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Business

Cartier Sues HauteLook for Over $2 Million

There's been lots of talk in the past few months about flash sales sites shilling fake or grey market merchandise. However, we never expected HauteLook, one of the most respectable--and successful--sites around, to be caught up in this mess. Cartier, which is owned by luxury conglomerate Richemont, is suing the Los Angeles-based company for over $2 million, first reported this morning on SheFinds. According to court documents obtained by Fashionista--some of which you can review below--the Cartier watches sold by HauteLook are secondhand. One of Hautelook's selling points is that they work directly with the brands, and that they sell new--not used--merchandise, so Cartier feels that HauteLook has made false claims when it comes to the brand. To be clear, Cartier has not accused HauteLook of selling out-n-out fake products.

Style

Net-a-Porter's Natalie Massenet Inspires 90% of Her Employees to Follow Their Dreams

One of the few start-ups to have emerged from the carnage of the dot-com implosion of 2000, Natalie Massenet's vision of an "online magazine-you-can-shop-from," now the luxury fashion version of Amazon.com, just earned her a neat £50m when she sold her shares of Net-A-Porter to luxury giant Richemont this spring. The reasons for her success and perhaps the failings of others is that in the world of fashion, more than anywhere, "people don't trust who they don't know". As former editor at WWD and Tatler, Massenet put her intimate customer knowledge to use and created the ideal balance of commerce and content. Following a behind-the-scenes video of their chasmic new headquarters (where 90% of employees surveyed found their boss to be "inspiring") the lady in red answered questions from The Business of Fashion's Imran Amed. Topics included Net-A-Porter's iPad app (launched that day), her prescription for the breakneck fashion cycle, the best and worst way to get your products on their site, bricks and mortar vs. e-commerce and their soon-to-be-launched menswear site Mr.Porter. The highlights:

Business

Prada's Boutiques are Buoying the Business

Prada's looking riper and riper for acquisition. Or at least a spin around the stock market. The Italian fashion house--which deflected rumors earlier this year that it might be bought by luxury conglomerate Richemont--saw sales increase by 36% during the first quarter of 2010 to $452.7 million. The company is attributing current successes to its focus on its own boutiques--and away from the business of wholesale, which is still a weak spot in retail.