The Aesthetics of Luxury
The Aesthetics of Luxury
Join us for a lively, moderated panel discussion with industry leaders from luxury publishing, interior design, luxury retail, fine jewelry, luxury hospitality & travel and a leading global auction house.
Together we'll explore the definition of luxury, the management of the creation of luxury products and services, the importance of brand, the price/value equation and the power of heritage/tradition. We will investigate the importance of craftsmanship (what Stanley Marcus called "The impact of the hand") and how companies are/are not leveraging their brands into new product categories and the advantages/pitfalls of this strategy. We will also analyze how the 'impact of the hand and mind' has lead to the creation of the world's most magnificent products and services and the world's most distinguished luxury brands.
Generously Hosted by Carole Dixon, Vice President and Director, Forty-One Madison / The New York Merchandise Mart.
Panelists:
Marshall A. Calder, The Leading Hotels of the World LTD, Senior Vice President, Marketing
Amy Churgin, Architectural Digest, Vice President and Publisher
Eric Cohler , Eric Cohler Inc., President
Liz Conover, Takashimaya, Executive Director for Merchandising & Marketing
Marion L. Davidson, Slane & Slane, President and COO
James Zemaitis, Senior Vice President & Director, 20th Century Design, Sotheby's
Moderator:
Mr. Greg Furman
Founder and Chairman, The Luxury Marketing Council
Time: 6 to 8 pm
Location: Forty-One Madison, The New York Merchandise Mart.
(Between 25th and 26th streets) Level A Meeting Room.
About the Panelists:
Marshall A. Calder
Marshall A. Calder was named senior vice president of marketing for The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. in May 2003. He had previously served as senior vice president of brand management since May 1999.
Through his initiatives, The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. has significantly extended its leadership in the luxury market segment by creating meaningful programs to substantially enhance the customer experience, and to deliver increased value to member hotels.
Mr. Calder was the driving force behind the company’s first brand extension – The Leading Small Hotels of the World – which was launched in 1999 to address the specific needs of hotels and resorts with 100 or fewer rooms.
Most recently, he directed the launch in 2005 of Leading Spas – the first and only global accreditation and certification program for luxury spas.
Among his most notable accomplishments has been spearheading the design and development of the new Leaders Club, an innovative customer loyalty program, unique in the luxury hotel segment.
In 1991, Mr. Calder joined HRI as president of Prima Hotels, a sister company of The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. and a subsidiary of Hotel Representative Inc., representing four- and five-star hotels and resorts. During his tenure, Mr. Calder led the international development of Prima Hotels which resulted in a tripling of its membership base and an eight-fold increase in annual revenue.
Prior to joining HRI, Mr. Calder was the executive vice president of Scott Calder International, a noted representation company serving luxury hotels throughout Europe, Bermuda and the Caribbean. He has also served in an advisory capacity on several government tourist authorities, as well as private boards.
Mr. Calder is a graduate of Harvard College where he majored in history and economics.
Amy Churgin
Amy Churgin has been Publisher of Architectural Digest since November 1999. She added Vice President to her title in June 2001 after leading the 81-year-old title, one of Conde Nast’s flagship publications, to its most profitable year in the magazine’s history.
Prior to this Ms. Churgin was Group Publisher at Primedia, overseeing strategic positioning for the company’s top magazines including New York, Chicago and Automobile. From 1994 through 1998, Churgin was Publisher of New York, where she led the magazine to unprecedented success including revenue growth of 30%, significant increases in advertising pages and the implementation of numerous marketing initiatives, such as New York’s partnership with NBC4 on a multi-tiered print and broadcast program.
During her career, Ms. Churgin held posts as Associate Publisher at Seventeen; Advertising Director at Elle; and Advertising Director at European Travel & Life.
A Magna Cum Laude graduate of Lehigh University, Ms. Churgin continued her education to receive a Master’s degree in Art History from Hunter College in New York. She has worked at both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum, and currently is a board member of the New York City Opera and Big Apple Circus and a Trustee at Lehigh University. She resides with her husband and two children in New York City.
Eric Cohler
Eric Cohler creates interior designs that infuse traditional forms with the unexpected. Considered one of the country’s leading designers, industry magazine editors have dubbed Cohler the “Mixmaster” for his use of contemporary materials, which, juxtaposed with classical elements, give his interiors a jolt of unusual color and texture.
Extensive studies in both architecture and interior design have been catalysts for Cohler’s comfortable and livable design style. His projects have included houses, apartments, and commercial spaces across the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean.
Since establishing his firm in 1991, Cohler has earned critical praise. House Beautiful has described him as one of the 14 “best of the best” in the “next wave of designers in America,” and he is included annually in their “Top 100” issue. He has received Traditional Home’s “Designer of the Year” award and has been recognized by his peers as “one of the 26 leading designers in the U.S.” In 2004, the International Furnishings and Design Association awarded Cohler with their Circle of Excellence Award.
Cohler’s work often appears in leading domestic and international periodicals and books, and is featured on television on a wide variety of program including the PBS’s Find! with Leigh and Leslie Keno, CBS Morning News, CBS Evening News, and Sheila Bridges’ Fine Living. He has been a featured designer on the Home & Garden TV network. Cohler is also a contributing writer for a number of publications including House Beautiful; Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publication; and The New York Times.
Considered a leading expert on interior design, Cohler can be found quoted in numerous publications, including: Good Housekeeping; Real Simple; Art & Antiques; Town and Country, InStyle; O at Home; Worth, and The New York Times. His work is featured in numerous books including East Coast Rooms, Classical American Decorating and the House Beautiful Style Series. Cohler lectures frequently on design and preservation and has been a keynote speaker for Architectural Digest, the Parrish Art Museum and West Week. In 2003, the New York School of Interior Design honored him when they featured a seminar on his work attended by a sold out audience.
Cohler is a favorite among showhouse organizers. This Old House Enterprises recently showcased Cohler’s work in their 25th Anniversary Showhouse. Cohler was named the exclusive designer for Traditional Home’s 2004 Loft Show House project in Des Moines, Iowa. Cohler’s comfortable and cool library at the House & Garden sponsored 2003 Hampton Designer Show House won accolades in print and on television. His room designs for the Kips Bay Show Houses in 1994, 1999, 2001 and 2004 and 2006 have been similarly praised. Additionally, Cohler serves on the Board of Directors of the Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Center and Museum in Jamestown, New York.
Eric Cohler holds a Masters Degree in Historic Preservation from the Columbia University School of Architecture and a certificate in design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Liz Conover
Liz Conover is the Executive Director of Merchandising and Marketing for Takashimaya New York, a specialty retailer in New York City. The best way to describe TAKASHIMAYA is to expect the unexpected.
Liz is a veteran of the Fashion Business having run her own Consulting firm for five years in Connecticut. Liz has enjoyed both sides of the Fashion world as both a retailer and a wholesaler. Corporately, Liz was President of Tommy Hilfiger Accessories where she successfully launched the $30 million business as the Licensee in a period of 16 months.
As former President and CEO of Paloma Picasso Accessories, Liz was responsible for dramatic global growth in both the domestic and international sales areas and the opening of International offices in Paris, Switzerland and Italy.
Previously, Ms. Conover was the President of Etienne Aigner in New York City. Ms. Conover was charged with updating the Accessory products and Image, changing the design team, cutting expenses and developing a new Marketing strategy. The new strategy resulted in turning around a deficient business to a highly profitable enterprise within a two year period.
Prior to that Ms. Conover worked for 7 years for Salvatore Ferragamo. Liz initiated the entry of this venerable Shoe Company into the Accessory business for the Main Floor, a new concept at that time. Liz moved to Italy for 6 months to set the infrastructure in place.
Ms. Conover began her career in Fashion as a retailer at Bullock’s Department Store in Southern California and later was a Buyer and Merchandise Manager for the Luxury retailer; I. Magnin in San Francisco, a Division of Federated Department Stores.
Ms. Conover is a respected authority in the Fashion field: speaking as a keynote speaker at the World Branding Conference in Scotland, and the Luxury Council of Accessories in Greenwich, Ct.
Ms. Conover has been labeled a Taste Maker by the press in Fashion Industry articles and has been quoted as a consultant in periodicals: Fast Company, Fortune and Accessories Magazine.
Ms. Conover attended San Jose State University and has completed Executive courses in Finance for Non-Financial Managers. Ms. Conover is a member of The Fashion Group International, The Fashion Roundtable and until recently a member of the Board of the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation. Ms. Conover lives in Darien, Ct. and Akumal, Mexico
Marion Davidson
As President and Chief Operating Officer of Slane & Slane, Marion Davidson is responsible for shaping the ten year old designer jewelry Company’s short and long term business strategies to include market and sales development, product development, sourcing and manufacturing efficiencies and employee recruitment and development.
Based in New York City, Slane & Slane was founded in 1995 by sisters Landon and Heath Slane, who have built a formidable reputation for their innovative view of classic jewelry design, use of high-quality materials and craftsmanship. Since joining Slane & Slane in May of 2004, Davidson has tripled sales.
Davidson is a seventeen-year veteran of the luxury goods industry and has held management positions in marketing with three of the most enduring luxury brands: Tiffany & Co, Hermes and Montblanc.
She began her marketing career at Tiffany & Co. in 1987 when the Company was celebrating its 150th anniversary with an IPO and plans to significantly grow the business domestically and internationally. From 1987until 1994 Davidson held various positions in Tiffany’s marketing division before being recruited by the French luxury goods giant, Hermes as vice president of marketing in North America. While at Hermes, Davidson was credited with dusting off the brand’s image through innovative marketing promotions and customer development and retention programs.
Davidson left Hermes to join the management team which launched Adornis.com, a fine jewelry web-site offering the world of designer and branded jewelry at full-price in one virtual place. One month following the launch, Time magazine called Adornis.com the category killer of luxury baubles in its annual person of the year issue which featured Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.
Ms. Davidson was recruited to Montblanc in 1999 to head its North American marketing division. While there, Davidson was credited with conceiving and implementing marketing initiatives which greatly enhanced Montblanc’s luxury image and sales in its retail, wholesale and corporate gift channels as the German-based Company evolved from a pen company into a luxury lifestyle company.
Davidson is an avid salt-water fly-fisherman and equestrian and resides in Far Hills, New Jersey.
James Zemaitis
Sotheby's 20th Century Design department is directed by James Zemaitis, Senior Vice President, who joined the firm in July 2003. In his December 2003 debut, Sotheby's sold a record $19.5 million worth of 20th Century Design in a series of four auctions, including the Farnsworth House by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, which sold to the National Trust for $7.5 million. Since then, other notable auctions under Mr. Zemaitis's direction have included Équipement Intérieur: A Private Collection, which set auction records for the work of Jean Prouve, Charlotte Perriand and Le Corbusier; The Collection of Barry Friedman Ltd.; and the acclaimed American Renaissance auctions held each December.
Prior to his arrival at Sotheby's, Mr. Zemaitis organized a series of groundbreaking sales at Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg, where he was Worldwide Head of 20th-21st Century Design. Highlights of Mr. Zemaitis's career at Phillips include auction records for works by Isamu Noguchi, George Nakashima, Marianne Brandt, and many others.
From 1996-1999, Mr. Zemaitis worked as a Specialist in the 20th Century Decorative Arts department at Christie's East. He received his B.A. from Oberlin College and pursued further graduate study in American Art History at Rutgers University.
Mr. Zemaitis is co-author of The Coffee Table Coffee Table Book (Black Dog/Phaidon 2003), the first-ever survey of the form. In the past two years, he has been profiled in The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine, House & Garden, Art & Auction, Elle Decor and Cargo.
Mr. Zemaitis serves on the Boards of The Wolfsonian, Miami Beach, and Manitoga: The Russel Wright Design Center, Garrison, NY. His main areas of academic interest are American Modernism and French architectural design.