Nice

"When, in January 1978, André Sacau joins Vuitton, the house has two shops, in Paris and Nice, and begins a franchise experiment in Munich. Immediately he realizes that things need to be done differently. Margins are made at retail, in stores. To make money, you need to own the shops. Vuitton, and this is an essential option, will never practice either licensing or franchising, but will develop a partnership policy in all countries by always maintaining control (51%)."

"When it came to his abode in the south of France, Sol really had some amazing luck. His villa was perched on a hillside on the ocean side of the lower corniche between Beaulieu and Monte Carlo. This heavily trafficked road was a major link between Monaco and Nice. One day, Sol came home to find a huge tunnel-boring truck parked a hundred metres up the road. The authorities had decided to build a tunnel through the mountain, diverting the main road and leaving the old road as a personal drive to Sol’s villa and his only neighbour’s. This unexpected move from the provincial government instantly added millions of euro to the value of Sol’s property."

"Through this difficult period Gibbs had a helpful distraction. In October 2003, just after the Aquada’s public launch, he’d bought a boat in partnership with Douglas Myers. No ordinary boat, *Senses* was a 59 metre, 1000 ton ship, equipped with two helipads, one helicopter and a flotilla of small craft, including a charming 12.8 metre Nelson tender and a Halmatic Atlantic 24, a high-speed rigid inflatable favoured by the British military. *Senses* had a crew of 14. *Senses* was designed to be equally at home in the Arctic or Saint-Tropez, and best of all, for Gibbs, it had a ramp at the stern up which he could drive an Aquada. With the helicopter, Aquada and other boats, *Senses* was really a luxury base for exploration. When cruising up the coast from Barcelona to Nice it was possible to fly into Perpignan for a bistro lunch, or drive the Aquada in."

"Through this difficult period Gibbs had a helpful distraction. In October 2003, just after the Aquada’s public launch, he’d bought a boat in partnership with Douglas Myers. No ordinary boat, *Senses* was a 59 metre, 1000 ton ship, equipped with two helipads, one helicopter and a flotilla of small craft, including a charming 12.8 metre Nelson tender and a Halmatic Atlantic 24, a high-speed rigid inflatable favoured by the British military. *Senses* had a crew of 14. *Senses* was designed to be equally at home in the Arctic or Saint-Tropez, and best of all, for Gibbs, it had a ramp at the stern up which he could drive an Aquada. With the helicopter, Aquada and other boats, *Senses* was really a luxury base for exploration. When cruising up the coast from Barcelona to Nice it was possible to fly into Perpignan for a bistro lunch, or drive the Aquada in."