News
Hublot’s Big American Plans
Feb 8th
“America is our biggest market, and yet we’re nothing here,” said Hublot CEO Jean-Claude Biver of the Swiss watch company’s brand recognition in the United States. “We’re weak, and the weak can only become strong.”
But these days, the brand is charting new territory. Hublot recently posted its best-ever American sales numbers, and yesterday, Biver officially introduced Veronica Varekova as Hublot’s new brand ambassador at Cirpirani downtown. “We’re the company that’s all about sharing,” he explained of his choice, who is a serious champion of the African Wildlife Foundation (AFW). “I have three or four Hublot watches,” the model smiled. “And now that I see the new pieces, I’m tempted to add another to my collection.”
Cindy Crawford blackmail suspect charged in Germany
Feb 5th
A GERMAN man accused of trying to blackmail Cindy Crawford over a photograph showing the supermodel’s daughter gagged and bound has been indicted, prosecutors said.
Edis Kayalar, 26, was charged with one count of extortion and two counts of attempted extortion for allegedly demanding Crawford pay him more than US$100,000 ($112,000), the prosecutor’s office in Stuttgart, southern Germany said.
“In the photo, the seven-year-old daughter is seen sitting gagged with her hands and feet bound to a chair,” it said in a statement.
The daughter, Kaia, told her parents, who were unaware of the image, that her nanny had taken the photograph at the family home in the United States as part of a “cops and robbers” game.
Kayalar, a friend of the nanny, took possession of the photo and warned Crawford, 43, and her husband, 48-year-old businessman Rande Gerber, that he would sell the picture to tabloid newspapers unless they paid him, according to the charge sheet.