Thomas Pink Lands In SA

Lisa Kalk , 2012-05-08

One of the world’s most exclusive, luxury clothing brands, Thomas Pink, debuts in South Africa this season with the opening of its first store on African soil at Hyde Park Corner in Johannesburg. 

A renowned London shirtmaker and part of the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey (LVMH) group of luxury brands, Thomas Pink draws on Britain’s rich tailoring heritage to deliver shirts crafted from the finest quality two-fold cottons that are immaculately cut and finished. Meticulous attention to detail, exclusive fabric and exquisite craftsmanship are hallmarks of this prestigious international brand. 

And this is exactly what South African customers can look forward to when the first local Thomas Pink store opens in June 2012. A standalone, branded store, it’ll be configured along the lines of the group’s exciting new store concept, boasting a contemporary new design. 

Think classic London townhouse interiors with walnut panelling and leather-trimmed upholstery combined with state-of-the-art technology and you’ll have some idea of the dynamism of the new-look stores. 

“The new design is a modern and innovative interpretation of the Pink brand, which has at its heart the brand values of being bold, quirky, aristocratic, nonchalant and unmistakably British,” explains Mickey Walker, Managing Executive – Thomas Pink, South Africa. “The new store concept intelligently unifies past with present and uses contemporary technology to bring our brand to life.”  

The design perfectly accentuates the brand’s core products – men’s formal shirts, in the generously fitting Classic, streamlined Slim Fit, and body skimming Super Slim Fit – All complimented by an extensive and impressive range of ties.  The range also has a more relaxed casual collection which includes a selection of stylish Polo shirts. Furthermore, Thomas Pink offers accessories such as cufflinks, socks, boxer shorts, hankies and bow ties.  Also available is Pink Woman, a collection of women’s shirts, tunics and dresses, as well as a selection  

Thomas Pink shirts come in twills and tattersalls, royal Oxford and Winchester, Poplin and Sea Island cottons, in plains, stripes, checks and prints in a vibrant rainbow of colours. 

Lovers of crisp, classic white shirts will not be disappointed, thanks to Thomas Pink’s trademark White Shirt Bar. The bar features an extensive collection of white shirts, with various perennial styles to choose from as well as seasonal additions. A shirt menu and dedicated staff that help find the right shirt for the right customer complete this novel service.  

The new store design enhances the Thomas Pink experience, which includes its so-called Pink Privileges, such as ironing your new shirt while you wait, altering shirts if necessary and monogramming them as required. And that’s not to mention the gorgeous gift packaging service! 

The opening of Thomas Pink Hyde Park is expected to be followed by more store openings in South Africa in the near future. This will further augment the group’s portfolio, which currently includes flagship stores in London’s famous Jermyn Street; Madison Avenue, New York; and Rue Francois Premier, Paris. There are more than 90 Thomas Pink stores around the world, including in the USA, France, Mexico, Dubai, Hong Kong, Australia, China and Canada.

Letter from the Editor

Sharon van Wyk , 2012-04-04

It’s always difficult stepping into someone else’s shoes. Even though their feet aren’t in them any more, you are always conscious of stepping on imagined toes! So taking over the reins of Prestige has provided an interesting, if somewhat delicate opportunity to expand into new territory.

Now, finesse and I have not always gone hand in hand, it has to be said. I’m more of a bull in a china shop than a ballet dancer and my natural tendency towards impatience has only been tempered by the passing years and the experience they have brought with them. Which brings me nicely to the topic at hand in my first letter as editor of Prestige... Experience. 

It’s a strange thing if you think about it. Throughout your life you are gaining it without really understanding how or why. It just gets absorbed with every passing day, dished out by the various lessons, good and bad, that human existence has a habit of teaching us. 

You never know you have enough of it until you are asked to step out of your comfort zone and draw on it. Then, miraculously, there it is, ready to help you find your way. Stuff you never knew you knew and can’t remember learning – a hidden treasure trove of problem-solving tools, pearls of wisdom and knowledge laid down, like the layers of sedimentary rock, over the ages.

Experience is pretty much the sum of where we’ve been and what we’ve done. It’s the residue of our passage through time and, in most areas of our lives, the stick by which we are measured. But does it make us who we are? Hmmm. That’s a tough question.

If you look inside the pages of this edition you’ll see the mark of human experience in most of the features they contain. Artist Willard Wigan’s amazing talent for microscopic sculpture was borne from his experiences, not all of them good, as a child; Porsche’s creative team has given us a new version of the 911 out of experience gained designing its predecessors; businesses thrive or wither based on the combined experience of their creators… 

I don’t think experience defines us. Nothing that happens to us defines us. It’s how we deal with happens to us that does this, combined with our ability to disseminate between positive experiences that enhance us and negative ones which all too easily become baggage which we end up carrying from our past into our future.

By far the majority of South Africans have learned positive life lessons from often bitter experience because of their unique resilience and refusal to be defined by the bad things that happened to them. Nelson Mandela is the embodiment of this trait and his legacy should be a guide to us all in these often trying and politically charged times. He said: “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.”  If ever there was a voice of experience, there it is, in those few, poignant words which didn’t just change a life’s course, but rather an entire nation’s.

My legacy is puny in comparison, but I hope that the almost 30 years of experience as a journalist, writer and editor and nigh-on 50 years of life experience I bring to Prestige will help it to be the very best publication it can be. My new broom is not going to sweep clean, just differently, and over the coming months I hope that you enjoy the changes and tweaks it brings with it. Here’s then, to the experience to come!

Sharon

Size Matters

John Miller , 2012-04-04

There’s little surprise that the so-called “mid-size” business jet market is the most contested of them all. This is the type of jet that truly spans nations and borders with a range of at least 2500 nautical miles – or almost 4000km – and invariably means a stand-up cabin, well appointed cloakroom, a cruising speed the same as the world’s faster airliners as well as offering operators a vast range of types and cabin sizes.

Indeed, the mid-size category has become so developed that manufacturers have even introduced what has become known as the “super mid-size” jet. These are usually aircraft built with extended cabins and in some cases a separate accommodation area for cabin attendants and off-duty flight crew.

The first mid-size jet was Dassault’s beautiful-looking Falcon 20 and its three-engined successor, the Falcon 50. The 50 was launched to eager customers in 1979 and quickly gained a following amongst both European and US businessmen for the aeroplane’s ability to range across Europe and fly a genuine coast-to-coast trip in the US. With a range of just under 6500km, the Falcon 50 was a great hit with businessmen who also wanted to cross the North Atlantic occasionally.

As the industry progressed, specifically in providing greater range and cabin size, early large private jets began to fall into the mid-size category and some would even be considered “light” if range alone were taken into consideration. Much like a computer operator always wanting more memory and a faster processor, business jet owners are continually benefitting from improved technology.

Today, six manufacturers build mid-size jets with starting prices around US$13-million. This kind of money would buy a 2700 nautical-mile Hawker 850XP, a British-designed and US-built eight-passenger jet with a modest 1,75m cabin height. Canadian company Bombardier also shares this market sector with Gulfstream, Cessna, Brazilian manufacturer Embraer and France’s Dassault.

Arguably setting the standard along with Hawker Beechcraft jets, Cessna has been building their Sovereign jet since 2002 with first deliveries being made in 2004. This US$18-million private aircraft is powered by a pair of Canadian-built Pratt & Whitney PW306C fanjet engines and will seat up to 12 passengers. The Sovereign’s range will take its occupants over 5000km between fuel stops, which is ideal for businessmen wishing to travel between Johannesburg and Libreville in Gabon, for example. This places all West African nations within reach with a single fuel stop.

The latest aircraft to enter the mid-size arena is be the Embraer Legacy 450 and 500. At around US$15-million for the 450 and US$18,4-million for the 500, these jets are in the 5000km range category. They are brand new designs and are expected to begin deliveries within the next two years.

As business jet makers strive to fill every possible market niche, the super mid-size sector, with even more range and cabin comfort, typically adds an additional 1000km in range to most mid-size aircraft as well as having a larger and thus more comfortable interior. 

Cruising at around 80% of the speed of sound - within a similar speed band as a commercial jet liner - the time taken to reach Addis Ababa from Johannesburg, for example, would be in the region of five hours. Very often, these business jets cruise at higher altitudes than most airliners, allowing the crew greater discretion to take advantage of favourable winds aloft.

Super mid-size jets include Bombardier’s Challenger 300, the Hawker Beechcraft 4000, Dassault Falcon 900 and 2000, Embraer’s very comfortable Legacy 600 range and Gulfstream’s Large G350 and G450. Cessna however, holds the premier position for speed with its Citation X, which is able to cruise at near speed-of-sound velocities. Entry to this exclusive club of operators will cost an owner some US$20-million and upwards. A Gulfstream G350 is at the higher end of the scale costing some US$33-million but allowing the occupants to fly around 7000km.

Whilst purchasing this type of jet represents one side of the acquisition process, crewing the aircraft and keeping it safe and sheltered whilst on the ground is another task that demands tight control. Moreover, aeroplanes operate in exactly the same environment as a heavily regulated airliner and consequently require a similar level of maintenance.

Traditionally, private owners, government and corporations have used a specialized self-managed flight department. As the world becomes more regulated, these establishments have diminished in favour of “managed-facilities” driven by a third party taking a monthly fee to hangar, crew and maintain a jet.

The cost of private jet crew salaries is around R150,000 a month and building a hangar at space-limited airports close to business centres can be as much as R5-million. Some companies and high net-worth individuals have also employed maintenance engineers fully conversant with the aircraft type under their care. There is also an administration requirement in today’s regulated environment and for smaller aircraft, this can be undertaken by the crew themselves. Basic cleaning and cabin care, including toilet servicing and catering arrangements can also be looked after by the crew with a cabin attendant, if required, hired on a per-flight basis.

To have all this responsibility looked after by a third party is attractive to many owners. The cost of a management service starts at around US$12,000 for a small jet and escalates with the matching rise in complexity relating to crew, maintenance and hangar space - pilots for instance need to undergo recurrent training on an annual basis - a cost of around US$20,000 a year per pilot.

Once the costs have been digested, the continent is literally at the owner’s feet. For individuals and corporates conducting regular business in Africa, a mid-size jet is perfect for avoiding airline schedule distress, flight delays, cabin discomfort and all the other drawbacks of relying on commercial airlines to meet timetables.

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