China Global Times Editor-in-chief Hu Xijin tweets: "China-US trade war has spurred agricultural cooperation between China and Russia and promoted further modernization of Russian agricultural sector. Trade war has created strong competitors for American farmers."
- "Global agricultural export pattern may undergo permanent changes."
Siemens: robot woes
Why German group’s chief is inspired by the fate of the dinosaurs
Big was once beautiful at Siemens. No longer. Boss Joe Kaeser has scrapped ambitious sales targets in favour of slimming down the unwieldy conglomerate. On Thursday, the German group reported the first set of earnings under its new structure. Net profits fell 6 per cent in the third quarter. Shares dropped by nearly as much on the worse than expected results. A svelte Siemens might not prove as resilient as hoped.
As one of Europe’s largest manufacturing companies, it is inevitably buffeted by geopolitical woes. The problem is that its glamorous digital business — destined to account for the majority of the group’s value after next year’s separation of the gas and power division — was the main cause of the earnings miss. The impressive profitability of the business, a leader in the automation of industrial operations, is under pressure. Adjusted ebita margins declined to 14.8 per cent from 19.5 per cent a year earlier.
They should recover, the company says. It reckons margins will be on target — between 17 per cent and 23 per cent — for the full year, partly as a result of cost cutting. Some protection comes from diversification. Pharma, chemical, food and drinks customers account for a fifth of the division’s sales between them. Yet they are overshadowed by the car and machine tools industry, which currently represent 20 and 15 per cent of the division’s sales. Those sources of demand will not pick up any time soon.
Mr Kaeser is inspired by the fate of the dinosaurs. Their inability to adapt to changing conditions is a guide to the fate of unreformed conglomerates, he reckons. That explains the vigour with which he is restructuring and spinning off businesses. Investors have not yet given full credit. The shares are trading at over a quarter less than its sum-of-the-parts value, which Morgan Stanley calculates to be €128. Erosion of that discount will depend on how well Siemens copes with economic pressures. In most past downturns the shares underperformed their industrial peers.
Italy’s former Europe minister has likened to 1930s fascists the politician who attacked him for taking a French government job, and described as “grotesque” a threat to withdraw his Italian citizenship.
“It’s something you would expect from the 1920s or 1930s,” Sandro Gozi told the Financial Times after Luigi Di Maio, Italian deputy prime minister, accused him of betrayal because he took a job as Europe adviser in the office of French premier Edouard Philippe. “It’s grotesque.”
Mr Gozi, an outspoken pro-European, championed the idea of “transnational” party lists for this year’s EU election, and was one of six non-French candidates for election to the European Parliament on the 79-strong list of French President Emmanuel Macron’s liberal Renaissance party.
He will take a seat as MEP if the UK withdraws from the EU as expected on October 31 and leaves the British seats vacant for redistribution to other countries.
For the time being, Mr Gozi is advising the French government on how to handle the European Parliament agenda and on a planned “Conference on the Future of Europe” designed to elicit citizens’ input into the running of the EU.
The nationalist and populist leaders of Italy’s coalition government have clashed repeatedly with Mr Macron and members of his pro-European administration, particularly over the EU’s handling of the migrants who cross the Mediterranean from north Africa and often make landfall on Italian soil.
Mr Gozi said there were two main enemies confronting pro-Europeans such as himself: first, the nationalist politicians who hold sway in several EU member states; and second “the status quo” — the tendency of European leaders to delay big reforms and important projects in favour of handling immediate crises.
Does Anyone Really Need a $5,000 Vape Case? Apparently, Yes
For certain nicotine-craving consumers, leather and gold vape cases from companies like Vianel and Miansai add look-at-me luxury to their Juul devices
Miansai’s 18 Karat gold $5,000 Juul-sized case adds extravagance to the pedestrian act of vaping. PHOTO: F. MARTIN RAMIN/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
FOR A MEAGER $34.99, any vaper over 18 can purchase one of Juul Labs’s metallic e-cigarette devices. For a not-so-meager $5,000, that vaper, should he be so inclined, could slot his nicotine conveyor into a glittering 18-karat gold case from Florida jeweler Miansai. With sharp lines reminiscent of a vintage Cartier lighter, the gold shell is certainly elegant, but even Miansai owner Michael Saiger finds it’s curious that someone (it has sold 15 of these cases) would slip a four-figure case over an inexpensive Juul. “I do think that it is kinda funny,” said Mr. Saiger.
Yet increasingly, as luxury e-cigarette accessories waft into the market, that’s the sort of thing puffers are doing. M.Cohen, a Los Angeles company, sells a made-to-order $1,000 sterling silver vape case on a chain, equipping vapers to wear a Juul like a necklace (or a pacifier, depending on your perspective). New York brand Degs & Sal peddles a relatively accessible $120 sterling silver case while Vianel, also of New York, markets cases in exotic leathers like lizard, ostrich and crocodile that it claims are real for as little as $30 to $50.
The growth of such accessories has mirrored that of the vape industry itself. Last December, Juul Labs notched a $38 billion market valuation and a 2018 Gallup poll found that one in five Americans under 30 vape nicotine at least occasionally. Juul Labs, a four-year-old company, is leading the nicotine-pod market with a compact stick that, to the chagrin of many parents, could easily mistaken for a USB stick. The Juul device is fairly plain, and comes in just two underwhelming colors: slate and silver. Its nicotine pod competitors like Smok and Uwell are similarly understated.
This creates a conundrum for millennials like Hayley Grossman, 29, who prioritize individuality. “Anything personal is definitely a step above,” said Ms. Grossman, who works in social media and splits her time between London and Tel Aviv. She was a cigarette smoker for 14 years before picking up a Juul last year. Problem was: She kept confusing her Juul with those of her friends. Three months ago, she bought two Vianel cases in crocodile leather and snakeskin, each stamped with her initials to customize her nicotine companions.
Degs & Sal founder, Eddie Shamie, 24, a pod-a-day Juul smoker (roughly equivalent to a pack of cigarettes a day), similarly felt the need to distinguish his nicotine contraption from those of his peer group. He used to scratch his initials into the Juul which became “really ugly over time.” So, this past May, he designed and marketed an Italian-made, sterling silver, Juul-sized case. His idiosyncratic accessory struck a chord: To date, he has sold “well over” 500 cases at $120 a pop.
If you want to differentiate your vape-sicle, there are cheaper ways. You can log onto Amazon right now and purchase an adhesive skin printed with the New York Yankees logo or a version of the Mona Lisa for less than $10. Those look rather pedestrian, though, and as Carol Crofton, a 22-year-old student in Raleigh N.C. and a Juul user for two years, found, they peel off quickly. She upgraded to a Vianel case marked with her “CC” initials, which she said “just looked really cool.”
Some of the cases also pop particularly well on social media. When Sofia Richie, a 20-year-old American model with nearly five million Instagram followers, posted a photo of herself clutching one of Vianel’s orange leather cases, the company sold around 400 cases in one day. Vianel claims to have sold “tens of thousands” of cases since launching them in March 2018. In April of this year, it inked a deal with Greenlane, a Nasdaq-listed vape accessories supplier, to bring its products to about 8,000 stores nationwide.
Juul Labs does not sanction these third-party cases which, according to a statement from the company’s spokesperson Ted Kwong, “have obvious, if not deliberate, youth appeal.” The owners of Degs & Sal, Miansai and Vianel all feel they are not enticing people to take up vaping. “The people that are gonna smoke are gonna smoke and we’re not persuading them to do anything. I think it’s just more of an accessory for them,” said Miansai’s Mr. Saiger. Added Andrew Brooks, the owner of Vianel, “We’re just catering to the market.” And though the honchos at Juul Labs don’t like it, the appetite for third-party vape accessories continues to grow and grow.
From: LCHEKROUN@makor-cm.com At: 08/01/19 14:51:57
To: Laurent Chekroun (MAKOR SECURITIES LO ) Subject: WWD : Prada Profits Jump 46.6% in H1, Profits were boosted by the Patent Box tax relief relating to the years 2015-2019 on the back of gains in sales in the first half.
Prada Profits Jump 46.6% in H1
Profits were boosted by the Patent Box tax relief relating to the years 2015-2019 on the back of gains in sales in the first half.
MILAN — Full-price sales, a positive trend in wholesale and a strong performance of its ready-to-wear and footwear collections helped Prada SpA see gains in profits and revenues in the first half of the year.In the six months ended June 30, net profits jumped 46.6 percent to 155 million euros, benefitting from the Patent Box tax relief relating to the years 2015-2019. In the same period last year, profits totaled 105.7 million euros.
Sales rose 2 percent to 1.57 billion euros compared with 1.53 billion euros in the prior year. At constant exchange rates, revenues were flat.
“Our strategic decision to stop seasonal markdowns and to rationalize the wholesale channel has been well-received by the market: Full price retail sales increased across the main geographies and product categories, reflecting the soundness of our choice,” said chief executive officer Patrizio Bertelli. “We believe that improving consistency in pricing will reinforce the relationship with customers and enhance product value. Our Prada and Miu Miu collections are receiving significant appreciation from the market, confirming the strength of our stylistic leadership. We are strongly committed to driving digital technology across the business, leading to more efficient-decision making, as we are aware that digital innovation is key to compete in an evolving market. Executing this program is the necessary step towards sustainable revenue and margin growth, which we will target by strengthening our brands’ cultural heritage — essential to our group’s future.”
Is Africa Luxury’s Next Golden Continent?
The continent is experiencing a creative surge, and Bernard Arnault is among those paying attention.
MARRAKECH — From Beyoncé wearing Senegalese label Tongoro in her “Spirit” video to Naomi Campbell hitting the catwalk at Arise Fashion Week in Lagos, African fashion is basking in the spotlight.For the first time, two African designers — South Africa’s Thebe Magugu and Nigeria’s Kenneth Ize — are among the finalists for the LVMH Prize for Young Designers, whose winner will be revealed on Sept. 4. With Instagram abolishing borders, countless other labels are breaking out and finding a global audience.
“Internet opened Africa to the world,” said Adama Ndiaye, the designer behind the Adama Paris label and founder of Dakar Fashion Week in Senegal and Black Fashion Week events worldwide. “The girl from Kigali is watching me, and she’s watching Beyoncé, she’s watching Isabel Marant, so there’s no border anymore.”
That increasingly global perspective, fostered by social media, is making African designs more desirable to overseas audiences, she believes.
“The image Africa is now giving to the world is a new Africa, and it’s something that Europe or America can consume,” she said. “We represent ourselves as part of a global thing, not only African anymore, and that’s honestly changed our perception, our way of showing ourselves and also our design.”
Nowhere is this newfound energy more evident than in Marrakech, where a new generation of creative talents is emerging in fashion, art, photography, dance and music, and turning the previously insular city into a platform for creativity from across the African continent.
While visitors are drawn by tourist attractions like the Yves Saint Laurent Museumand Majorelle Garden, they’re also checking out local hot spots such as designer Amine Bendriouich’s Welcome to the Kingdom concept store; Hassan Hajjaj’s photo studio, and the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden, or MACAAL.
When Madonna celebrated her 60th birthday last year, she enlisted Hajjaj and Bendriouich to shoot and style souvenir portraits. Dancer Amine Messaoudi — part of the same creative gang — performed for her, and subsequently appeared in the video for her track “Medellin.”
“Somehow, when you are there doing things for a long time, you end up being a kind of reference for creatives who come to Marrakech,” said Bendriouich, whose unisex brand, launched in 2007, fuses streetwear influences with Berber symbols and pop culture.
“When I started, there was nothing. There were four or five designers in Morocco and they were doing either couture or embroidered caftans, and I was really considered to be crazy. People would ask me how I make a living, because for them it’s not possible to be making these kind of clothes and live from it,” he recalled. “Today, there are kids who are photographers, bloggers, models, managers of models — it’s really interesting. It’s taking off. There’s the birth of something, but it’s just at the very beginning. But the aesthetic of Morocco, of Marrakech, has always been very strong.”
Luxury brands are taking notice. In April, Dior chartered two planes to fly guests to its cruise show in Marrakech. In addition to being a striking display of corporate might — the fashion spectacle at the stunning El Badi Palace featured more than 110 looks— it also acted as a showcase for guest designers from Africa and beyond.
“I think that if you [go] to another country to stage a show, you have to reflect about your codes, but also have a conversation with the whole continent,” Maria Grazia Chiuri, creative director for women’s wear at Dior, said at the time.
In an unprecedented move for the house, she tapped a host of creatives to contribute looks to the show, among them London-based designer Grace Wales Bonner, American artist Mickalene Thomas, Pathé Ouédraogo, the Burkina Faso-born designer better known as Pathé’O, and local artisans.
Backstage at Dior Cruise 2020 Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
Though she did not escape the inevitable accusations of cultural appropriation, those involved in the project said they were grateful for the exposure.
“I hope this event will have a lot of positive repercussions for young African designers, give hope to African fashion and perhaps also push Africans to buy African,” said Pathé’O, who contributed a patterned shirt emblazoned with a portrait of late South African president Nelson Mandela, who frequently wore his creations.
“Dior is an iconic, global house, so if they have come to us, it’s really because they want to send a message to our political leaders. They are saying that fashion in Africa has the potential to create jobs. I think that’s hopeful for us and for everyone who works in this industry,” he added.
Central to the collection were the wax patterns designed by Uniwax, an Ivory Coast-based factory that is one of the last to produce the traditional fabric using artisanal techniques. Annabel Olivier, creative director of Uniwax, said she hoped the Dior collection would act as a springboard for the company’s growth.
“For us, it represents a huge opportunity to expand internationally, because right now, we only sell in Africa,” she said. “We’re investing in new machines. We’re also developing a web site with online sales, where people can order customized fabric. So there are lots of new markets opening up that were previously out of reach.”
In a sign of the region’s importance, the most recent issue of Eyes, the in-house magazine of Dior parent LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, includes a feature on Africa. In it, consultant Coralie Omgba forecasts the continent’s market for luxury goods — worth $5.9 billion in 2017 — will grow by 30 percent in the next five years.
A team of entrepreneurs hopes to capitalize on that momentum to launch a new showcase, AFREE Culture, in Marrakech for African writers, film directors and fashion designers, timed to coincide with the third edition of the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in February 2020, and with the city’s tenure as the first African Capital of Culture.
Meryanne Loum-Martin Courtesy
AFREE Culture is the brainchild of hotelier Meryanne Loum-Martin and New York-based brand strategist Mashariki Williamson, and will be held at Loum-Martin’s boutique hotel Jnane Tamsna over three days, with workshops and presentations scattered across the property’s lush gardens.
The event will be underwritten by the Impact Fund for Africa Creative, or IFFAC, a 100-million-euro investment fund supporting African creatives working in fashion and lifestyle managed by Ghanaian entrepreneur Roberta Annan — though organizers are also seeking private sponsors.
Loum-Martin, whose boutique hotels in Marrakech have hosted guests including Giorgio Armani, Peter Lindbergh and Brad Pitt, said while Arab-speaking North Africa has traditionally been culturally separate from the rest of the continent, its proximity to Europe makes it the perfect bridge.
“Marrakech is at the crossroads of so many influences, and it was important to pick a location that was both symbolic and neutral in terms of the African diaspora,” she noted. “If we do it in Lagos, the Francophones won’t come. If we do it in Dakar, the Anglophones won’t come. In Marrakech, everyone will come.”
The former lawyer hopes the platform will fill a gap in the market by helping creatives connect with mentors and investors. “African creativity is a goldmine, and that’s what IFFAC is trying to encourage: to help people develop their ideas and find professional backing,” she said.
The project’s advisory council includes high-profile members such as author Taiye Selasi; dancer Manthe Ribeira; entrepreneur Benjamin Bronfman Jr.; film producer Debra Martin Chase; journalist Claude Grunitzky, and the designer Ndiaye, whose business ventures also include Fashion Africa TV and the Paris-based concept store Saargale.
“I think that AFREE Culture will bring a new vision of pan-Africanism, and that’s why I was so thrilled and so excited to be a part of this event,” Ndiaye said.
Amine Bendriouich’s Welcome to the Kingdom concept store in Marrakech. Joelle Diderich
Bendriouich’s concept store is another case in point. Part of the Shtatto building in the medina that also includes a hairdresser and a rooftop café, it carries labels including Ivorian men’s wear brand Laurenceairline; Masai jewelry from Tanzania; vintage furniture, and scores of one-of-a-kind works of art.
“It’s really defining what it means to be Moroccan and African today and creating a whole new way to experience and live the city, the medina. What we propose here is music, it’s things you can read, you can smell, you can eat. It’s really about taking all this variety and then putting it together in a way that will speak to people and make them question the stereotypes and expectations they have,” he explained.
Speaking at the cocktail held for the semifinalists of the LVMH Prize during Paris Fashion Week in March, Magugu noted South Africa was enjoying a similar creative resurgence.
“I feel like it’s been largely overlooked as a country that adds anything to fashion, but I think there’s something quite exciting and bubbling happening right now,” said the women’s wear designer, who also publishes a magazine showcasing fellow South African labels, stylists and photographers.
At Ize’s stand, Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH, and his daughter Delphine Arnault, the force behind the talent-scouting initiative, stopped to examine the traditional aso oke fabric the Nigerian designer uses in his creations.
“It means a lot to me. This is my dream. I went to school because I never saw any African designers,” said Ize, who studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna under Hussein Chalayan and Bernhard Willhelm. “It’s turning into a global brand and I love it — that’s what I want to do.”
Observers say the presence of the two African designers in the LVMH Prize final marks a significant shift.
“It’s a sign of the times that Africa has its place at the table now,” Loum-Martin said. “Its value is being recognized, and from a perfectly cynical perspective, businesspeople realize there’s a lot of money to be made in Africa. Bernard Arnault is no choirboy, so it’s no accident that the focus is now on Africa rather than China, for example.”
“It’s definitely a huge sign,” Ndiaye agreed. “It’s been 17 years since I created the platforms of Dakar Fashion Week and Black Fashion Week and we’ve struggled so much all these years to just have important people come and look at our fashion. Now everything is so easy.”
A look by Adama Paris. Courtesy/Bilal Moussa
The next edition of Black Fashion Week in Paris in September will feature designers from South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Mozambique. Ndiaye hopes the money will follow: She is seeking investors to open a clothing factory in Dakar, but says African governments also need to do more.
“We created our little fund. I put 50,000 euros in there to help designers, but I’m not Mother Teresa. I want my money back, and sometimes they don’t sell, so at a certain point, we’re stuck,” she said.
“Governments need to help and push into infrastructure,” Ndiaye continued. “I own the fashion week. I own a television channel. I own an agency. I’m kind of God in my country for fashion, which is so crazy, because when I started 17 years ago, there were no shops, there was nothing, so we had to build everything — and that needs to stop. Investors need to come. We need angels.”
Pathé’O echoed her message. “I know prizes are well deserved, but I think it’s very important for those designers to have the possibility to grow, to have the manufacturing structure, the information and the support of their government to assist them,” he said. “This battle must be won in Africa.”
CNH Industrial beats by $0.02, misses on revs; reaffirms FY19 EPS guidance, cuts Industrial Activities sales guidance (10.11)
- Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.31 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the S&P Capital IQ Consensus of $0.29; revenues fell 5.9% year/year to $7.57 bln vs the $7.8 bln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.
- Co reaffirms guidance for FY19, sees EPS of $0.84-0.88, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.86 S&P Capital IQ Consensus; Co now sees FY19 net sales of Industrial Activities between $27-27.5 bln (Prior ~$28 bln).
- Commentary:
- While uncertainties in the agricultural end-markets related to the trade tensions remain unresolved, and negative impacts from recent weather events (in North America, Australia and Northern Europe) are persisting, which has impacted planting and harvesting patterns and market sentiment, cyclical replacement demand remains stable, with used equipment inventories at low levels supporting new equipment sales in North America.
- End-user demand in the construction industry remains healthy, supported by spending for public and infrastructure investments. Despite this strength, conditions in the construction industry are still challenged in the residential sub-segment.
- European demand in the truck and bus industries continues to hold at a high level, supported by a low interest rate environment, and by the transition to lower emission vehicles including full electric and hybrid buses, and LNG and CNG powered trucks