360 DEGREES Weblog

Handing over the car keys to a teen is probably one of the most terrifying acts a parent must perform, but next in line on the anxiety scale is surely handing over a credit card. Aiming to provide a safer alternative, BillMyParents gives parents the power to approve or deny any purchases by their teens before they’re made.

Unlike facecard BillMyParents is not simply a prepaid shopping card. Rather, it’s a payment method that puts control in parents’ hands. Teens do their online shopping at a participating online retail website—currently, only gift cards can be purchased, as the service is still being launched. When they check out using BillMyParents, their parents are notified of their requested purchase. Parents who approve of the purchase can then enter their credit card information to complete the transaction; otherwise, they can deny it and their teen will be automatically notified. Children never get access to their parents’ credit card information, and control remains squarely in parents’ hands.

Offered by San Diego-based Socialwise, BillMyParents charges USD 0.50 per transaction—a small price to pay, one could argue, for a little peace of mind. Currently, however, it’s aimed only at US consumers.

It’s the new way to shop for luxury beauty products. I must say that vending machines never looked so inviting. Enter the U*tique vending machine that doles out beauty products from luxury brands like Lancome, Bliss, Chantecaille, C.O. Bigelow, Lancaster, ZIRH, Lipstick Queen and Zelens. Beauty vending machines are not a new thing, but the U*tique takes the concept to a whole new level. This luxury beauty products machine offers 50 selections at a time and is being continuously filled with new, handpicked products. While the interactive bright lights and buttons on the vending machine lure the customers, a touchscreen surface does the work of a salesperson. The automated thing lets the shoppers learn about the product and then dispenses them with a swipe of your credit card. A little robot brings your product safely to you. The U*tique vending machine is all about simplifying the shopping process. The machine makes shopping a real easy task. For now, these vending machines are only at the Fred Segal in Santa Monica, but U*tique has plans to launch the device globally.

Famed Italian jeweler and luxury goods firm Bulgari plans to cut jobs, close stores and pare down its collections in the wake of a disastrous 45% drop in profits. The company, which was founded in 1884, has seen its watch business suffer badly in the economic downturn, with sales plunging 10.6%, Vogue UK reports. Accessories dropped 1.5% and jewelery, the company’s core business, dropped 2.5%. On the plus side, perfume sales have increased by 12%, perhaps an indication that consumers see fragrance as a relatively affordable luxury. Sales in America and Europe were particularly poor, though the Middle East was up by 9%.

The company, a red carpet favorite of stars like Halle Berry, Keira Knightley and Kate Hudson, describes its jewelry as “pure luxury obtained by means of daring combinations, precious materials, purity of design and meticulous attention to detail.” “[This year] will be a very difficult year,” states Bulgari CEO Francesco Trapani, adding that future earnings are impossible to predict. “We don’t feel able to give a number of any meaning because the situation is so very complicated.” He is no doubt feeling somewhat overextended on the retail side with over 230 locations worldwide.

More bad news for luxury brands. HIgh-end department store Neiman Marcus reported that it lost $509.3 million for the quarter ending January 31. It was the first loss during a holiday quarter in recent memory for the company which had a profit of $44.3 million in the same quarter. The quarter was burdened with writedowns totaling over half a billion dollars in addition to offering deep discounts for goods in order to jumpstart lackluster shopping.

The company’s chairman told investors that Neiman Marcus will be working with the brands it sells to lower prices and that it will also be paring back its inventory to keep pace with less spending by its customers. The AP’s story quotes Neiman Marcus’s Burton M. Tansky, during a conference call with investors as saying: “Our customer wants luxury. She has not shown any indication to move away from it. What she is doing is she is just not shopping.”

Arguably one of the most recognizable pieces of wardrobe in modern cinematic history has been lovingly recreated by Vintage 55. I am of course talking about the jacket worn by the somewhat psychotic vigilante Travis Bickle in the movie Taxi Driver. It comes complete with the “We Are the People” badge and “King Kong Company” patch.

Buy it here.

At 360˚ we like shopping carts, We do – really! So this time the Swiss make us happy.

And as it seems every day we get another reminder to read the nutritional labels on food packaging whenever we shop for groceries. Thanks, Self, but sometimes those labels are printed so tiny, they’re hard to read — especially for farsighted people. There’s no reason eating right should be bad for your eyes, and that’s why this shopping cart with a built-in magnifying glass is a great idea.

Found at a co-op in Geneva, Switzerland, the magnifying shopping cart (Magni-carta?) would also be useful for examining fresh produce for bruises and the like.

It won’t make your cigars smell any better or taste any finer, but they’ll look smokin’ in this carbon-fiber–wrapped humidor from Ferrari. At a cool $1,000, just make sure you put something nicer than Swisher Sweets in it.

If you’ve already got a $1.5 million Reventon in the driveway, a $350 Lamborghini hoodie on your back and the $60 Lamborghini baseball cap on your head, the only thing you need to complete your collection are these $120 signature Christmas ornaments. Buy them and you’ll truly be the man who has everything.

Earlier this year the term “stealth wealth” kept popping up in reference to the trend in luxury markets away from big bold brand names and toward items with more subtle logos or even totally invisible labels — it was cool to be so elite that nobody but a select few would recognize who you were wearing.

But now, just a few months later, stealth wealth has been replaced by stealth shopping. The economy has made times so hard for so many people that the wealthy are embarrassed when they are seen spending large amounts of money. Does that mean they stop shopping though? Heck no. They just do it in secret.

    Veuve Clicquot has launched another Champagne Bar, this time in a place where you might need a break after holiday shopping, Harrod’s in London. The Veuve Clicquot boutique is located on the first floor amid luxury fashion labels. There is also a lounge area with gray and yellow tones and glass topped tables for a more quiet place to contemplate money spent. The full range of Veuve Clicquot Cuvees are available by the glass and by the bottle and there is a small a la carte menu. The Boutique also offers the Veuve Clicquot gifts and carriers.