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69-508: Vertu (stylised VERTU ) is a manufacturer and retailer of luxury handmade mobile phones, established in 1998 and formerly owned by Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia . Previously located in the UK, ownership of the brand is now contested between two entities located in Hong Kong and France. According to The Economist , the concept was to market phones explicitly as fashion accessories, with

138-582: A shareholders' liquidation or members' liquidation , although some voluntary liquidations are controlled by the creditors). The term "liquidation" is also sometimes used informally to describe a company seeking to divest of some of its assets. For instance, a retail chain may wish to close some of its stores. For efficiency's sake, it will often sell these at a discount to a company specializing in real estate liquidation instead of becoming involved in an area it may lack sufficient expertise in to operate with maximum profitability. A company may also operate in

207-451: A "receivership-like" state but calmly sell its assets, for example to prevent its portfolio being written off in the event of an actual compulsory liquidation. The parties which are entitled by law to petition for the compulsory liquidation of a company vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but generally, a petition may be lodged with the court for the compulsory liquidation of a company by: The grounds upon which an entity can apply to

276-508: A certain income level. Examples would include smoked salmon , caviar , and most other delicacies . On the other hand, superior goods may have a wide quality distribution, such as wine and holidays . However, though the number of such goods consumed may stay constant even with rising wealth, the level of spending will go up to secure a better experience. A higher income inequality leads to higher consumption of luxury goods because of status anxiety. Several manufactured products attain

345-404: A discretion for a period of time after dissolution to declare the dissolution void to enable the completion of any unfinished business. In some jurisdictions, the company may elect to simply be struck off the companies register as a cheaper alternative to a formal winding-up and dissolution. In such cases an application is made to the registrar of companies, who may strike off the company if there

414-464: A high level of client service, human touch, and brand consistency. Since the early 2010s, many luxury brands have invested in their own boutiques rather than wholesalers like department stores. Three of the world’s biggest luxury conglomerates— LVMH, Kering, and Richemont — significantly increased the share of annual sales captured from their directly operated stores and e-commerce over the past decade. Luxury brands use distinct boutique types to tailor

483-419: A high price. The scarcity of the good can be natural or artificial; however, the general population (i.e., consumers ) must recognize the good as distinguishably better . Possession of such a good usually signifies " superiority " in resources and is usually accompanied by prestige. A Veblen good is a superior good with a prestige value so high that a price decline might lower demand. Veblen's contribution

552-402: A history of tradition, superior quality, and a pampered buying experience. Luxury goods have been transformed by a shift from custom-made ( bespoke ) works with exclusive distribution practices by specialized, quality-minded family-run and small businesses to a mass production of specialty branded goods by profit-focused large corporations and marketers. The trend in modern luxury is simply

621-629: A luxury good to such an extent that sales can go up, rather than down. However, Veblen goods are not synonymous with luxury goods. Although the technical term luxury good is independent of the goods' quality, they are generally considered to be goods at the highest end of the market in terms of quality and price. Many markets have a luxury segment including, for example, luxury versions of automobiles , yachts , wine , bottled water , coffee , tea , foods , watches , clothes , jewelry , cosmetics and high fidelity sound equipment. Luxuries may be services. Hiring full-time or live-in domestic servants

690-491: A person for the appointment of a liquidator and possibly of a supervisory liquidation committee. The person appointed by the holder of a floating charge debenture over a company’s assets to collect in and realise the assets of that company and to repay the indebtedness to the debenture holder. Administrative receivers can no longer be appointed by floating charge holders with the exception of floating charges created prior to 15 September 2003. Voluntary liquidation occurs when

759-399: A product or service that is marketed, packaged, and sold by global corporations that are focused "on growth, visibility, brand awareness, advertising, and, above all, profits." Increasingly, luxury logos are now available to all consumers at a premium price across the world, including online. Global consumer companies, such as Procter & Gamble , are also attracted to the industry due to

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828-865: A separate subsidiary called Vertu owned by Nokia. Vertu phones have been described as "tasteless trash" by Wired magazine, and "technologically modest" by the Financial Times . They are often described as bling . Vertu was launched on 21 January 2002 and the first collection available later that year. The flagship model "Signature" was launched in 2003. Its key pad contains nearly 5 carats of ruby bearings. Other models include Ascent (2004), Constellation Classic (2006), Constellation Ayxta (2009), among others. Ascent phones are designed to be lightweight and durable, made of aluminium or titanium with vulcanised rubber and leather. The Classics are simple and small handsets. Ayxtas are flip phones that come in numerous variants and colours. In 2006, Vertu produced and released

897-519: A special and memorable "luxury feel" for customers. Examples include LVMH , the largest luxury goods producer in the world with over fifty brands (including Louis Vuitton ) and sales of €42.6 billion in 2017, Kering , which made €15.9 billion in revenue for a net income of €2.3 billion in 2019, and Richemont . The luxury brand concept is now so popular that it is used in almost every retail, manufacturing, and service sector. New marketing concepts such as "mass-luxury" or "hyper luxury" further blur

966-465: A voluntary winding-up of a company has begun, a compulsory liquidation order is still possible, but the petitioning contributory would need to satisfy the court that a voluntary liquidation would prejudice the contributors. The liquidator will normally have a duty to ascertain whether any misconduct has been conducted by those in control of the company which has caused prejudice to the general body of creditors. In some legal systems, in appropriate cases,

1035-452: Is a luxury reflecting income disparities. Some financial services, especially in some brokerage houses, can be considered luxury services by default because persons in lower-income brackets generally do not use them. Luxury goods often have special luxury packaging to differentiate the products from mainstream competitors. Originally, luxury goods were available only to the very wealthy and "aristocratic world of old money" that offered them

1104-437: Is a normal good for which the proportional consumption increase exceeds the proportional income increase . So, if income increases by 50%, then consumption of a superior good will increase by more than 50% (maybe 51%, maybe 70%). In economics terminology, all goods with an income elasticity of demand greater than zero are "normal", but only the subset having income elasticity of demand > 1 are "superior". Some articles in

1173-522: Is credited as one of the first of its kind. In the United States, the development of luxury-oriented department stores not only changed the retail industry, but also ushered the idea of freedom through consumerism , and a new opportunity for middle- and upper-class women. Fashion brands within the luxury goods market tend to be concentrated in exclusive or affluent districts of cities worldwide. These include: Voluntary liquidation Liquidation

1242-464: Is demonstrated by the significance of the Veblen effect, which refers to the phenomenon of people purchasing costly items even when more affordable options that provide similar levels of satisfaction are available. The income elasticity of a superior good is above one by definition because it raises the expenditure share as income rises. A superior good may also be a luxury good that is not purchased below

1311-408: Is especially used for medieval manuscripts to distinguish between practical working books for normal use, and fully illuminated manuscripts , that were often bound in treasure bindings with metalwork and jewels. These are often much larger, with less text on each page and many illustrations, and if liturgical texts were originally usually kept on the altar or sacristy rather any library that

1380-445: Is held by the company on trust for third parties will not form part of the company's assets available to pay creditors. Before the claims are met, secured creditors are entitled to enforce their claims against the assets of the company to the extent that they are subject to a valid security interest . In most legal systems, only fixed security takes precedence over all claims; security by way of floating charge may be postponed to

1449-408: Is made by a board resolution, but instigated by the director(s). 75 percent of the company's shareholders must agree to liquidate for liquidation proceedings to advance. If a limited company’s liabilities outweigh its assets, or the company cannot pay its bills when they fall due, the company becomes insolvent. If the company is solvent , and the members have made a statutory declaration of solvency,

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1518-399: Is more beneficial to start again by creating a new company, often referred to as a phoenix company . In business terms this will mean liquidating a company as the only option and then resuming under a different name with the same customers, clients and suppliers. In some circumstances it may appear ideal for the directors; however, if they trade under a name which is the same or substantially

1587-497: Is much less used for objects from the fine arts , with no function beyond being an artwork: paintings, drawings, and sculpture , even though the disparity in cost between an expensive and cheap work may have been as large. Luxury goods have high income elasticity of demand : as people become wealthier, they will buy proportionately more luxury goods. This also means that should there be a decline in income, its demand will drop more than proportionately. The income elasticity of demand

1656-404: Is not constant with respect to income and may change signs at different income levels. That is to say, a luxury good may become a necessity good or even an inferior good at different income levels. Some luxury products have been claimed to be examples of Veblen goods , with a positive price elasticity of demand : for example, making a perfume more expensive can increase its perceived value as

1725-415: Is not necessarily a product or a price point, but a mindset where core values that are expressed by a brand are directly connected to the producer's dedication and alignment to perceptions of quality with its customers' values and aspirations. Thus, it is these target customers, not the product, that make a luxury brand. Brands considered luxury connect with their customers by communicating that they are at

1794-445: Is reasonable cause to believe that the company is not carrying on business or has been wound-up and, after enquiry, no case is shown why the company should not be struck off. However, in such cases the company may be restored to the register if it is just and equitable so to do (for example, if the rights of any creditors or members have been prejudiced). In the event the company does not file an annual return or annual accounts, and

1863-436: Is the gradable antonym of " inferior good ". If the quantity of an item demanded increases with income, but not by enough to increase the share of the budget spent on it, then it is only a normal good and is not a superior good. Consumption of all normal goods increases as income increases. For example, if income increases by 50%, then consumption will increase (maybe by only 1%, maybe by 40%, maybe by 70%). A superior good

1932-467: Is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved , although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation. The process of liquidation also arises when customs , an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties , determines

2001-414: Is to collect its assets, determine the outstanding claims against the company, and satisfy those claims in the manner and order prescribed by law. The liquidator must determine the company's title to property in its possession. Property which is in the possession of the company, but which was supplied under a valid retention of title clause will generally have to be returned to the supplier. Property which

2070-504: The OED is a "thing desirable but not necessary". A luxury good can be identified by comparing the demand for the good at one point in time against the demand for the good at a different time, at a different income level. When personal income increases, demand for luxury goods increases even more than income does. Conversely, when personal income decreases, demand for luxury goods drops even more than income does. For example, if income rises 1%, and

2139-546: The microeconomics discipline use the term superior good as an alternative to an inferior good , thus making "superior goods" and "normal goods" synonymous. Where this is done, a product making up an increasing share of spending under income increases is often called an ultra-superior good . Though often verging on the meaningless in modern marketing, "luxury" remains a legitimate and current technical term in art history for objects that are especially highly decorated to very high standards and use expensive materials. The term

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2208-414: The middle class , sometimes called the "aspiring class" in this context. Because luxury has diffused into the masses, defining the word has become more difficult. Whereas luxury often refers to certain types of products, luxury is not restricted to physical goods; services can also be luxury. Likewise, from the consumer perspective, luxury is an experience defined as "hedonic escapism". "Superior goods"

2277-402: The preferential creditors . Claimants with non-monetary claims against the company may be able to enforce their rights against the company. For example, a party who had a valid contract for the purchase of land against the company may be able to obtain an order for specific performance , and compel the liquidator to transfer title to the land to them, upon tender of the purchase price. After

2346-663: The Aerius Bluetooth Headset designed by Jacob Jensen Design. The Constellation Quest is the first smartphone by Vertu, equipped with a full QWERTY keyboard made from sapphire sculpted keys. Announced in October 2010, it is similarly styled to the Nokia E72 and runs the Symbian S60 operating system. It was priced from £5,000 (stainless steel and leather) to £17,300 (yellow gold). This was followed by Constellation in October 2011,

2415-642: The Vertu Constellation was the last Vertu handset released before the company went bankrupt in 2017. In 2018, Vertu emerged from bankruptcy and introduced the Aster P smartphone in October at an event in Beijing . Vertu phones were made in its factories in Church Crookham , Hampshire, England. Handsets were sold through an emphasis on craftsmanship, style and service, rather than mobile phone functions. The business

2484-462: The application, the court may either dismiss the petition or make the order for winding-up. The court may dismiss the application if the petitioner unreasonably refrains from an alternative course of action. The court may appoint an official receiver, and one or more liquidators , and has general powers to enable rights and liabilities of claimants and contributories to be settled. Separate meetings of creditors and contributories may decide to nominate

2553-409: The average luxury brand is 5-15% of sales revenue , or about 25% with the inclusion of other communications such as public relations , events, and sponsorships. A rather small group in comparison, the wealthy tend to be extremely influential. Once a brand gets an "endorsement" from members of this group, then the brand can be defined as a true "luxury" brand. An example of different product lines in

2622-405: The church or monastery who owned them may have had. Secular luxury manuscripts were commissioned by the very wealthy and differed in the same ways from cheaper books. "Luxury" and "luxury arts" may be used for other applied arts where both utilitarian and luxury versions of the same types of objects were made. This might cover metalwork, ceramics, glass, arms and armor, and various objects. It

2691-429: The clothing and accessories section grew 11.6 percent between 1996 and 2000, to $ 32.8 billion. The largest ten markets for luxury goods account for 83 percent of overall sales and include Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom, and United States. In 2012, China surpassed Japan as the world's largest luxury market. China's luxury consumption accounts for over 25% of

2760-511: The company went into voluntary liquidation after plans to save it failed and Vertu Corporation Ltd was put into liquidation, leaving its residual staff of 200 unpaid and unemployed. Vertu AK France is the parent company of Vertu Corporation, through which the Vertu brand and company continues its business today. In May 2020, the factory and office complex in Church Crookham, empty since July 2017,

2829-459: The company's affairs, the liquidator must call a final meeting of the members (if it is a members' voluntary winding-up), creditors (if it is a compulsory winding-up) or both (if it is a creditors' voluntary winding-up). The liquidator is then usually required to send final accounts to the Registrar and to notify the court. The company is then dissolved. However, in common jurisdictions, the court has

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2898-440: The company's file remains inactive, in due course, the registrar will strike the company off the register. Under the corporate insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions, where a company has been engaged in misconduct or where the assets of the company are thought to be in jeopardy, it is sometimes possible to put a company into provisional liquidation , whereby a liquidator is appointed on an interim basis to safeguard

2967-683: The company's first touchscreen model. In February 2013, the Vertu Ti was the first Vertu handset after Nokia's sale, and uses the Android mobile operating system instead of Symbian. This was followed in June 2014, by Signature Touch. The Signature Touch's price ranged from $ 10,300/€7,900 for the base model to over $ 50,000/€44,000 for the Pure Jet Red Gold. Vertu also made limited edition handsets in collaboration with Ferrari and Bentley . The 2017 version of

3036-399: The court for an order of compulsory liquidation also vary between jurisdictions , but normally include: In practice, the vast majority of compulsory winding-up applications are made under one of the last two grounds. An order will not generally be made if the purpose of the application is to enforce payment of a debt which is bona fide disputed. A "just and equitable" winding-up enables

3105-446: The customers' feeling that they have something special; and (3) endorsement by celebrities, which can make a brand or particular products more appealing for consumers and thus more "luxurious" in their minds. Two additional elements of luxury brands include special packaging and personalization. These differentiating elements distance the brands from the mass market and thus provide them with a unique feeling and user experience as well as

3174-440: The definition of what is a luxury product, a luxury brand, or a luxury company. Lately, luxury brands have extended their reach to young consumers through unconventional luxury brand collaborations in which luxury brands partner with non-luxury brands seemingly at the opposite spectrum of design, image, and value. For example, luxury fashion houses partner with streetwear brands and video games. The sale of luxury goods requires

3243-402: The demand for a product rises 2%, then the product is a luxury good. This contrasts with necessity goods , or basic goods , for which demand stays the same or decreases only slightly as income decreases. With increasing accessibility to luxury goods, new product categories have been created within the luxury market, called "accessible luxury" or "mass luxury". These are meant specifically for

3312-430: The difficulty of making a profit in the mass consumer goods market. The customer base for various luxury goods continue to be more culturally diversified, and this presents more unseen challenges and new opportunities to companies in this industry. There are several trends in luxury: The luxury goods market has been on an upward climb for many years. Apart from the setback caused by the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis ,

3381-1006: The experiences of different client groups. Flagship boutiques are grand, multi-story boutiques in major cities that are merchandised with a wide range of collections and staffed by a large team of sales associates. They also offer supplemental services, like jewelry cleaning, hot stamping, on-site service. Many luxury brands use flagship boutiques to illustrate their unique vision or heritage, often through distinctive architecture that transforms them from storefronts to tourist attractions. Large cities often have secondary boutiques in addition to their flagship boutique. Multiple boutiques allow luxury brands to cater to different types of clients, which can differ even within small geographic areas. Secondary boutiques often offer different merchandise than flagship boutiques, and establish different types of relationships with clients. Luxury boutiques in smaller cities are often secondary boutiques as well. The rising popularity of secondary and tertiary cities around

3450-474: The final computation or ascertainment of the duties or drawback accruing on an entry. Liquidation may either be compulsory (sometimes referred to as a creditors' liquidation or receivership following bankruptcy , which may result in the court creating a "liquidation trust"; or sometimes a court can mandate the appointment of a liquidator e.g. wind-up order in Australia) or voluntary (sometimes referred to as

3519-502: The global market. According to the Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report 2020, Hong Kong , Shanghai , Tokyo and Singapore were four of the five most expensive cities for luxury goods in Asia. In 2014, the luxury sector was expected to grow over the following ten years because of 440 million consumers spending a total of 880 billion euros, or $ 1.2 trillion. The advertising expenditure for

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3588-407: The grounds to subject the strict legal rights of the shareholders to equitable considerations. It can take account of personal relationships of mutual trust and confidence in small parties, particularly, for example, where there is a breach of an understanding that all of the members may participate in the business, or of an implied obligation to participate in management. An order might be made where

3657-533: The idea "if you can spend $ 20,000 on a watch, why not on a mobile phone?" Vertu is the brainchild of the Italian Frank Nuovo , former chief designer at Nokia . He proposed and presented the luxury concept to Nokia's board, who eventually accepted it in late 1998. At the time Nokia released their first luxury phone, the 8850 . The resulting products called "Vertu" were finally announced in Paris in 2002, and part of

3726-438: The industry has performed well, particularly in 2000. That year, the world luxury goods market was worth nearly $ 170 billion and grew 7.9 percent. The United States has been the largest regional market for luxury goods. The largest sector in this category was luxury drinks, including premium whisky , champagne , and cognac . The watches and jewelry section showed the strongest performance, growing in value by 23.3 percent, while

3795-446: The liquidation will proceed as a members' voluntary liquidation (MVL). In that case, the general meeting will appoint the liquidator(s). If not, the liquidation will proceed as a creditors' voluntary liquidation, and a meeting of creditors will be called, to which the directors must report on the company's affairs. Where a voluntary liquidation proceeds as a creditors' voluntary liquidation, a liquidation committee may be appointed. Where

3864-407: The liquidator may be able to bring an action against errant directors or shadow directors for either wrongful trading or fraudulent trading . The liquidator may also have to determine whether any payments made by the company or transactions entered into may be voidable as a transaction at an undervalue or an unfair preference . The main purpose of a liquidation where the company is insolvent

3933-401: The main purpose of displaying wealth or income of their owners. These kinds of goods are the objects of a socio-economic phenomenon called conspicuous consumption and commonly include luxury cars , watches , jewelry , designer clothing , yachts , private jets , corporate helicopters as well as large residences, urban mansions , and country houses . The idea of a luxury brand

4002-406: The majority shareholders deprive the minority of their right to appoint and remove their own director. Once liquidation commences (which depends upon applicable law, but will generally be when the petition was originally presented, and not when the court makes the order), dispositions of the company's generally void , and litigation involving the company is generally restrained. Upon hearing

4071-401: The members of a company resolve to voluntarily wind up its affairs and dissolve. Voluntary liquidation begins when the company passes the resolution, and the company will generally cease to carry on business at that time (if it has not done so already). A creditors’ voluntary liquidation (CVL) is a process designed to allow an insolvent company to close voluntarily. The decision to liquidate

4140-402: The position of the company pending the hearing of the full winding-up petition. The duty of the provisional liquidator is to safeguard the assets of the company and maintain the status quo pending the hearing of the petition; the provisional liquidator does not assess claims against the company or try to distribute the company's assets to creditors. In the UK, many companies in debt decide it

4209-409: The removal of all assets which are subject to retention of title arrangements, fixed security, or are otherwise subject to proprietary claims of others, the liquidator will pay the claims against the company's assets. Generally, the priority of claims on the company's assets will be determined in the following order: Unclaimed assets will usually vest in the state as bona vacantia . Having wound-up

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4278-694: The resort's high season. These boutiques offer merchandise relevant to the resort where they are located, like a cruise collection in a beach resort or skiwear in a mountain resort. Since the development of mass-market "luxury" brands in the 1800s. Extraordinary places will be the factor of development that can be achieved by enabling the conversion of items from the mass-market to the luxury market. Many innovative technologies are being added to mass-market products and then transformed into luxury items to be placed in department stores. Department stores that sell major luxury brands have opened up in most major cities worldwide. Le Bon Marché in Paris , France

4347-475: The same brand is found in the automotive industry, with "entry-level" cars marketed to younger, less wealthy consumers, and higher-cost models for older and more wealthy consumers. In economics, superior goods or luxury goods make up a larger proportion of consumption as income rises, and therefore are a type of normal goods in consumer theory . Such a good must possess two economic characteristics: it must be scarce , and, along with that, it must have

4416-468: The status of "luxury goods" due to their design, quality, durability, or performance, which are superior to comparable substitutes. Some goods are perceived as luxurious by the public simply because they play the role of status symbols , as such goods tend to signify the purchasing power of those who acquire them. These items, while not necessarily being better (in quality, performance, or appearance) than their less expensive substitutes, are purchased with

4485-498: The top of their class or considered the best in their field. Furthermore, these brands must deliver – in some meaningful way – measurably better performance. What consumers perceive as luxurious brands and products change over the years, but there appear to be three main drivers: (1) a high price, especially when compared to other brands within its segment; (2) limited supply, in that a brand may not need to be expensive, but it arguably should not be easily obtainable and contributing to

4554-402: The world has pushed luxury brands to open secondary boutiques in smaller cities than those that can support a flagship boutique. Luxury brands use seasonal boutiques to follow their well-heeled clientele as they leave major cities for smaller resort towns in the summer and winter. Common throughout Europe, seasonal boutiques have short-term leases, like a pop-up shop, which are open only during

4623-484: Was announced that EQT had sold its share of Vertu to Godin Holdings, a Hong Kong–based holding company . In November 2015, Massimiliano Pogliani was replaced by Billy Crotty as Vertu's CEO, who in turn was replaced by Gordon Watson three months later. In March 2017 Godin Holdings sold the company to Baferton Ltd. a Cyprus-based Turkish company. In July 2017, the new shareholders applied to a court for bankruptcy protection ,

4692-525: Was based in the United Kingdom with offices in New York City , Dubai , Moscow , Frankfurt , Hong Kong , Paris and Singapore . In October 2012, Nokia sold Vertu to private equity group EQT VI for an unspecified amount, but retained a 10% share. By the end of 2013, the company had around 350,000 customers, and phones were on sale in 500 retail outlets, including 70 run by the company. In 2015, it

4761-509: Was demolished to make way for a retail park. Luxury goods The word "luxury" derives from the Latin verb luxor meaning to overextend or strain. From this, the noun luxuria and verb luxurio developed, "indicating immoderate growth, swelling, ... in persons and animals, willful or unruly behavior, disregard for moral restraints, and licensciousness", and the term has had negative connotations for most of its long history. One definition in

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