Well I think I've figured out why Giorgio Armani is always smiling, it's not just to show off his large white teeth in his perfectly tanned face. Vogue UK reports that Armani's company released its annual report yesterday. Armani had a net profit rise of 66.2 per cent last year to $299.6 million, compared with $164.6 million last year. Giorgio Armani himself is the sole owner of his label and so he is enjoying the profit rise personally. According to WWD, the report revealed that among the firm's investments was a heftly $18.3 million which went for a new 213-foot yacht for Armani to help him keep that famous tan.

Prada lovers have a new place to play. A new flagship store has been opened in San Francisco's Union Square shopping area. The new store was designed by architect Roberto Baciocchi and has entrances on Post Street, Grant Avenue and Maiden Lane. It takes the place of the smaller women's-only Prada boutique on Geary Street. This new store offers the full range of merchandise for men and women including custom tailoring.

The retail area is on a single floor of approximately 5650 square feet and linen cloth in Prada's pale green hue covers the walls and furnishings. The women's area features bright colors and curved seating upholstered in lilac velvet and steel wile the men's area has palisander wood furniture, polished steel elements, and dark brown velvet seating. The store is part of Prada's initiative to have flagship stores in all of the famed shopping locations where they do business worldwide. Store interior shots can be found at Sfilate.com

I first saw this home back in April as part of the Sunday Real Estate Round-Up but it deserves full estate of the day treatment. As the New York Observer's Manhattan Transfers column mentioned back then, this converted 19th-century chapel belongs to investor and environmental philanthropist. Dan Lufkin. The five-bedroom spread at 455 Central Park West has been lovingly restored and includes details such as antique French oak floors, arched windows, gold-leafed walls, stone columns, Gothic fireplace and the most jawdropping detail, the living room with a 28-foot-high vaulted ceiling. The home has Park views, an interior private elevator, mezzanine library and a balcony sitting room. There is also a separate one-bedroom staff apartment. The apartment is listed at around three times what Lufkin paid three years ago. The chapel is listed at $17.5 million. These are some of the most intriguing rooms in New York City but the private spaces in this home are a little devoid of charm compared to the high drama of the main living/dining space.

For more prime properties and lush locations, see Luxury Homes and Mansions.

Last month I mentioned that Chateau Montelena, one of Napa Valley's best-known wineries, might be for sale. Now the San Francisco Chronicle reveals the new owner. Michel Reybier, owner of Bordeaux chateau Cos d'Estournel, will soon own the Calistoga property pending approval from the federal government. There has been no definitive word on a price but rumor has it that the figure is in the $100 to $110 million range. The potential deal comes at a time when attention is being focused toward the winery anyway because of the release of the movie "Bottle Shock," which centers on the events surrounding the moment when the 1973 Montelena Chardonnay outscored top white Burgundies in the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting.

Anyone who has walked along the Hollywood Walk of Fame lately knows that certain stars have definitely seen better days. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has taken a new approach to raising funds to restore the Walk. They have created the Friends of the Walk of Fame initiative to restore the Walk of Fame before its 50th anniversary in two years and they've hooked their first big sponsor, Absolut Vodka.

Sponsors won't get an official star but according to the press release "sizable donations from corporate supporters will be acknowledged with a Friend of the Walk of Fame honorary star" which is described as a "new terrazzo piece that will be placed in the sidewalk, on private property, adjacent to the Walk of Fame." The Chamber presented Absolut with the first honorary star which will be located near the entrance to the Kodak Theatre, part of Hollywood & Highland Center on Hollywood Boulevard.

Certainly corporate sponsors are a familiar sight on baseball fields and other public landmarks but the LA Times reports that the news of Absolut's pseudo star isn't sitting well with everyone. Some see it as an affront to the tradition of honoring Los Angeles luminaries with their own piece of sidewalk space.

Absolut is also launching a new flavor, Absolut LA, a mix of "blueberry, acai berry, acerola cherry, and fruity notes of pomegranate" which will be available this month.

Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts , Napa Valley's gorgeous shrine to food and wine may be a wonderful place to visit but the Sacramento Bee reveals that it is a bit of a financial albatross.

The 80,000-square-foot center was built with a $20 million gift from the late Robert Mondavi and has relied on a tiny state-owned bank, Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, or I-Bank for short, which gave the center a $77 million bailout. Now the small bank is in deep trouble due to the subprime mortgage crisis and is facing an Aug. 11 deadline to come up with cash to back its guarantees. According to the Bee I-Bank authorized the first bond offering for Copia in 1999 for $70 million which backed the construction of the buildings and grounds that include indoor and outdoor kitchens, a demonstration vineyard and organic vegetable gardens, cooking and tasting classrooms and a 240-seat auditorium. Copia is also home to two restaurants and a large gift shop. But many tourists prefer to spend their time at individual wineries rather than at Copia. Since it opened in 2001 it has lost between $4.2 million and $12 million a year and has $14 million deficit, according to the 2007 annual report. Even though I-Bank knew Copia was in deep trouble, it approved Copia's financial rescue in April 2007 and authorized the bond refinancing deal three months later through New York-based securities firm JPMorgan.

The Bee also reports that Copia faced scrutiny over how it was using the space and facilities built with its first round of tax-exempt bond money. An IRS agent found that Copia was using far more than the allowable five percent of its space for business activities putting the center's tax-exempt status in jeopardy.

The article's commenters have some fascinating ideas for Copia, including turning into a museum to honor the late Robert Mondavi . Others argue that is was flawed from the get-go and an unnecessary expense for a region that already has so many wine and food options.

The band Aerosmith is much beloved in Boston and over the years the band has bought some great real estate in Massachusetts. The Wall Street Journal's Private Properties column reported Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer has put his beautiful waterview home in Marshfield Hills on the market. Marshfield Hills is located on the South Shore and Kramer has himself an expansive 17-acre spread that includes views of the Atlantic Ocean and over 300 feet of frontage on the North River. The grounds include a pool and spa, guest house, , three detached garage buildings (Kramer is a partner in a specialty car dealership), a small fish pond, and open manicured lawns with views and access to the water.

The four-bedroom main house was built in 2003, has over 6,300 square feet of living area. It includes a gym, sauna, three-season porch, and a recording studio and features intricate wood carvings on the doors and mantelpieces. It is listed at $4.99 million.

For more prime properties and lush locations, see Luxury Homes and Mansions.

Versace has another high profile design job in New York City. The luxury brand which furnished apartments in the Plaza last year will also will design the interior renovation of New York's Clock Tower building on Madison Avenue. The New York landmark was bought by Lev Leviev's Africa Israel company for $200 million last year and has said they will spend two years and around $110 million renovating the complex. The end result will be 55 units including a large penthouse, a spa and an exclusive club. Previous Versace designs have been rendered in black and white with lavish gold details but their recent furniture show in April, shown in the gallery below, revealed a softer side.

All of Los Angeles is buzzing over the news of Candy Spelling's big real estate move. The 62-year-old wife of the late Aaron Spelling is planning to move out of her mansion, a 123-room, 56,500-square-foot mansion on six acres in the Holmby Hills area, and into a condo. But don't feel too sorry for Candy, while her new home will be less than a third the size of the old one, it is still a whopping 16,500 square feet and sits atop The Century building which is being built next door to the Century Plaza Hotel on Avenue of the Stars. The condo will have 360-degree views of the city all the way to the ocean.

Spellings new condo went for $2,848 per square foot which works out to an astounding $47 million, a record for a Los Angeles condo. The LA Times has a few details of Candy's new two-story pad. The lower floor will include a living room with two working fireplaces, a dining room for 25 guests, and staff quarters while the top floor will be home to the bedrooms, a massage room, exercise room, conservatory with rose garden, swimming pool and a deck. The master suite alone is 4,000 square feet. She will move in next year which means that the Spelling mansion may soon be on the market. Rumors of offers have been swirling for a while but we could even see a listing now unless it sells quickly and privately to someone willing to spend around $150 million for a home with a bowling alley and a gift wrapping room among its many luxuries.

While workers put the finishing touches on buildings for the Olympics, Beijing hotels are dropping prices hoping to fill empty rooms for the celebration. Many hotels had raised rates hoping for a huge tourism leap before the Games, which start on August 8. The AFP reports that three- and four-star hotels are cutting prices by 20 percent or more. Five star hotels seem to be faring best, earlier this month the Beijing municipal tourism bureau said that they were 70 percent booked while four-star hotels bookings during the Olympics stood at 44 percent and rates for three-star hotels were even lower.

Hard times for the world of cruising? Royal Caribbean Cruises announced today that they have cut 400 jobs and are making other cost-cutting measures to reduce annual expenses by $125 million. Chairman and CEO Richard Fain has named soaring fuel prices and the economic downturn as a factor in the moves. The announcement followed lower-than-expected second quarter earnings. So far though, bookings have been holding up well with no decline in the number of people booking cruises. The last few years have been strong for the cruise industry as the growing number of baby boomers have fueled the upscale cruising market. I suspect that the economic fallout for the cruise industry may be slower to occur since cruises are often booked farther in advance. Royal Caribbean's dramatic cost cutting may be a way to try and head off the storms ahead.

The hotel suite where JK Rowling finished the Harry Potter series has become a monument of sorts. Last year, Rowling checked into room 552 of the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland to finish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now this suite has been named the JK Rowling Suite and it will be available to guests for £965 per night. The room contains a marble bust of the Greek God Hermes that Rowling signed after she finished the final book. The 180-square-foot suite also includes the desk and bed she used during her stay. A brass plaque is now on the front door and the door knocker has been replaced by a brass owl like those in the books.

[via The Telegraph]

Legendary actress Shirley MacLaine now has her own line of jewelry. MacLaine says that playing fashion designer Coco Chanel in a TV movie inspired her line of jewelry. The Chakra Sky Jewelry marries her interest in gemstones with her love of the metaphysical. The rings, pendants and earrings have names like Spirit Steering and Safe Landing and are made of eco-friendly sterling silver and gemstones such as amethyst, fire opal and lapis. The pieces are priced a bit higher than similar pieces I have seen but the actress's name may contribute to the pricing. The Chakra Sky rings shown above are worn at the top of the finger rather than at the base and sell for $328.

[via Female First]

Can sharing a bottle of wine keep a couple together? Businesspeople turned wine couple, Suzanne Phifer-Pavitt and her husband Shane Pavitt, have created Date Night, a single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon as a nod to their marital happiness. The couple hatched the plans for their own winery dream after several years of wine-fuelled date nights. And they hope that their Date Night wine will inspire other couples to open a bottle and share dinner, conversation and closeness.

Phifer Pavitt Wines has become known for its annual Pick-Up Party when customers arrive to collect their purchases and enjoy food, friends and music by local musicians. Customers enjoy adding their favorite 'date night' experience on the chalkboards that adorn the winery's barn wall. Now website customers can add their date night experiences online at the Date Night Wine website.

The grapes are sourced from Arthur Spencer's Lakespring Vineyard in Pope Valley, the winemaker is Ted Osborne. The 2005 Phifer Pavitt 'Date Night' Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a release of just 300 cases. The wine spent 17 months in barrel (65% new French) before being bottled. It sells for $75 a bottle. The 2006 Date Night Cabernet Sauvignon will be released around October/November 2008.

I love the Hilton & Hyland listings because there area always so many pictures to let you really get a comprehensive look at the place. Today's home belongs to L.A. Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit. The former soccer star has listed his home in the Hollywood Hills for $4.25 million. This one, built in 1937, has a lot of charm. It's located on a private knoll in West Hollywood and is positioned for lovely views of the city below. It has a step-down living room with a wood-burning fireplace that opens to an outdoor pool and spa area which has a covered lounging cabana at the opposite end of the pool. The home has been remodeled with a new kitchen and a beautiful master bedroom suite with a steam shower, sunken bathtub and French doors that open onto a balcony overlooking the city. There are four bedrooms and five bathrooms total in this home. I suspect this one will go quickly, it's absolutely move-in ready.

[via LA Times Hot Property]

For more prime properties and lush locations, see Luxury Homes and Mansions.