Christian Lacroix to revamp



The Paris Court of Commerce approved a restructuring plan for Christian Lacroix that will see the ailing fashion house end its flamboyant haute couture line, cut 100 jobs and pay off its debts over 10 years. The court accepted the turnaround plan by Christian Lacroix's owner, the US-based duty free company Falic Group, which bought the company from LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 2005.

The plan "will put the company back on a course of stability", said Simon Tahar, a lawyer for Falic Group and Lacroix, Bloomberg reported. "It's a realistic plan." Of the label's 110 staff, 10 would be maintained to oversee its trademark and to develop its licenses, said a spokeswoman for Regis Valliot, the court-appointed administrator of Christian Lacroix. "The haute couture is stopped and the ready-to-wear can go on with new licences," she said.

Sheikh Hassan bin Ali al Nuaimi, a nephew of Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid, the Ruler of Ajman, had emerged as the front-runner to acquire the company in October with a formal offer that would have saved the jobs of the majority of Christian Lacroix employees and preserve both its haute couture and ready-to-wear lines. The French firm Bernard Krief Consulting also made a bid of ?100 million (Dh553m) for the fashion house, of which ?12m was an investment by Midex Airlines, a cargo carrier based in Abu Dhabi.

Doubts were cast over the bids after Mr Valliot said last month that they failed to submit financial guarantees to prove their liquidity to support their proposals. "The time to make the decision is useful for the bidders to justify their money," Mr Valliot said on November 17. "If not, it will be the continuation plan of the shareholders and 100 people fired." Sheikh Hassan yesterday denied that he failed to provide the guarantees and proof of liquidity to back his offer.

"From the beginning we provided all the paperwork they asked of us, [including] the guarantees," he said. "We would have had the readiness to revive the company and strategy, and maintain the employees - and I proposed to build a bridge between East and West." Christian Lacroix has not made a profit since it was set up by Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of the luxury retail conglomerate LVMH, in 1987. The label booked a ?10m loss last year on sales of ?30m.

The global financial crisis has caused a severe downturn in luxury spending, forcing many fashion houses to abandon their expensive haute couture lines and concentrate on their ready-to-wear divisions. * additional reporting by Hadeel al Sayegh * with Bloomberg @Email:fglover@thenational.ae

The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Power: 268bhp / 536bhp
Torque: 343Nm / 686Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
On sale: Later this year
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

 

Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Company%20Profile
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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

Company%20Profile
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5
 
How will Gen Alpha invest?

Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.

“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.

Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.

He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.

Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”

Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis

Company%20Profile
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TRAINING FOR TOKYO

A typical week's training for Sebastian, who is competing at the ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon on March 8-9:

  • Four swim sessions (14km)
  • Three bike sessions (200km)
  • Four run sessions (45km)
  • Two strength and conditioning session (two hours)
  • One session therapy session at DISC Dubai
  • Two-three hours of stretching and self-maintenance of the body

ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon

For more information go to www.abudhabi.triathlon.org.

The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

Mina Cup winners

Under 12 – Minerva Academy

Under 14 – Unam Pumas

Under 16 – Fursan Hispania

Under 18 – Madenat

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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MATCH INFO

Southampton 0
Manchester City 1
(Sterling 16')

Man of the match: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)

The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20S%20Frederick%20Starr%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Oxford%20University%20Press%3Cbr%3EPages%3A%20290%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20January%2024%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
SPECS

Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now

Donating your hair

    •    Your hair should be least 30 cms long, as some of the hair is lost during manufacturing of the wigs.
    •    Clean, dry hair in good condition (no split ends) from any gender, and of any natural colour, is required.
    •    Straight, wavy, curly, permed or chemically straightened is permitted.
    •    Dyed hair must be of a natural colour
 

 

Normal People

Sally Rooney, Faber & Faber
 

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners

The Gentlemen

Director: Guy Ritchie

Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant 

Three out of five stars

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RESULTS

2.30pm Jaguar I-Pace – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt)
1,600m 

Winner Namrood, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi
(trainer) 

3.05pm Land Rover Defender – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D)
1,400m 

Winner Shadzadi, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar 

3.40pm Jaguar F-Type – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,600m 

Winner Tahdeed, Fernando Jara, Nicholas Bachalard 

4.15pm New Range Rover – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m 

Winner Shanty Star, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly 

4.50pm Land Rover – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 2,400m 

Winner Autumn Pride, Bernardo Pinheiro, Helal Al Alawi 

5.25pm Al Tayer Motor – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000  T) 1,000m 

Winner Dahawi, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi 

6pm Jaguar F-Pace SVR – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,600m 

Winner Scabbard, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson  

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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