Are job cuts on the horizon at struggling luxury giant Mulberry? November 19, 2024 Struggling luxury brand Mulberry has announced it will streamline and rebuild the business as its profit continues to fall, signalling possible job cuts. Mulberry told markets this morning that UK retail sales fell by 14 per cent in the six months to September 28. Sales in Asia fell 31 per cent, while group sales overall [...]
Porsche 911 Targa by Theon Design review: Bright fantastic November 19, 2024 Back in the 1960s, Automobile Engineer magazine expressed its fear that dark paint colours made cars more dangerous. Shades such as grey and black, it reasoned, could transform a vehicle into a ‘camouflaged weapon’. The respected German car magazine Auto, Motor und Sport held a similar view. It suggested that sports cars should be [...]
New purist Porsche 911 Carrera T goes back to basics November 18, 2024 Want the purest Porsche 911 experience? The new 2025 Carrera T does without all-wheel drive or a towering rear spoiler. Instead, Porsche has gone back to basics, with an ‘emphasis on driving fun’. Most significantly, the PDK dual-clutch automatic gearbox is not available on the Carrera T – even as an option. Every car will [...]
Aston Martin Vanquish 2024 review: Veni, vidi, Vanquish November 15, 2024 Remember when Daniel Craig replaced Pierce Brosnan in the role of James Bond? Britain’s least secret agent was as sharp and urbane as ever, but a newly powerful physique lurked beneath his Savile Row suit. If Brosnan is the Aston Martin DB12, Craig is the new Vanquish. Positioned above the DB12 and replacing the DBS [...]
Audi RS E-Tron GT Performance review: With great power… November 14, 2024 My knuckles wrap white around the roll cage as the car slews violently sideways then slingshots onto the main straight. A mechanical war cry bursts forth as the driver rams the graunchy manual lever into third gear, then fourth, then back to third, each shift punctuated by the giddy chirrup of a dump valve. I’m [...]
Can Burberry’s turnaround plan put it back in fashion? November 14, 2024 This morning, Burberry announced an ambitious turnaround plan called ‘Burberry Forward’ designed to rescue the luxury brand from the trenches. It aims to “reignite brand desire, improve performance and drive long-term value creation,” and will see Burberry double down on its strengths as a British brand. Burberry has already appointed new leaders across its marketing, [...]
Trump Turnberry on its incredible festive packages November 14, 2024 Nic Oldham, is general manager at Trump Turnberry, the only resort in the UK to receive the Five Star Rating from Forbes Travel Guide, and one of only two hotels in Scotland this year to be rated Five Star in the guide. We chatted to him about the special festive packages on offer and what [...]
Do luxury products have a pricing problem? November 13, 2024 At some point, luxury brands all face the same question: How do you price a good at a level that implies desirability and exclusivity without making it completely exclusionary? The vast majority of luxury brands rely on the aspirational consumer just as much as the super-wealthy. McKinsey has estimated that around half of the luxury [...]
Land Rover Defender by Onyx Vans review: Passport to adventure November 12, 2024 While driving behind a caravan being towed along a narrow country road, it struck me what makes this Defender, converted by Onyx Vans, a unique vehicle. Unlike the grey SUVs also headed to our campsite, each one dragging what looked like an oversized fridge through the hedgerows, I was aboard an icon without any white [...]
Porsche Panamera GTS 2024 review: A sports car for all the family November 11, 2024 Stonking V8 engines without electrical assistance have suddenly become an endangered species. Not long ago, all of Germany’s super saloons followed this recipe; now the BMW M5 has become a plug-in hybrid, while the Mercedes-AMG E63 has thundered off into the sunset, replaced by the E53 and its hybridised straight-six. Aside from the (largely forgotten) [...]