FRANCE INVADES ITALY: SEPHORA REPORTEDLY ABOUT TO BUY LAGUNA.

WWD June 22, 1999 | Cooperman, Jackie MILAN — Sephora, the French perfumery chain owned by LVMH, appears close to gaining a major foothold in Italy, one that could shake up the beauty business there in profound ways. go to website sephora coupon code

The giant French chain reportedly is in advanced talks to acquire the 46-unit Laguna perfumery chain — one of the largest Italian-owned beauty businesses in the country — and Sephora lawyers are expected to arrive in Italy this week to sign the deal.

Executives at Progen, which owns Laguna, declined comment Monday. But according to sources close to the company, Luigi Dalla Costa, Progen’s chief executive officer, told his employees last week that a deal was imminent.

Officials at LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton were not immediately available for comment.

Sources speculated that Sephora could pay up to $27 million for the Laguna chain, which reported sales of $56.2 million in 1998.

Sephora already has a small base in Italy. In March 1998, the company purchased a seven-door northern Italian chain called Kharys, which it acquired from Beaucour Investissements.

But if the Laguna deal goes through, it will put Sephora on an entirely different plane.

Although it remains to be seen what effect a major Sephora presence would have on Italy — where small perfumeries dominate the market — some insiders are already speculating that this deal could signal the end of the Italian beauty business as they know it. Last year, Sephora was projecting a worldwide volume of $1 billion by 2002, but it has probably raised its sights significantly since then, considering the recent success it has enjoyed in the United States.

“This means the entrance of a really significant competitor on the Italian market,” said Mario Verduci, president of Fenapro, the association of Italian perfumeries. “Sephora is an international competitor, as opposed to an Italian one like Laguna is, and it means that the Italian perfumeries will have an increasingly competitive, warlike environment and one more like the other European countries.” Sephora has managed to shake up the beauty retail scene in most countries it has entered, but none more than the U.S. Major prestige retailers there have been examining the way they sell cosmetics and fragrances in the wake of Sephora’s arrival last year, and some, including Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s West, have gone as far as renovating their beauty departments in response.

What has been so revolutionary about Sephora is that the stores feature products in an open-sell environment where all display units are approximately the same size, rather than behind counters that are sized according to sales results, as in most department stores.

Black-clad sales associates are trained to be low-key rather than assault shoppers with the “spritzkrieg” often associated with bigger stores, and the varied product assortment ranges from Estee Lauder to Stila to Shu Uemera. The merchandise is displayed according to category — color, fragrance and treatment — and there are no gift-with-purchase promotions. in our site sephora coupon code

Market sources said the $27 million Sephora reportedly is prepared to pay for Laguna appears reasonable, especially since Marbert was reported to have paid a similar amount to acquire the Limoni perfumery chain last September.

“Sephora could be in a position to pay that much,” said Maruska Colantoni, marketing director of the 70-door Limoni operation. “Laguna is very well positioned and very efficient. It’s an important entry ticket for Sephora.” The 10-year-old Laguna and Sephora already have a couple of things in common. Unlike traditional Italian perfumeries, they emphasize open service and position their stores in highly trafficked town centers. On March 18, for example, Laguna opened a 3,500-square-foot store in Duomo square here.

“It is fundamental to us to have a central position,” development director Mario Esposito said then.

At least one Italian perfumery chain said it was prepared for Sephora’s invasion and not surprised by the dramatic development.

“We’ve been preparing for this for a long time,” said Limoni’s Colantoni.

Cooperman, Jackie

Rich town, Tucson are different, yet very similar

AZ Daily Star June 7, 2002 | Ernesto Portillo Jr.

COLUMN Ok, so Tucson is not one of the wealthier communities in the country.

We all knew that.

And for those who are familiar with the San Diego area, it was no surprise to read that Rancho Santa Fe is shown by 2000 census figures to be the wealthiest community between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

At a short glance, Tucson would have nothing in common with Rancho Santa Fe, an exclusive community north of San Diego where the median price for a house is $1.7 million. The dissimilarities are deep for obvious reasons.

At a longer glance, however, the Old Pueblo has much in common with Rancho Santa Fe. Maybe the commonalities are not many, but they’re enough to equalize us and them. site rancho santa fe

I lived and worked in San Diego County for 15 years. On occasion I was allowed to enter Rancho Santa Fe on the promise that I wouldn’t stay long.

For folks here not familiar with America’s wealthiest community, it is an enclave of elegant mansions, old and new. Most of the houses are hidden from public view, surrounded by eucalyptus trees, lush landscaping, miles of horse trails, walking trails and golf courses.

San Diego County is really a desert, but since the annual per capita income is $113,132, Rancho Santa Fe residents can afford to water the grass and plants on their estates.

Rancho Santa Fe is east of Del Mar, its poor coastal relation. Although less wealthy, Del Mar has boffo beaches, which Rancho Santa Fe does not have. But if it wanted, Rancho Santa Fe could buy Del Mar’s beaches.

I’m sure you’re asking now, what similarities does Rancho Santa Fe have with Tucson?

To start off with, Tucson and Rancho Santa Fe depend on Mexican laborers. The immigrant workers serve as gardeners, nannies, dishwashers and do a host of other menial chores.

If the U.S-Mexican border were to be sealed off today, both communities would suffer dramatic economic consequences tomorrow.

Another similarity is that both communities have insufficient roads to handle the overabundance of automobiles.

We know what it’s like here. In Rancho Santa Fe, there are just several, two-lane roads that service the village. For many San Diego County commuters who cut through Rancho Santa Fe between the coast and the inland suburbs, traffic is a slow pain. go to website rancho santa fe

And like Tucsonans, Rancho Santa Fe residents would strongly object to plans to widen roads or build a grade-separated interchange because of the disruption it would cause to their community.

Then there are the village center of Rancho Santa Fe and Tucson’s Downtown.

They are both small and attract few people. Neither one has a movie theater. Other than a couple of nice restaurants, there is no good reason to visit at night.

Some of the Rancho’s more famous residents reportedly include Microsoft’s Bill Gates, pop singer Jewel and the sultan of Brunei.

Tucson can boast that it’s a home away from home, or was, for Beatle Paul McCartney and Billy Gibbons of the rock band ZZ Top.

Rancho Santa Fe has its miles of hiking and horse trails. Tucson has miles of trails, too.

They have groves of eucalyptus trees. We have groves of saguaros.

So Rancho Santa Fe is richer than Tucson? It is just money.

Ernesto Portillo Jr.

Poll shows opposition to NY gay marriage law softening

Between the Lines August 18, 2011 | Gormley, Michael GOP New Yorkers split on whether law should be overturned ALBANY, N. Y. (AP)- Now that the protests are silenced, the politics is over and scores of gay weddings are in photo albums, a poll shows opposition appears to be softening against New York’s landmark gay marriage law and even Republicans are split on whether it should be overturned by a pending lawsuit.

Those are the findings of a NYl – YNN-Marist College poll released last Wednesday night The poll shows Republican voters who had been the strongest opponents are now split – 48 percent to 47 percent – on whether the law should be overturned.

That split exists even though most Republicans – 52 percent – still oppose gay marriage.

The poll also found that 63 percent of adults don’t want the law overturned, almost twice as many adults who do want it overturned. Even 59 percent of New York voters older than 45 years old want the law to stay in place. Older voters had been the most strongly opposed to gay marriage. site ny gay marriage

Overall, the poll finds that 55 percent of registered voters support the measure signed into law June 24 by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The poll also finds that 7 1 percent of registered votes would attend a gay wedding of a friend or relative – including nearly 7 in 10 Republicans.

“I think that clearly the numbers now don’t reflect the depth of the controversy of the last few months,” said Lee Miringoff of the Marist poll. “It’s still controversial, of course, but there is a much clearer sense across the regions that this is something people support and they don’t want to undo anything or turn the page backward.” The New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms group is pursuing a lawsuit that would strike down the entire law. The group has opposed gay marriage on religious grounds, but its lawsuit cites violations in the state Senate’s own rules that severely limited debate on the night of the final legislative vote.

The group’s leader, the Rev. Jason McGuire, has said the process showed gay marriage was being forced through the Legislature while many New Yorkers still opposed it.

‘Tf truly the legislation can stand on its own merits, then it should be able to withstand being deliberated publicly,” McGuire said after the vote. go to site ny gay marriage

He didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment to the poll.

Opposition remains strongest among older, Republican New Yorkers who are also among the most reliable voters. Forty-three percent of Republican voters say they would be less likely to vote for a state senator who voted for gay marriage, which could be a major factor in heavily Republican districts. Just four of 32 Republicans did, providing the winning margin needed for Democrats.

“There’s been so much publicity regarding marriages that have occurred since it passed and that might have had some impact on people’s sentiments,” Miringoff said. “And there is also the sense that this is done now, let’s move on.” The poll questioned 516 voters on the phone from July 28 to July 31 and made sure each county was represented in proportion to its population. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

[Sidebar] Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law allowing gay marriage in New York in June. Recent polls show opposition to gay marriage softening in the state.

Gormley, Michael