Her handbags have been seen on the everyone from Eva Langoria, Jessica Simpson to expectant mom Angelina Jolie.
# Featured bags: Doris Clutch in petal satin with snake trim (carried on Desperate Housewives) - $307
# Emma Clutch in Kiwi (carried on Desperate Housewives) - $191
# Sophia bag in White Pearl Lamb with Natural Anaconda trim (sent to Jessica Simpson) - $481
# Espresso Baby Bag (sent to Angelina Jolie) - $425
# Gold Baby Bag (requested by Mariska Hargitay) - $425
Susan Fitch, the founder of Susan Fitch handbags, will be in studio to talk about her handbag company and why it is considered one of the “best” in Chicago. The segment will begin with Susan talking about how she got started in this business and her background. With a first-class flock of loyal fans, this meticulous designer has been catering to the au courant crowds across the country for years. Susan’s dedication to seeking out the finest materials, precise attention to detail and a hint of edginess, is her recipe for success.
The newest addition to Susan’s collection is her Million Dollar Baby Bag. After the birth of her baby, she realized it was time to create a baby bag worth carrying (with or without the baby in tow). Understanding that modern-day moms are looking for something fashionable and functional, Susan created a luxurious bag that is ready to tend to any trend-setting tot, while keeping up with mom’s style.
Recently seen on ABC’s “The View” and “The Today Show,” Susan Fitch bags are sold at Barneys New York, Kitson in LA, Holt Renfrew in Canada, and across the country at specialty boutiques. For more information about Susan Fitch, log onto susanfitch.com.
Police say a crime ring of young women is targeting shoppers in a bag snatching operation on Auckland’s North Shore.
The group are becoming increasingly more brazen, taking bags from people’s cars as they load groceries.
Debi Lewis believes she’s a victim of a bag snatching gang and says she may have met two of the criminals.
“I had my trolley with my groceries in, I was putting all my bags into the back of the boot and when I turned I noticed that my bag had gone,” says Lewis.
Lewis says no one approached her however there was a black van parked next to her when she noticed her bag was missing. “So I knocked on the door and it was all blackened windows and two girls came out and I said ‘have you seen my bag?’ and they said no and then they offered me a cellphone to call my partner,” she says.
Police say the gang of young women usually target elderly women in carparks.
The girls have been cruising the North Shore, but a spate of similar crimes in other parts of Auckland could also be their handiwork.
In Henderson, two sisters had their handbags stolen from the passenger seats of their cars at the same carpark in the same week.
Police are recommending that handbags and purses should never be left in shopping trolleys or visible on car seats. They are interested in sightings of the black van and they want shoppers to be on the lookout for possible offenders and write down registration numbers.
Much has been discussed (sometimes in the form of political propaganda, but discussed nonetheless) in recent years about the link between the black market and fanatical terrorist-like organizations. The trail of money from the sale of things like kno
ck-off handbags, bootleg DVD’s, drugs, and the like can easily be seen leading back to criminal organizations, generally with some political bend. While it’s hard to argue the money trail (who do you think sells this stuff?), as well the “effect” portion of the theory (terrorism isn’t good)- the “cause” seems to have been relegated to the arena of moral and political propaganda.
Terrorists are evil-doers, thus so are pot smokers and bootleg DVD collectors. Patrons of the knock-off Prada handbag peddler in New York City? That’s right- evil-doers. Maybe this suffices for the simplicity necessary nowadays to market a political and moral agenda. Unfortunately, real-world cause-and-effect isn’t so black and white. When we look at the issue under the microscope of socio-economic reality, the real causes involve players in our own capitalist economy: the companies that supply goods, and the consumers who want them. The issue is of serious concern.
Sure, it certainly may be difficult to take it seriously for most people, when the only interface to the issue is Reefer Madness-style public service announcements during the Super Bowl, somehow drawing a line from a teenager’s desire to experiment with marijuana to Islamic fundamentalists flying planes into buildings. However, with the rapid globalization of the economy, combined with the fact that terrorist attacks are now a threat within the borders of nearly every nation- the issue of the supply and demand of the black market should be a primary matter in the War on Terror.
RETAILER David Jones has surprised investors with a threefold upgrade in the forecast growth of its first-half profit despite recording a fall in second-quarter earnings.
Shares in the retailer surged 25c to a record close of $2.71 yesterday after DJs boss Mark McInnes said first-half net income would rise 15 per cent to an estimated $61 million.
In November Mr McInnes had forecast profit growth of just 5 per cent.
Investors expressed surprise at the size of the predicted profit growth that came despite a 0.4 per cent fall in second quarter sales to $557.6 million.
McInnes said DJs had planned for a slowdown in consumer spending and had increased its profitability by cutting costs, including on marketing, and clearing stock on hand.
“We have consistently maintained that second-quarter sales growth would be flat,” Mr McInnes said.
He defended the fall in sales compared with competitor Myer, which reported a 3 per cent sales rise for the same period earlier this week.
“We haven’t underperformed at all,” Mr McInnes said, adding that DJs’ growth compared with a year-ago figure of 4.7 per cent while Myer’s compared with a year-ago figure of 1.8 per cent.
“They’re not cycling high growth for the previous year, they’re cycling low growth.”
Despite upgrading its first-half guidance, Mr McInnes reaffirmed the second-half net profit growth guidance at 5 per cent, the lower end of DJs’ target range, amid concern the pick-up in consumer spending was taking longer to materialise than hoped.
It was not possible to say if the savings made in the first half would be maintainable in the second half, he said.
“It’s now just a question of when do we see the rise and how quickly it comes and our preference is to see it and trade it first,” Mr McInnes said, adding: “I think we’re through the worst.”
Macquarie Equities analysts said: “David Jones has managed to surprise on the upside despite the challenging retail environment that prevailed through the first half, which will further increase the standing of this management team. Translating this sales performance into 15 per cent profit growth is another fantastic effort.”
Macquarie said it expected DJs to report full-year net profit growth of about 12 per cent.
Goldman Sachs JBWere analysts said: “Despite modest sales growth, DJs is continuing to remove procurement and other costs from the department store business whilst managing inventory appropriately, a positive for gross profit margins.”
DJs said branded fashion sold strongly while handbags and hats were also popular items.
Mr McInnes said it had not had any further discussions with interested bidders for the Myer department stores.
