Silverstein said.

“Disney is a fascinating brand for core consumers, it has tremendous pull and value,” Silverstein said. “It is not a luxury by old definitions. It is not for aristocrats only. But it is a brand that the upper- and upper-middle income consume at a high rate.”

‘Crystalicized’ MacBook Air: Just Blinged Out by 1/2 pound of Swarovski Crystals

jas — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 07:13:22 +0000

I was just waiting for a blinged out MacBook Air. And now, just more than a month after its release, Crystalcing puts some weight to the very thin and very light MacBook Air.

This “crystallized” MacBook Air was added with an extra 1/2 pound of Swarovski Crystals. Even if it is 1/8 inch thicker than the naked Air, (more…)

Bling-Bling tech: Futuristic watch concepts by Kanye West

admin — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 17:46:14 +0000

U.S rapper Kanye West has a blog that’ll drop some knowledge on y’all (his words, not mine.) He occasionally posts one or two sentence posts about fashion, music and the latest in tech he finds appealing. That’s where we find these two interesting watch concepts.
(more…)

Heard about the $20,000 Cup of Coffee yet?

jas — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 06:14:07 +0000

Well, there are expensive things and expensive things. Looking at a story in today’s New York Times certainly makes you wonder why the heck someone would spend $20,000 on a simple cup of Coffee. The story is far more complicated the The coffee masters at the Japanese siphon bar at the Blue Bottle Café in San Francisco might tell you. However, the bottomline is a fairly simple: cup of coffee is a cup of coffee …

(more…)

Gilty Couture: Gold and silver accessories for Apple gear

jas — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 19:16:53 +0000

Fresh from the Golden Globe celebrity parties, Metallo Design was bringing fashion and function to last weeks MacWorld Expo in San Francisco with their latest offerings of gold and silver accessories for Apple products from Gilty Couture. Hollywood stars such as Jud Tylor, Rex Lee and Isaiah Washington snapped up Gilty Couture’s luxury iPhone cases and iPod accessories last week in Los Angeles. (more…)

Clark & Mayfield tech gadget bags: A little luxury for your laptop

jas — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:37:19 +0000

Clark & Mayfield’s mission is to rid the world of bulky, boring, and unsightly laptop bags. Founders Lauri and Barry DeLaczay understand that women don’t want to carry two separate bags to and from work, class, meetings, the library, etc. For that Clark & Mayfield bags are designed to hold everything that you need to be your best during your busy day. (more…)

Aptera Typ1: Get 300mpg from a $30.000 Hybrid

jas — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 13:19:05 +0000

California is now in the green race of America and is here to give Detroit a piece of their medicine. Aptera, a Carlsbad, CA-based company is out with a car (not practically a car as it has three wheels); I should say a transport vehicle that gives a whooping 3-0-0-Miles-Per-Gallon. We sure think it is just a concept car or a vehicle and we see things like these all the time. NO. This has been driven and practically tested; it is a hybrid (I will compromise on that), but even then it is six times times more than a Prius. (more…)

EuriCase: Hi-Tech Way to Propose

jas — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:17:39 +0000

It has been more than a month since I got engaged and I could still remember how I felt. Obviously surprised and happy but it was more of dazed. My dream proposal did not happen but I was equally happy. I got a diamond ring on my finger now and am set to marry early next year. Sometimes I wish my fiancee could have exerted more effort like in a techie way since I’m a gadget girl. I once thought it would be nice if he proposes through my website. Log in and create and entry so the next time I check it out, I’d read “the question” or whatever. He could have made a short film or music for me. But there’s no point of ranting, the proposal has happened much to my amusement and yes, giddiness. But he can still do it right? Propose and give me a more expensive ring and put it in very nice and hi-tech ring box like the Euricase (more…)

$1,180 Gold iPod Touch: Not just another blinged gadget …

jas — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 19:41:12 +0000

Blinged products are in. Well, not exactly…but there is a market for anything pink, gold, and studded. Every week, a new item is added to the list of blinged up gadgets in the world. Now comes the Gold iPod Touch from the Golden Store. Not that it’s a more surprising news. The gadget girls and the rest of the world are just waiting for a gold version to be released.

No Apple iPod Touch features were added to this model, only it was plated in 24 karat Gold. Obviously, the price for the 8 GB and 16 GB models are far from Steve Job’s suggested retail price. The 8GB is available for 600 Euro, that’s a little less than $900 while the higher model costs 800 Euro($1,180).

Are there people really buying golden gadgets? I have yet to see someone carrying one and attracting thieves.

MB 101 Xtreme: The $180,000 Home Theater

jas — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:04:40 +0000

Welcome to the world of Rich Audiophiles. There is always that extreme part of the market which is out of the reach for 99% of the people. You have to change your mind about the Corvette and the Porsche you were buying for your garage to have this addition to your Home Theater, or if you already have those in the garage and many more and are tired of splurging on the wheels, here’s something else that would love your greens. This is the way to go, MB 101 Xtreme, with their totally hot and exclusive omni-directional technology. They sure are stacked with four 12″ sub woofers to rattle your bones. If you later think about the car then I would like to tell you that this is also composed of the basic elements I mean the earth, water, wind and fire of sports cars,.i.e. Steel, Aluminium, Carbon Fiber and Wood. All this time I have been talking about extreme, so how can I not mention it’s price which is also ofcourse one of a kind, at $180,000. It takes a month to build this made to order speakers. Oh c’mon, Mr.Moneybags, it’s a far shorter wait than your Ferrari which takes 6 months to be at your disposal.

Via audiojunkies / Gizmonistas.com