Business Photo Slideshows

Strange Bedfellows Mar 27 2008

Frederic Fekkai Glossing Cream and Tide Original

Tata Snags Jaguar and Land Rover

Photo by Bruce Benedict/Transtock/Corbis (left) and Tata Group (right)

Now that Tata has bought Jaguar and Land Rover, two big names in the luxury-auto industry will be under the unlikely ownership of the maker of the world's least-expensive car. Analysts question how sensible it is for a mass-market company to manage such high-end brands—but it's hardly a unique phenomenon. Here's a look at the improbable unions between makers of everyday products and the premium brands they own.

P&G and Frederick Fekkai

Photo by Proctor & Gamble

The maker of products like Pepto Bismal and Crest has just purchased the very premium Frederic Fekkai hair-care brand. The salon-quality line of products commands $20 and up for a bottle of shampoo—that's a big step up from Head n' Shoulders.

Carnival Corp. and Cunard

Photo by Xinhua/Landov (left) and Victor Sokolowicz/Bloomberg News/Landov (right)

Carnival, right, is famous for its populist approach to spring break, but the cruise operator has owned a majority steak in the tony Cunard Line, left, since 1998. Cunard's lineup currently includes the Queen Elizabeth 2, Queen Victoria, and Queen Mary 2, with the Queen Elizabeth still under construction.

Volkswagen and Bentley

Photo by Bentley Motors (left) and David Zalubowski/AP Photo (right)

Volkswagen, right, may be famous for Jettas and Bugs, but in 1998 the German automaker stepped up its luxury game with the acquisition of Bentley, left.

Marriott and Ritz-Carlton

Photo by Paul Hilton/Bloomberg News/Landov (left) and Norm Betts/Bloomberg News/Landov (right)

Marriott's hotels tend to be long on value and short on luxuries, save one set of properties in particular: the Ritz-Carlton, which Marriott scooped up in 1995.

Hilton and Waldorf-Astoria

Photo by Waldorf-Astoria (left) and Chris O'Connor/AP Photo (right)

While Hilton Worldwide's namesake hotel chain is a step above Marriott's main offerings, it still doesn't approach Hilton's Waldorf-Astoria brand in terms of price, prestige, or luxury. The hospitality company has owned that snazzy name since 1949.

Liz Claiborne and Dana Buchman

Photo by Fernanda Calfat/Getty Images (left) and John Smock/AP Photo (right)

Liz Claiborne, right, has midpriced women's wear at its core, but decided to give staff designer Dana Buchman, left, a label of her own in 1987. Buchman's brand has turned out to be far more high fashion than its parent company.

V.F. Corp. and John Varvatos

Photo by Marko Georgiev/REUTERS/Landov (left) and Brendan McDermid/REUTERS/Landov (right)

When apparel conglomerate V.F. picked up Nautica in 2003, the high-end menswear brand John Varvatos came along with the package. The company also acquired premium denim brand 7 for All Mankind last year; both labels sell clothing at a pricepoint well above long-standing V.F. brands like Lee and Wrangler.