The marketplace, prominently positioned on page three of the newspaper and published every Thursday, closely follows the format of a similar initiative created by The New York Times, which acquired the IHT in January this year. IHT Asia-Pacific managing director Randy Weddle said the move fitted the newspaper's overall positioning of targeting the richest and most influential people in the region. "Luxury is a big category for us (and) we do a luxury conference every year which is organised and moderated by Suzy Menkes, our fashion editor, who is considered the grande dame of fashion editors."
The initiative - which launched with brands such as Burberry, Versace, Blumarine and MaxMara - allows New York Times luxury advertisers to extend their reach globally as well as provide firms in Asia with a new option to add to their media mix.
Stephen Dunbar Johnson, IHT senior vice-president and commercial director, added: "The IHT's new luxury advertising marketplace is the manifestation of a number of joint initiatives with the New York Times where we will be looking to provide advertisers with global platforms from which to reach high-net worth readers."