Egyptian Cotton, Out; Royal Weddings, In
By Kassia Krozser May 22, 2005
We don't know much about investment strategy here at Planet Tokyo, but we do know a potential windfall when we see one. Forget market research, abandon charts and graphs, avoid market caps (whatever those are) -- especially if you're investing in hotels. Where other hotels focus on customer service to increase profits, the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo has stumbled across a surefire way to up its share price: host a royal wedding.
When it was announced that Princess Sayako (also known as Princess Nori) would be married at the hotel -- the first Western-style hotel in Tokyo -- share prices leaped up over 20%. Yes, share prices increased by double digits courtesy of a wedding announcement. Because the wedding isn't until November, we are holding back on purchasing a few shares of stock for our portfolio. We are unsure whether it's a long-term or short-term investment.
In completely unrelated news, we note that the Princess will be giving up her royalness upon her marriage. Something about marrying a commoner. We are unclear on the rules of royalty, but vaguely recall her brother marrying a commoner and remaining Crown Prince. This is why we will never be invited to dinner at the Palace.
From a recent interview with Princess Sayako regarding what she will call her new husband:
As for the names we may use for each other, that is something we have not yet really thought about as yet perhaps because there has been no real need so far, but come to think of it, there are no specific names by which we call each other. I believe that these are things that will come naturally with time.
- Shares up at royal wedding hotel
- Responses to Questions on the Occasion of the Birthday of Her Imperial Highness Princess Sayako (2005)