LUXE Press

Recent industry news & press coverage of The Luxury Marketing Council and its members.

Linda Harrison of Pacific Union GMAC Featured in The Examiner

Linda Harrison Fulfilling an Entrepreneurial Dream

By Will Reisman
Special to The Examiner

When Linda Harrison moved to San Francisco in 1996, after 20 years of involvement in Fortune 500 companies ... she was looking to leave the “corporate world” far behind.

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Rich America, Poor America

By Michael Santoli

Never in history have the haves had so much. Burgeoning wealth and incomes from globalizing industries, swelling asset markets, media ubiquity and fast-developing emerging economies are accruing disproportionately to the entrepreneur class and the already rich. This is giving the world's affluent a greater capacity to splurge, build, invest and gamble than ever before.

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Luxury-goods Makers Pursue the Richest of the Rich

By Sara Gay Forden Bloomberg News

ISTANBUL : As the rich get richer and the ranks of the wealthy expand in markets from Russia to China , the world's luxury houses are unfurling new waves of ultra-expensive goods to attract the most prosperous clients.

In stores across the globe, luxury companies are focusing on a strategy of offering more of their most expensive products to increase the cachet for entry-level items.

"We are investing to increase the desirability of our brands," François- Henri Pinault, chief executive of PPR, the French retailer that owns Gucci Group, said Thursday at an industry conference in Istanbul. "We are trying to be very exclusive."

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Accolades Abound for SF JAZZ Program

"Having developed from good to great to perhaps the best of its kind anywhere, the three-week event put on by the SFJAZZ organization now commands international attention. Executive director Randall Kline has put together a wide-ranging programming model that is imitated far and wide. He also puts on shows no one else can match."
-- Sacramento Bee Read the full article.

“... an almost impossibly well-balanced program.”
-- Contra Costa Times Read the full article.

Council Member Alfredo Zaparolli Recognized as One of Most Influential HIspanic Entrepreneurs

The San Francisco Hispanic Chamber of Commerce recognizes local designer and council member Alfredo Zaparolli as one of 2006 most influential Hispanic Entrepreneurs. Alfredo Zaparolli is President and CEO of Techlinea Inc., a firm unique in its design offering to the luxury home market.
Techlinea specializes in designing luxury lighting system, home theaters and sophisticate security and surveillance systems for high profile clients in the US and abroad. Although Techlinea's targeted market is luxury homes, Alfredo remains conscious that others are not as fortunate and has made it his focus to help those less fortunate by volunteering his time to local social causes, creating job opportunities and feeding the homeless. Throughout the 1990s he used his vacation time to fly down to Guatemala's Hospital de la Familia as a medical volunteer where he served as a triage translator and technical assistant. www.techlinea.com

Retired Tennis Stars are Courting Buyers of Luxury Housing

Carol Lloyd
Sunday, October 1, 2006

Andre Agassi and wife, Steffi Graf are developing an ambitious luxury resort with Miami's Bay View Financial and Fairmont Hotel in the mountains 90 minutes north of Boise, Idaho, near Lake Cascade. Tamarack Resort, as the project is called, will include a hotel, ski slopes, a resort and spa, a golf course and 50 luxury villas as well as 285 units. (The estimated price for a one-bedroom condo begins at $800,000.) Last week, the couple also announced a partnership with Exclusive Resorts -- a luxury residence club -- to develop residences and accompanying tennis and swimming clubs. The relationship between celebrities and real estate is a long if not always venerable one. When real estate developer Frank Devendorf advertised his little town called Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1910 as a sanctuary for "artists, poets and writers," it was part of a concerted PR campaign. Devendorf had purposely sold off lots at deep discounts to names with cultural cachet like Sinclair Lewis and Mary Austin to attract real buyers.

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Dilek Sezen Continues International Acclaim

Woman International Magazine recognizes Council member, Dilek Sezen, in a two-page article featuring stunning photography of the fine jewelry collection that exudes refined elegance and timeless charm.

With a superior artistry suggesting imagination, consistency, and versatility, which her loyal clientele cherishes worldwide, Delik Sezen offers a well-defined style and fine work using rare gems, diamonds and pearls to create sumptuous pieces exceptionally handcrafted in limited editions.

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Dilek Sezen's Alluring Jewelry Accessorizes Renowned Couture Designer at
San Francisco Fashion Week

Opening Night Benefit for the National AIDS Memorial Grove

Dilek Sezen joined the vibrant select group of San Francisco's designers at upscale Fashion Week opening night, August 23, 2006, when attendees discovered the discreet beauty revealed by her alluring jewels.

Several of Dilek's signature pieces accessorized eveningwear by renowned Couture designer Lily Samii. Dilek's exquisitely matching platinum jewels set with rare Spinels adorned the Couture designer's taffeta evening gowns on ABC Channel 7, The View from the Bay, the previous day.

"Artistic," "... museum quality," and "... a great story behind each piece," were comments that reflect her high standards and exceptional talent, admired by the local, in-the-know San Francisco clientele and the press who attended.

"I view my work as an art form," says Dilek. "I custom tailor to my clients' specifications, then sign and number each piece, which becomes a work of art that will gain value as a limited edition to be treasured by future generations."

"Elegant, feminine and sumptuous" is how Dilek Sezen describes her collection of exceptionally handcrafted pieces in platinum and 18-karat gold set with rare, colorful gems, diamonds and South Sea pearls, where fine work and intricate details stand as testimonials of Dilek's classical European art schooling.

Her well-defined style keeps furthering her visibility on the most glamorous accessory pages of fashion magazines, such as and 7 X 7 Magazine, San Francisco Magazine, Couture International Jeweler and Modern Jeweler.

Dilek Sezen's fine jewelry collection and objects d'art can be viewed at her couture studio in the heart of Union Street in San Francisco. By appointment 415-810-1002.

California Home+Design Showcases the Extraordinary Interior Design of Ruth Livingston Studio

Ruth Livingston's storefront studio occupies an elegant gallery space in downtown Tiburon, California. For more information, visit www.ruthlivingston.com.

Click here to read the full story

© Copyright 2006 Article published with permission of California Home+Design, the sophisticated monthly magazine that celebrates California's design community. Visit www.chdmag.com.

No Need to Worry: Millionaires Thriving

The Millionaires club keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Kelly Zito, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 21, 2006

In the Bay Area, nearly 111,600 out of 2.5 million households had a net worth of at least $1 million or more in 2005, excluding the value of their homes, and that number is projected to grow significantly over the next five years, according to a new study.

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The Unbearable Lightness of Being In San Francisco

How much would you give up for breathtaking views, excellent food, liberal politics and high culture? One woman’s love/hate relationship with a city that gives as much as it takes.

by Julia Bourland
Illustration by Dushan Milic
June, 2006

Here's a Hollywood moment for you, courtesy of real-life San Francisco: It's almost midnight on the longest day of the year, not so long ago. Wrapped in gray fleece, I'm sitting at the bow of my then-boyfriend's sailboat moored off Angel Island, sipping a glass of Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc and taking in the sound of the waves. Another moonlit boat sails by against the backdrop of the sparkling Golden Gate Bridge. The palpitating tenor of Pavarotti soars from its cabin, lifting the hair off my neck.

If this sounds like the lap of luxury, well, it is -- if you live in the Bay Area, you're sitting in it. And you don't have to own a sailboat.

"Real luxury is a sensation or a spiritual experience," says James Twitchell, the author of 2003's Living It Up: America's Love Affair with Luxury. A University of Florida professor of English and advertising, he writes on commercial culture and its effect on American values. "When you look at a panoramic view -- like [those] you have access to at practically any location in San Francisco -- you're not just experiencing beauty. You're experiencing religion. You get the sense that you are in a better place. You're recharged. You're transformed."

© 7x7 Magazine. Reprinted with Permission

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For Those Who Can Afford It, Plenty of Luxury is Out There

The good life: High-end products and services are in demand as some in the Bay Area enjoy the fruits of a better economy.

David Armstrong, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, June 2, 2006

"Bring on the $100,000 imported sports car. Uncork the premium Cabernet Sauvignon with its nose of black currant and ripe raspberries. Check out the new high-rise condos with their sweeping city views or check into state-of-the-art hotel suites with their elegant, thin-screen TVs. Times are good for big spenders."

"Although most people aren't partying like it's 1999 and the height of the dot-com boom, they're coming close in the luxury market, where both affluent Bay Area residents and upscale visitors are increasingly springing for big-ticket items."

Read the full article, including comments from Alf Nucifora, Chairman of the Luxury Marketing Council of San Francisco.