Good To Go - WWD

TOMMY’S MILAN PALAZZO/2 RANKING RETAIL SHARES/15-16Women’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’ Daily Newspaper • July 18, 2005 • $2.00

WWDMONDAYAccessories/Innerwear/Legwear Accessories/Innerwear/Legwear

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GoodTo Go

NEW YORK — That sea of black luggage

on the airport carousel may soon be a

thing of the past as travel accessories

turn up in eye-catching colors and

patterns, guaranteed not to blend in with

the crowd. Here, from top, Rena Lange’s

nylon suitcase; a wool and nylon wheelie

from Hartman’s Luxe Collection and

Asprey’s cotton canvas and leather trolley.

For more, see pages 6 and 7.

See Parents, Page18

Finding the Right Fit:Smaller Brands ThriveUnder New OwnershipBy Miles Socha

PARIS — Even in luxury goods, fathertypically knows best. But it depends onwho’s your daddy.

Take Karl Lagerfeld. The designerdidn’t mince words when asked about thequalifications of the assorted companiesthat have owned and managed hissignature business in the past.

“The Bidermann [Industries U.S.A.]people were fighting with each other,never delivered and made big mistakesbecause the late Eighties were not theSeventies any longer,” he said matter-of-factly, recalling a licensing deal that

WWD.COMWWD, MONDAY, JULY 18, 2005

GENERALHaving the right parent or owner has become a hot-button issue in theluxury goods industry, with plenty of failures and successes to talk about.

Despite their busy Hamptons schedules, New York’s socials made it to theLever House restaurant for a dinner…Chatting with Brooke Shields.

FASHION: It’s easier than ever to travel this season, since suitcases,wheelies and weekenders are particularly chic, sleek, fun and colorful.

The Bush administration will intensify its push this week to shore up votesfor CAFTA, as a showdown in the House draws closer.

Wholesale prices on U.S.-produced women’s apparel held steady in Junebut were up 0.7 percent from a year ago, the Labor Department reported.

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WWDMONDAYAccessories/Innerwear/Legwear

● ASIAN EXPANSION: Luxottica Group SpA said it will buyChinese optical chain Xueliang Optical Technology Co. Ltd. for apurchase price of 169 million yuan, or $20.4 million at current ex-change, plus 40 million yuan, or $4.8 million, in assumed liabilities.Luxottica, who had sales of $4.4 billion in 2004, said the acquisitionwill make the Italian company “one of the leading operators ofpremium optical stores” in China with a total of 149 units.Luxottica chairman Leonardo Del Vecchio said in a statement thatthe purchase “is a key strategic step for our group, as it strength-ens our position in what is fast becoming one of the most impor-tant markets in the world for fashion and premium eyewear.”Xueliang Optical posted unaudited sales for the most recent fiscalyear of 102 million yuan, or $14.5 million, Luxottica said.

● MARK ECKO PROMOTES ZINKIN: Effy Zinkin has been pro-moted to chief operating officer of Marc Ecko Enterprises, a newposition. Zinkin reports to Seth Gerszberg, president, and is re-sponsible for the day-to-day operations of the company. Zinkinhad served as executive vice president and general counsel ofMarc Ecko Enterprises since 1999. In that role, he was responsi-ble for overseeing the company’s legal representation, coordi-nating human resources, performing general administrativefunctions and providing oversight to various corporate philan-thropic activities. Prior to joining the company, Zinkin was an at-torney with Smith, Stratton, Wise, Heher & Brennan inPrinceton, N.J., specializing in commercial litigation.

In Brief

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WEDNESDAY: International Fashion Fair, Tokyo(through Friday).

Oakley Inc. reports second-quarter sales and earnings.

THURSDAY: Charlotte Russe Holdings reports third-quarter sales and earnings.

Reebok and Taubman Centers report second-quar-ter sales and earnings.

FRIDAY: Bread & Butter Berlin, Premium, PremiumPlus, Salon Berlin/Premium Fire, B-in-Berlin,Eurofashionweek, Berlin (through Sunday).

SUNDAY: Cosmoprof North America, Las Vegas(through July 26).

Women’s and Men’s Wear Brussels (through July 26).CPD, Düsseldorf (through July 26).CO

MING

THIS

WEEK

By Amanda Kaiser

MILAN — Tommy Hilfiger Corp.is bringing a dose of its preppyspirit to the land that MiucciaPrada and Giorgio Armani callhome.

Tommy Hilfiger Europe B.V.is opening a sprawling complexhere comprising offices, anevent space, a showroom and aflagship, the brand’s first inMilan. The offices and show-room opened over the weekend,a spokeswoman confirmed. Thestore will open its doors inearly September.

Fred Gehring, chief execu-tive officer of Tommy HilfigerEurope, said the new complexmarks the first significant stepto boost the brand’s presence inItaly. In March, Hilfiger boughtthe rights to manage and distrib-ute its brand in Italy from for-mer partner Fincom SpA.

“We believe a central Milanheadquarters for our wholesaleand retail operations in Italywill truly anchor the company’sposition in this most critical offashion markets,” Gehring saidin a statement. “With the start ofour first direct-selling season inthe showroom in July, followedby the opening of our first Milanretail store in September, this isthe first step in developing Italyinto a significant European mar-ket for the company.”

Until now, Hilfiger has had alimited presence in Italy. In2000, the company teamed upwith Fincom and outlined plansto open about 20 stores acrossItaly. But the partnership didn’troll out boutiques as quickly asexpected. In the end, the unionproduced just three TommyHilfiger stores: in Bologna,Catania and Turin. Hilfiger doeshave a larger wholesale networkin Italy. A spokeswoman said thebrand is sold at 1,000 points of

sale across the country.Few American brands have

established significant marketshare in Italy. Europe’s highrents, the logistical challengesof finding adequate store spaceand fashion-savvy customersmake the market a tough one topenetrate for foreign brands.

Nonetheless, there have beenseveral American-brand storeopenings lately. Last weekmarked the soft opening of a5,576-square-foot Calvin Kleinflagship in downtown Milan. VonDutch recently opened boutiquesin Milan and Rome. Last year,Ralph Lauren feted a flagship onMilan’s Via Montenapoleone thatliterally had lines around theblock waiting to get in to buy.

Hilfiger’s new Milan complexis in Piazza Oberdan, a square atone end of Corso Buenos Aires, along, bustling shopping stripdominated by mass market re-tailers such as Benetton, Zaraand Hennes & Mauritz and manysmall apparel and electronicsshops. The long-vacant buildingthat Hilfiger occupies is acrossthe street from the SheratonDiana Majestic Hotel, whereGucci stages runway shows;Dolce & Gabbana also is comingto the area, renovating an oldmovie theater into its new showspace. Hilfiger is renting the16,000-square-foot building, butthe company would not disclosefinancial details.

“We were looking for a veryunique location that would notonly make a fresh statementwithin Milan, but one that alsohad central exposure to the city.The Piazza Oberdan district hasrecently attracted other fashionbrands, and continues to developinto a trendy new area,” Gehringsaid via e-mail. “In addition, theactual space is highly unique toMilan. The buildings and sur-rounding courtyards offer us the

opportunity to represent all as-pects of our business, fromwholesale and retail, to a specialentertainment space. This loca-tion is one of a kind.”

Gehring said Hilfiger hopes“to open stores in key citiesacross Italy within the next year”and said the Milan flagship isjust “the first step in increasingour retail presence in Milan.”

The company said the show-room is “an atrium-inspiredglass space featuring movablearchitectural elements.” It willserve as the central wholesaleoperation for Italy for men’sand women’s sportswear as wellas Hilfiger Denim, children’sapparel and several licensedbusinesses.

The store, which covers morethan 1,700 square feet, will openin September. It will carry men’sand women’s sportswear,Hilfiger Denim and select ac-cessories. The company said theMilan store will boast a uniquedesign, marrying “local archi-tectural elements with modernAmerican influences” such ashigh-gloss fixtures, industrialsteel and aged chestnut flooring.

Hilfiger to Open Complex in Milan

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NEW YORK — It’s been a busyJuly regarding options tradingfor Abercrombie & Fitch’s topofficer, chairman and chief ex-ecutive officer Michael Jeffries.

In a series of 17 Form 4 fil-ings with the Securities andExchange Commission betweenJuly 7th and July 12th, Jeffriessold 1.3 million shares of thespecialty retailer for between$71.70 and $73.80, or approxi-mately $95 million. He alsobought 750,000 shares for be-tween $8 and $23.41, and anoth-er 590,664 shares at $23.41 each.

According to the SEC filings,there have been 32 insidertrades over the past threemonths, including 30 sales andthe two purchases made byJeffries.

Earlier this month, Aber-crombie & Fitch reported same-store sales for June rose 38 per-cent. The retailer has been oneof the top performing compa-nies in the specialty retail chan-nel over the past severalmonths, as it has delivered dou-ble-digit same-store sales.

Shares of Abercrombie &Fitch closed up 0.4 percent onFriday at $70.01.

— Arthur Zaczkiewicz

A&F CEO JeffriesCashes in Options

circuit & intermezzotuesday - thursdayaugust 2,3,4, 2005holiday/resort 2006

The Show Piers12th Avenue at 55th Street, NYC

Photo & Business ID Enforced for Admission9am–6pm Daily, 9am–5pm Last Day

An ENK International Event t: 212.759.8055 f: 212.758.3403

[email protected] Info: www.enktravel.com

American Airlines, 800.433.1790 Index #17863

WWD, MONDAY, JULY 18, 20054

Die-hard downtowner Edward Norton has very strict ideasabout how far north of 14th Street he’s willing to travel, so itwas lucky that the Friends of the High Line benefit lastWednesday took place at Cipriani Wall Street. “I need a goodreason and a stiff drink to go above 34th Street,” he said. It’salso why he joined guests such as Diane von Furstenberg; her

son, Alex; Charles and Justin Rockefeller, and Gillian Hearst-Shaw, helpingraise $1 million toward transforming the abandoned Chelsea railroad into apublic space. “We need a park down here,” the actor explained.

Party designer Bronson Van Wyck had brought in what looked like anentire forest to decorate the massive space, where an eclectic crowdmingled. “I’m probably one of the only people here who has broken into theHigh Line,” Moby bragged. Well, the Rev. Al Sharpton would have broken in,too, he said, “but can you imagine the headlines if I got caught?”

The night before, in Central Park, Amanda Peet, Fernanda Niven, Amanda“Binky” Urban and Sandra Bernhard joined Alexandra Shiva to celebrate theopening-night gala of the Shakespeare in the Park production of “As YouLike It” at the Delacorte. Still in a Hamptons state of mind, Dori Cooperman,who was running late, called ahead and asked if the theater had valetparking. Needless to say, it didn’t.

Over at Lever House that night, Marjorie Gubelmann Raein and Paul Ziff,president of Zenith Watches North America, were hosting a dinner to honorThierry Nataf, Zenith’s chief executive, who was in town from Paris.

Some socials were feeling more burned out than others. Tinsley Mortimer,who vacationed in Panama with husband Topper in early June, is now a workinggirl, after all. She’s acting as fashion correspondent for Plum TV, a localHamptons station, and the live Saturday AM tapings have taken their toll. “Itmeans no wild Fridays,” she said. “If they ask me to do it again next summer,I’m going to have to figure out a way to do it so I can still go away.”

Guests such as Jennifer Creel, Eleanor and Jon Ylvisaker, Tantivy Bostwick,Daniel Benedict and Christian Leone enjoyed tuna carpaccio, lobster tails andlamb in the private dining room, where the table was strewn with the latestZenith designs. Vanessa von Bismarck and Benedict fought over a blackmink-trimmed model while Andrew Saffir and Shoshanna Lonstein Grussdiscussed the latest on America’s current obsession: TomKat.

As the meal wound down, another couple became the topic ofconversation, as guests raved about von Bismarck’s recent wedding inGermany to Maxim Weiner. Asked why she had chosen to keep “vonBismarck” at the end of her name, the new bride replied: “I kept it forbusiness reasons.” But her husband revealed the truth: “It’s better forgetting reservations at restaurants.”

BABY LOVE: When she’s not kicking up her fishnet-clad legs in the WestEnd production of “Chicago,” London mum Brooke Shields is spendingtime with one very pretty baby — her daughter, Rowan.

“We’ve been doing a lot of Tumble Tots, Gymboree, parks, museumsand the London Eye,” said Shields at a lunch Patrick Cox gave in her honor.

Shields, who was wearing a silkAllegra Hicks printed dress and strappygold Patrick Cox heels, said her daughterhas already developed a taste for certaingreen acres in London. “She says:‘Mama, I want go Regent’s Park today.’How does she know this? She’s onlytwo,” said the proud mama.

Guests at the lunch at Morton’s inBerkeley Square included fellow West Endactor David Schwimmer, Jessica deRothschild, Martha Fiennes, Sabrina Guinness,India Hicks, Allegra Hicks, Julia Peyton-Jones,Isabella Blow and Arnaud Bamberger.

Earlier that week, Shields joined JadeJagger and Lady Helen Taylor, who hosted“An Evening at Sanderson,” the annualdinner and auction held to aid children’scancer charity CLIC Sargent.

More than 250 guests — includingKimberley Stewart, Camilla Al Fayed, MatthewWilliamson, Daniella Helayel, AlannahWeston and Kelly Hoppen — gathered at theSanderson hotel in central London tocelebrate the launch of the charity’sfriendship bracelet, designed by Jagger forjeweler Garrard. Jagger’s daughters, Assisiand Amba, were the first to hit the dancefloor — but, hey, that’s normal whengrandma and grandpa are who they are —and were later joined by mom.

BRIJUNI, Croatia — “This is party polo,not professional polo,” quippedUmberto Angeloni, chief executive of-ficer of Brioni, during his company’ssecond annual Polo Classic, held onthe Croatian island of Brijuni earlierthis month. The Italian luxury goodscompany pulled out all the stops, lay-ing out a polo field and stables, beforeferrying over some 90 horses to the is-land so that four polo teams couldcompete in this year’s tournament, inwhich Team Mayback took home thetrophy. They even flew in an Italianchef for a dinner held under whitetents near the sparkling Bay of Venusand ancient Roman ruins.

The green of the island’s pristine waters rivaled only that of the pitch,where player Jose Bertola caused a stir when he turned model during halftime,stripping off his polo shirt and slipping into a striped jacket from Brioni’s newmen’s polo collection. “There’s no standard dress for a polo match,” he said.“You dress how you want and what makes you feel comfortable.”

All the while, his chic and watchful wife, Maria Jose Bertola, never took hereyes off him to let the other ladies know he’s very taken. Unlike femaleRussian polo player Vladlena Belolispskaia Bernardoni, who watched from thesideline in a tiered purple straw and chiffon hat and gray silk slip dress,Bertola’s wife preferred an easier look of pink jeans and a multistriped sweater.

Up-and-coming Italian polo player Costanza Marchiorello wasn’t inter-ested in Bertola’s rugged looks, but rather in his wicked swing. The 16-year-old has been riding since she was six, and she trains with her dadand fellow Marchiopolo Polo Team Cartier player, Giovanni Marchiorello.

Horses and competition aside, though, the event’s main raison d’êtrewas a social one. Covered in pine trees and dotted with Roman ruins, theisland has remained an unspoiled gem in the Adriatic Sea. A handful ofinhabitants share the unspoiled land with deer, peacocks and the ele-phants and zebras in the island’s zoo.

“Each year we ask ourselves, ‘Should we do it?’ And each year we doit,” Angeloni said. “Each year we’re happier that we did, because thisisland is magic.”

— Courtney Colavita

WWD.COM

Polo SportPolo Sport

eye®

New York’s pregnant brigade just lost one of its chic members. Last Wednesday night, proudparents Marisa Noel and Matt Brown welcomed their son, Luke Haegler Brown, into the world.Born 8 pounds, 7 ounces, little Luke is healthy and happy, as is his new yummy mummy.EYE SCOOP

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The High Life

Tinsley

Mortimer in

Nina Ricci.

Tinsley

Mortimer in

Nina Ricci.

Marjorie Gubelmann

Raein in Carolina

Herrera and Vanessa

von Bismarck in

Derek Lam.

Marjorie Gubelmann

Raein in Carolina

Herrera and Vanessa

von Bismarck in

Derek Lam.

Edward Norton in

Prada with his

father, Ed Norton.

Edward Norton in

Prada with his

father, Ed Norton.Alex and Diane von

Furstenberg in DVF.

Alex and Diane von

Furstenberg in DVF.

Amanda

Peet in

Marc

Jacobs.

Amanda

Peet in

Marc

Jacobs.

Alexandra

Shiva in

Prada.

Alexandra

Shiva in

Prada.

Gillian Hearst-Shaw in

Diane von Furstenberg.

Gillian Hearst-Shaw in

Diane von Furstenberg.

Polo players on the field.Polo players on the field.

Brooke

Shields with

husband

Chris Henchy.

Brooke

Shields with

husband

Chris Henchy.

Jessica de

Rothschild

Jessica de

Rothschild

Italo-Argentine player Jose

Bertola along with his wife,

Maria, and family.

Saffron

Aldridge

Saffron

Aldridge

WWD, MONDAY, JULY 18, 2005 5WWD.COM

By Cate T. Corcoran

NEW YORK — Zazzle, an onlineretailer of personalized T-shirtsand paper products, today plansto announce its first round of ven-ture funding for $16 million, ledby blue-chip venture capital firmKleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

The Menlo Park, Calif.-basedcompany also launched a newproduct line today — customizedpostage stamps.

Zazzle has been selling person-alized T-shirts online since 2003.Customers may select dozens ofstyles and colors, laser or high-er-quality dye sublimation print-ing and images from a variety ofsources, including individualartists, the Library of Congressand Disney. They can add wordsor supply their own artwork.

All orders are shipped in 24hours. The shirts, sweatshirts andbaby onesies from suppliers suchas Hanes and American Apparelare printed in Zazzle’s MenloPark and Palo Alto factories usingstandard printers and processesthat the company has enhancedwith its own technology.

Some restrictions apply. Thecompany won’t print photos ofcelebrities without their permis-sion, regardless of who owns thecopyright, or obscene words orimages. Zazzle, which uses a com-bination of software and peopleto vet the content, will also notprint political images or mes-sages, including U.S. officials, onpostage stamps. Stamps.comstarted selling personalizedpostage stamps in May.

Zazzle does not reveal its rev-enues or order volume, said chiefexecutive officer Robert Beaver.The company will use the ven-ture funding to expand its just-in-time manufacturing operations,among other things, he said.

Zazzle is one of many firmsusing digital technology and theWeb to explore “mass customiza-tion,” or the making of uniqueproducts at competitive pricesusing factory production methods.

Among Kleiner Perkins’ in-vestments are AOL, Amazon andGoogle.

Zazzle to SetFunding Plan,Selling Stamps

ELECTRA-FIED: Now that music has staked itsclaim to the fashion business, Hollywood’s gettingin on the action. Carmen Electra has just teamedup with Aeros LLC and president Lee Shafkowitzto launch her signature line of casualwear, lingerieand footwear, set to hit stores in November. Thetarget audience: the current MTV generation of14- to 24-year-olds who watched her tie the knotwith husband Dave Navarro on the channel’sshow. “’Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen & Dave.”

Price points haven’t been ironed out, butShafkowitz, formerly the North Americancommercial director for Max Mara, is planninga national launch in about 200 doors, with animmediate goal of doubling that number.“She’s got a refinement that has really beencoming through as she does more televisionand movie work,” Shafkowitz says. Plus, headds, “she’s really, really, really nice.”

BABY STEPS: While some new mothers takemore than a few months after the baby’s birthto relax, Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss, whosedaughter, Sienna, is just three months old, tookto the design board. This past weekend, hernew swimwear line for girls ages 2 to 14, fullof adorable prints such as miniature cherriesand hearts, previewed at the Miami swim showand will formally launch at the children’s tradeshow in October. As if that weren’t enough, shehas an exclusive girls’ clothing line with SaksFifth Avenue for spring 2006. “They actuallycame to us,” said Gruss. “They said, ‘Yourprints always reminded us of little girls stuff.’”

Though Saks approached Gruss beforeSienna was born, her daughter clearly has hadan influence on her new efforts. The girls’ lineis tentatively called Shoshanna Baby Girl,because “we didn’t name her for almost twoweeks,” said Gruss. “We kept calling her BGfor ‘Baby Gruss’ and ‘Baby Girl.’ And it stuck.”And even though she’s still too little for theswim line, Sienna’s presence can be found

there, too. “They’re all full-body pieces,” jokedGruss. Whatever happened to maternity leave?

A ROLLING STONE GATHERS LOTS OF FASHION: Itseems Mick Jagger and co. will be rocking out— and selling out stadiums as they go along— until, well, death do they part. And, by golly,they’ll be doing it in style. When the RollingStones kick off what seems like its 100th tour inAugust to support the band’s new album, out inSeptember, Jagger will be kitted out in only thefinest costumes. It’s said the legend has tappedBalenciaga’s Michele Sodi, Dior Homme’s HediSlimane and Comme des Garçons’ Rei Kawakuboto add some custom-made, high-watt style to hisonstage swagger. Jagger caught Slimane’s andKawakubo’s recent men’s presentations, whichboth riffed heavily on a rock theme — includinga take on the Rolling Stones’ logo at Comme.

THREE OF SPADES: The launch of Selima for JackSpade Sunglasses at Pier 40 on Thursdayevening was upstaged by another launch — that

of Frances Beatrix Spade,Kate and Andy Spade’sfour-month-old daughter.

“This is her first nightout,” said Kate, whobeamed as partygoersgaggled and cooed at thewell-behaved and well-dressed child, clad in awhite cotton eyeletromper. Kate, whoremains on maternityleave, said she’d do the baby thing all overagain. “When I was in college, I wanted to havea baby, though I wouldn’t have done it then.”

Babies aside, guests gathered to view thehipster specs, which already hit Selima andJack Spade stores and retail for $275, then,with mojitos and barbecue in hand, watchedAndy, Rufus Albemarle and others race remote-controlled boats in the Hudson River. Artist RobLazzarini won first place and was rewarded with10 pounds of salmon from Gourmet Garage.

Fashion Scoops

The Spade clan.


Bon VoyageNEW YORK — Have luggage, will travel. It’s easier than ever to do that this fall, sincesuitcases, wheelies and weekenders are particularly chic, sleek, fun and colorful.

Tumi’s nylon trolley.

Louis Vuitton’s

Egyptian cotton

canvas trolley.

Orla Kiely’s

laminated

cotton canvas

trolley at

Showroom

Seven.

Y-3’s

nylon

backpack.

Dooney & Bourke’s

leather and nylon

travel bag.

Kipling’s

crinkled

nylon

luggage.

Nylon

case and

jewelry

roll from

Lulu

Guinness.

Cotton canvas and

leather bag by Lacoste

Bags and Leathergoods.

Leather and

plastic case

from Bric’s.

Accessories Report

8 WWD, MONDAY, JULY 18, 2005

By Jennifer Hirshlag

NEW YORK — Montblanc is expanding further into the women’s arena this fall withthe addition of fine jewelry to its assortment of pens, men’s and women’sfine watches, men’s accessories and men’s and women’s leather goods.

“More females are roaming around our boutiques these days,”said Wolff Heinrichsdorff, managing director of the Hamburg,Germany-based company, a subsidiary of CompagnieFinancière Richemont. “And more women are buying forthemselves. Women are increasingly the driving factor inluxury purchases.”

Heinrichsdorff said that about five years ago the compa-ny noticed an increase in business from women buying giftsfor men, and then for themselves, too. Today, some 50 to 60percent of Montblanc shoppers are women.

The Montblanc jewelry line comprises three collections, de-signed from rhodinated silver with elements that may includecolorful stones, mother-of-pearl, diamonds and Chinese lac-quer. The Montblanc name and star logo are promi-nent design features, as are playful details likerevolving pendants and reversible stones.

“We want the customer to be able tomix and match the pieces and have funwith them,” said Heinrichsdorff. “Wewant them to be able to personalizeand customize the jewelry.”

Standout items from the unembell-ished Profile collection include thespinning “wish” ring that features a sta-ble inner band and a contoured rotatingouter band.

The Star collection features the brand’s logoin items such as pendants that spin at the center and can be worn on colorful silkcord necklaces, and bangles that feature horizontal stripes in silver and blackChinese lacquer.

Bohème is the final collection and comprises rings, necklaces and bracelets with ayoung sensibility. Pieces include a bracelet of silver cubes, a few of which are double-

sided and embedded with different stones on op-posite faces, to be twisted based on the wearer’scolor preference for a particular outfit. There are

also wide ring bands with a perforated Montblanc star andtwo colorful stones dangling from the front.

All the Montblanc jewelry will be made in Italy and will begin re-tailing this October in the company’s 250 nationwide boutiques,

at better department stores like Nordstrom and at select finejewelers. Prices for Montblanc jewelry will range from $200

to $550.Heinrichsdorff declined to give sales projections for the

fine jewelry, but he said he anticipates “solid double-digitgrowth” for the assortment.

Richemont’s other brands include Van Cleef & Arpels,Piaget, Alfred Dunhill, Chloé and Lancel. In April, Richemont

reported that sales rose 10.1 percent to 3.72 billion euros, or$4.88 billion, for the fiscal year ended March 3, citing its

jewelry houses, watchmakers and writing instrumentfirms as contributing to the growth.

Heinrichsdorff said the company plans to in-troduce items to the jewelry collection every

six months.To advertise the launch of the line,Montblanc will roll out a print adver-tising campaign that will be its first

to feature a female model. Heinrichs-dorff said the model has not been con-

firmed. Ads will run in major fashion ti-tles, including W, Vogue and Elle, as well as in

newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal andThe New York Times.

Montblanc celebrates its 100th anniversary next year.Part of the celebration may include more products for women,

including a larger leather assortment.“We are now active in almost 40 different countries,” Heinrichsdorff said. “We

have to feed our customers worldwide. They have many different preferences, and it’sforcing us to think differently.”

WWD.COM

By Marianne HayesNEW YORK — Oakley’s new flagship, which opened thisweekend at 113 Prince Street in SoHo, marks anotherstep in its plan to become a fashion lifestyle brand.

The 2,000-square-foot store is Oakley’s first retail lo-cation in New York, as well as in the Northeast.

“Manhattan is obviously one of the world’s preemi-nent retail areas, especially SoHo,” said LinkNewcomb, Oakley’s chief operating officer.

The flagship sells products for women and men, in-cluding the brand’s sunglasses, prescription eyewear,apparel, accessories, electronics and footwear, all ofwhich are made in-house.

The store has a strong metropolitan street vibe.Brushed aluminum and stainless steel adorns the in-terior, wired light fixtures hang low above the mer-chandise and the playlist includes punk tunes fromthe Eighties.

Fitted tweed jackets sell for $120, and pairs of big-rimmed Riddle sunglasses that are new for fall retailfor $120 to $200. Shoes range from about $80 for metal-

lic flats to $295 for leather wedges.The Foothill Ranch, Calif.-based company declined

to give sales projections for the flagship. Oakley had a

retail volume of about $585 million last year, withroughly 15 percent coming from apparel and acces-sories. Sunglasses are still the company’s largest cate-gory, accounting for about 50 percent of sales.

The company is steadily adding product categoriesas it seeks to build its business outside of sunglasses.In February, Oakley showed at the 7th on Sixth runwayevent a fashion-forward collection featuring a selec-tion of streetwear, outerwear and accessories.

“Historically, the brand is known for performance,”Newcomb said. “One of the things we’ve worked hardto do is find a balance with fashion and lifestyle.”

Oakley plans to participate in Fashion Week againthis fall, said a company spokesman.

Oakley has 44 company-owned O Stores around theworld, in addition to seven other stores that are operat-ed under license. Several of the stores are located inother regions of the U.S. The company also recentlyopened flagships in London and Mexico City. Newcombsaid Oakley plans to open 10 to 15 O Stores before theyear is up, including one in Toronto.

“We’re looking into a few international locations,”Newcomb added, noting that Oakley will continue toexpand its business through the opening of new stores,as well as with its continuing efforts to expand itslifestyle offerings.

Oakley: The View From SoHo

Montblanc’s New Shining Stars

PHOT

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KYL

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ICKS

ENThe new Oakley store in SoHo.

Montblanc’s charm

bracelet and rings.

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By Sophia Chabbott

NEW YORK — A. Testoni is making an aggressive pushinto women’s accessories while building its network offreestanding stores.

The Bologna, Italy-based firm, founded in 1929 byAmadeo Testoni, has until now been known as a men’sluxury leather goods maker, focusing mostly on shoes.

The family-owned company has entered thewomen’s business full throttle. With a new designteam in place, Testoni launched its first full women’scollection of handbags and shoes, called A. TestoniFemme, this spring. The company is also increas-ing wholesale and retail distribution with two newstores in Las Vegas and Palm Beach, Fla.

“In order to take Testoni to its next level, weassessed our position and started fresh,” saidArrigo Berni, chief executive officer of A.Testoni, who was promoted to his post afterMassimo Macchi left to become ceo ofGianfranco Ferré in February.

“We started [the women’s division] in a newpath that doesn’t necessarily compete with estab-lished brands in the market. There’s more thanenough choice in the fashion area of the spectrum[for luxury accessories]. Rather, we’re trying to findthe right balance between the need for creativity and beau-ty in designs, and what women need on an everyday basis.”

Yvan Benbanaste, Testoni’s new style director, completed his first collection forspring, featuring signature handbag styles contending and competing withtop-tier accessories brands.

“The inspiration behind the women’s collection is an aristocratic, glam-orous style, while focusing on an airy feeling,” said Benbanaste.

The bags incorporate exotic skins, elaborate hardware and lavish rosequartz stones with an engraved logo.

One of the brand’s signature styles is known as the Turtle bag, a basket-style satchelmade of woven hand-stitched straps of cropped leather of irregular thickness, creating a

shell of sorts, lined with canvas. The bag, which is popular inEurope, will be introduced to the U.S. market this fall, and theline will be extended to include other silhouettes for spring 2006.

Another style from A. Testoni Femme is a lavish day bag in aflower-print fabric that has pink ostrich trim, with a profusion of

ostrich feathers and gold self-frame and rose quartz logo closure.The company is known for its use of exotic skins in novel ways,

and so it incorporates alligator with woven leather or chain maillein certain styles.

Prices for the core handbag collection range from $300 to$600 wholesale. Exotic skins can go up to $7,500 retail for an all-

crocodile style.The company has retail on its mind, with 72 stand-alone stores worldwide,

three of which are in the U.S.: Honolulu, New York and Las Vegas. Forty stores are di-rectly owned, while the rest are franchises.

“I’ve learned from experience that one has to be very pragmatic,” said Berni. “We arestarting out with these stores and will take a look at how they work.”

Berni said the company is looking at locations in San Fran-cisco, Chicago, Aspen and the New York Tristate area for futureU.S. boutiques.

The bulk of the Testoni business is in the Far East, where thereare 60 boutiques.

Industry sources estimate the company’s volume to have beenabout 40 million euros in 2003 (or about $48 million at the currentexchange rate), and Berni projects Testoni will have a 10 to 15 per-cent growth within the next year.

Berni also has plans to increase the brand’s visibility by way ofA. Testoni Femme within the company’s wholesale channels, whichinclude specialty stores such as Belizza in Miami and Vogue Shoesin Los Angeles.

Accessories Report

A.Testoni Pursues Its Femme SideAn updated doctor bag.

A cream Turtle bag.

A military-

inspired

boot.

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20 West 36th Street, New York, NY 10018 212.563.5420 • Fax 212.803.0638

www.koolkonnections.com

TEL. 212.768.9095

CAROLINA AMATOnew york

GLOVES AND KNITS

AD IT UP: Etienne Aigner has been working to reassert its status on themain floor. First, the 55-year-old brand updated the designs of itshandbags, then it launched a costume jewelry line for fall retail, and

now it’s rolling out a new print ad campaign.Jim Piotti, Etienne Aigner’s creative director,

said the campaign departs from those of the pastwith a new emphasis on the customer’s lifestyle.

“We’ve come to know what our customer isabout and what her interests are, and werealized an emotional bonding was necessary totake place [to reach her],” Piotti said.

The campaign, which was created by NewYork-based Mixed Media Group and shot onLong Island, will appear in trade publicationsbeginning in August, followed by nationalmedia placement in September in lifestylebooks including Vogue, In Style and Lucky. Italso will outfit some 35 Manhattan kiosks.

Etienne Aigner is owned by British-basedHartstone Group.

JET-SETTER: Jade Jagger, rock ’n’roll progeny and the Ibiza-based creative director forjewelry house Garrard,knows that to travel

well, one must do it in style. So, under Jagger’s creative direction,the brand has launched a travel accessories collection.

The collection of 15 pieces, including jewelry rolls,neck rests and photo albums, are designed from materialssuch as metallic leathers and python, and feature Garrard’ssignature wing. Prices range from $145 retail for a luggagetag to $675 for a snakeskin jewelry roll.

“Garrard had always played a part in peoples’ travel plans, whetherit be for that trip to the country or the cruise across the Atlantic,” saidBetsy Borkowski, retail manager for Garrard. “Today’s needs are slightlydifferent than in those days, so Jade has come up with the Wings travelaccessories range, which encapsulates a passion for color, spirituality andfemininity fused with British elegance.”

The collection is launching in Maxfield in Los Angeles, Jeffrey in NewYork and Atlanta, Mix in Houston and Garrard in New York.

SHOPAHOLIC GOES TO THE HAMPTONS: Super Saturday, greater NewYork’s most anticipated shopping experience for socialites,celebrities and everyday shoppers, has new accessories-relateddraws for this year’s event, to be held July 30 at Nova’s Ark Projectin Water Mill, N.Y.

In Style’s accessories director, Alice Kim, is helping to launch theIn Style Accessories Salon, in which smaller accessories designerswill get the opportunity to participate in the event.

“We decided to open the event up to smaller designers, wheredesigners could donate anywhere from 10 to 50 items,” said Kim,who promised that the stalls will also be chock full of Lee Angel,Oscar de la Renta and Brian Atwood.

The event will feature a design-your-own-right-hand-ring booth,where shoppers can create their own half-carat ring and enter acontest to be one of 10 winners to have their designs realized.

Super Saturday 8 is underwritten by Donna Karan andsponsored by In Style magazine. In Style, its managing editorCharla Lawhon, Kelly Ripa and Karan will host the event,which benefits the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

MATERNAL MOMENT: A pregnant Heidi Klumsparkled earlier this month at a showing of

her second jewelry collection forMouawad at the Chambers Hotel

in New York.The collection featuresKlum’s signature four-leaf clover in a wider arrayof options. Styles include a

hoop earring in the shape of aclover with two-tone chains

suspended within the hoop; awhite-gold cuff bracelet on which sitsa clover inlaid with ostrich skin, and a yellow gold eternity bandforged of tiny clovers.

Klum, who is expecting the birth of her child with new husbandSeal in seven weeks, joked that her next advertising campaign forthe two-year-old collection would feature only her pregnant belly,not her face.

“We could just show [the belly] and make the belly button aclover,” she said.

FINDINGS

WWD, MONDAY, JULY 18, 2005 11WWD.COM

A still from Etienne Aigner’s new ad campaign.

A necklace

from Heidi

Klum’s

collection for

Mouawad.

Passport cases

from Garrard.

introducing

S C A R V E S & W R A P S

385 5TH AVE. 212-686-8990

By Rebecca Kleinman

MIAMI — Legwear makers predict higher salesfor the retail season after a strong showing onthe fall catwalks of novelty hosiery and socks —from tights in bright and pale colors to sheerswith new shimmer treatments, leggings in tex-tures and ankle and over-the-knee black socks.

“Like any visual that shows women how towear a trend, the runway has done a lot to cre-ate interest,” said Tony Taylor, creative directorfor Look from London, an accessories manufac-turer based in Brooklyn.

Taylor projected a 30 percent increase insales this fall. He said retailers, such as shoestores, which didn’t show much interest beforehave opened accounts and regulars are tryingto fulfill orders earlier.

“They used to want things by back-to-schooltime, but that’s too late this year,” he said.

Taylor, who designed hosiery featuring ahand-painted tribal tattoo print and brownsweater weave for Anna Sui’s fall show, saidcolor is important. Aside from magenta, cobaltand teal, he is shipping more brown and be-lieves it has a good chance of outselling black.

For texture, Taylor said cableknit andribbed looks would capture a wide audience.

Jennifer Puckett, sales and marketing direc-tor for Wolford-America, based in New York, seesa return to the high numbers the brand recordedin 2003. Sales are already ahead of last year andshould tally a 35 percent increase, she said.

Wolford supplied tights for the fall ZacPosen runway show, which Posen embellishedwith Swarovski crystals in ornate patterns.Wolford also designed raspberry sheers forTracy Reese and ribbed cotton tights in pepper,black and ecru for Alice Roi.

The Wolford customer responds to runwayfashion, Puckett said.

“All those fall suits just cried for legwear,and you can’t do the luxurious Russian trendwith bare legs,” she added.

Top-selling items for Wolford this season in-clude crochet in vertical stripes, multicoloredgraphic prints and brown or gray opaques fromthe Velvet Deluxe collection.

“No color beats black yet, but women arebuying the brights we usually just put in thewindow,” she said.

American Essentials, a New York-based leg-wear company that makes Calvin Klein legwear,is also delivering its premier shipment ofhosiery and socks for Michael Michael Kors thisfall to department stores including Nordstrom,Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s East and MarshallField’s.

“The luxe-ski-house look is another impor-tant fall story,” said Michele Slade, vice presi-dent of sales and marketing.

Bestsellers include Michael Michael Korsanimal, paisley or blown-up houndstooth printsin red, camel or chocolate, in addition to basicblack. Cable and ribbed patterns also did well.

“Fashion bookings are up double digits this

year,” Slade said. “Basics always sell, butthere’s more balance now.”

Wayne Lederman, president of LegResource, the New York-based licensee forAnne Klein and Via Spiga legwear, amongother brands, said he has opened 50 new ac-counts this year, an estimated 10 percent gain.

“As long as skirts are important, legwearwill be,” he said.

Lederman said while sheer and nudepantyhose business is down, fashion leg-wear is generating excitement. Hosiery incolorful opaques and metallic yarns andtrousers socks with bohemian or traditionalpaisley prints, and men’s wear patternssuch as chevrons, tiny dots or pinstripes arebooking strongly. Also doing well are socksthat update novelty with solid bodies andtops that are adorned with lace, buttons,embroidery or fur.

“There’s even a style with a little func-tional belt that tightens or loosens socks atthe top,” he said.

Crocheted tights have replaced fishnetsfor texture, Lederman said.

Nadine Hall, general manager and vicepresident of hosiery for Sara Lee BrandedApparel, the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based li-censee for Donna Karan and DKNY, saidfall’s push toward femininity and formalityimproves hosiery’s level of usage.

For Donna Karan’s runway show, thecompany moved away from the traditionalshiny metallics for evening and createdsheer opaque blends with a bit of glimmerin a grayish taupe hue that gives legs ahealthy, radiant glow.

“We call it bronzing,” Hall said. “The lookis lovely on the runway because it’s not flat,but wearable for the mainstream, too.”

Sales have surpassed projections, thoughHall said the runways are just a trend’s firstwave. Only in late September or early Octoberwill vendors see definite results. However, re-tailers have been more apt to get on board.

“It’s rare for retailers to book without see-ing samples like they did this year,” she said.

Molly Mott, vice president of sales forKaiser-Roth, based in Greensboro, N.C.,which manufactures Hue legwear, said thebusiness is doing well with color. The brand’sfall collection offers opaque tights in 20 col-ors. Black remains number one, with cameland winter white growing in popularity.

“Only 40 percent of [the company’s]opaque business is black,” said Mott, whoattributed color sales to magazines. “Theyteach people how to wear color, like abrown suit with orange opaques.”

Sales of sweater knits in heavier yarnsalso have grown over the last few seasons,Mott said.

“We see small increases in basics andwill continue to freshen our assortmentthere, but fashion looks are creating 20 per-cent sales increases this year,” she said.

Legwear Report


Variety Kicks Up Fall Legwear SalesWWD.COM

Influential legwear, including glimmer hosiery, over-the-knee socks, textured tights and colorful

prints on the fall runways of Donna Karan, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Alice Roi and Anna Sui.

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WWD, MONDAY, JULY 18, 2005 13

By John ZarocostasGENEVA — China lashed out atTurkey in a heated World TradeOrganization session Friday,charging that Ankara was tryingto make it “a scapegoat” over de-velopments in global textiles andapparel commerce since quotaswere dropped this year, diplo-matic and trade sources said.

China’s remarks came in re-sponse to claims by Turkey thatChina was taking the largestpart of the liberalized globalmarket, and that Turkey andother developing countries“face the risk of being sweptaway from their traditional ex-port markets.”

Turkey said China had ex-panded its exports of textilesand apparel by 73 percent to theEuropean Union and by 65 per-cent to the U.S. market this year.

Turkey, in a three-page submis-sion, argued that China’s share inthe EU and U.S. markets, which,combined, account for 80 percentof world imports, is expected tocontinue to rise and that thiswould come “at the expense ofother developing countries.”

The Chinese delegation coun-tered, however, that the claims byTurkey were “unfair,” and ques-tioned the accuracy of the figures.

Turkey proposed that theWTO’s Council for Trade ingoods should establish a workprogram for a full and periodicreview of global textiles and ap-parel production, export andmarket circumstances, and de-velop appropriate remedieswithin the global trade system.

Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, SriLanka, Mauritius, Kenya and ElSalvador were among countriesthat backed the move by Turkey.China, supported by India,Brazil, Hong Kong and Chile,said the proposal by Turkey wasone-sided and unacceptable.Hong Kong is a special adminis-trative district of China.

The Chinese delegation notedTurkey was the second-largestsupplier to the EU with 14 percentmarket share and added Turkeyhad failed to mention that its tex-tile exports had increased by upto 30 percent in some markets.

China and TurkeyClash Over TradeAt WTO Meeting

By Kristi Ellis

WASHINGTON — The Bush ad-ministration will intensify itspush this week to shore up votesfor the Central American FreeTrade Agreement as a show-down in the House draws closer.

The administration is trying tochip away at opposition to thetrade accord, which proposes tolower and eliminate tariffs ongoods and services between theU.S. and Guatemala, El Salvador,Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaraguaand the Dominican Republic.The Senate approved CAFTA onJune 30.

Republicans from states hithard by imports trade have

joined blocs of Democrats whooppose the accord’s labor provi-sions, and the administrationhas turned its focus to SouthernGOP loyalists from textile statesto try to find enough votes forthe treaty’s passage.

The latest chapter in the politi-cal deal-making has brought to-gether U.S. Trade RepresentativeRob Portman with Reps. BobInglis (R., S.C.), J. Gresham Barrett(R., S.C.), Michael Rogers (R., Ala.),Phil Gingrey (R., Ga.) and SpencerBachus (R., Ala.).

Inglis said in an interview thatPortman had made someprogress on fine-tuning or ampli-fying three previous pledges theadministration had made to the

textile industry, but that progresssuffered a setback on one of thepromises last week. Nicaragua,which received allowances to useforeign fabrics and yarn from out-side of the U.S. and the region,apparently backed off a pledge topreserve some $95 million in ex-isting U.S. business. Inglis saidPortman is working to bring theNicaraguans back on board.

The two other pledges ap-pear to be on track, Inglis said.One is the administration’s revi-sion of its provision on cumula-tion, which allows a limitedamount of woven, denim andwool apparel made in theCAFTA countries from Mexicanand Canadian fabric to qualify

for duty-free treatment in theU.S. Inglis said Portman’s officeagreed to put off cumulationwith Mexico until it improves itscustoms procedures.

In addition, the administra-tion is closer to getting firm com-mitments from the CAFTA coun-tries to support a change to atreaty provision for pocketingfabric, to require that it be madeby one of the signatory countries.

The changes will likely needCongressional approval. Inglissaid he is asking Congress to actbefore the full vote on CAFTA, ex-pected by the end of the month.

Inglis, who remains undecid-ed, said he won’t vote for CAFTAunless both sides “sew up” thepackage before the House votes.

Republican Rep. Sue Myrick,who toured with President Bushthrough parts of her North

Carolina district Friday and isthe only one in her 13-memberdelegation to publicly supportCAFTA, said in an interviewthat “support is building.”

Bush, who toured the R.L.Stowe Mills plant outsideCharlotte, N.C., said in a speechthat CAFTA would open theCentral American market of 44million consumers to U.S. ex-ports, which face high tariffs inmany sectors.

“It we can get rid of the tar-iffs, it is more competitive, whichmakes it more likely we’ll beable to — in our neighborhood —compete with Asian manufactur-ers,” Bush said.

North Carolina exportedmore than $1.7 billion worth ofmanufactured goods to CAFTAcountries in 2004, primarily intextiles and apparel.

Bush Push for CAFTA to Heat Up

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F IND YOUR CENTER

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WWD.COM

By Karyn Monget

NEW YORK — Soma by Chico’s, the 10-unit lingeriechain created by the $1.1 billion Chico’s FAS Inc., hasaggressive plans to expand intimate apparel with sixnew Soma stores, to open by the end of the year.

Charles L. Nesbit Jr., executive vice president of op-erations, described the consumer who shops for inti-mate apparel at Soma stores “the Victoria’s Secretgraduate.”

“The Soma consumer is tired of shopping in anoverassorted department store environment,” Nesbitsaid.

Armed with Chico’s database of more than five mil-lion consumers — the majority in the 35-to-55 age range— the company believes Soma has the potential to growinto a multimillion-dollar powerhouse in the next sever-al years. Companywide, an overall gross margin totaled61.4 percent in 2004.

At the end of the first quarter, the company operated465 Chico’s stores, 27 Chico’s outlets, 178 White-House/BlackMarket locations, four WhiteHouse-/BlackMarket outlets and 10 Soma by Chico’s intimateapparel sites. Combined sales of Chico’s and Somastores were up 22.5 percent to $267.6 million in the firstquarter ended April 30 compared with the same perioda year earlier.

“We’re very selective about location for the Somastores because we are building the brand, not the loca-tion,” Nesbit said. “First of all, we are going to do twothings: intensification in a market and the rest of thestores will be in a new geographical area, maybe northof the Mason Dixon line.”

Existing Soma units — some of which are freestand-

ing stores or located side-by-side with a pass-through toa Chico’s store at an outdoor mall or lifestyle center —are in nine cities. They are: Atlanta; Birmingham, Ala.;Memphis; Dallas; Houston; Annapolis, Md.; Scottsdale,Ariz., and Sarasota and Fort Myers, Fla., where the par-ent company is headquartered. Nesbit would not givesales-per-square-foot figures, but said: “Retail sales aretracking on plan.”

“By specialty store standards, Chico’s is extremelyhigh, $1,000 per square foot. [Soma’s] not quite at thatlevel yet,” he said, noting that the average space ofSoma stores is 2,000 to 2,200 square feet.

Space allocation is evenly balanced, with 50 percentcomprising bras and panties, and 50 percent dedicatedto sleepwear and loungewear.

Terri Meichner, senior vice president and generalmerchandise manager for Soma, said one group of brasand daywear of microfiber nylon and Lycra spandexcalled the Travelers Collection has had “great success.”Inspired by Chico’s number-one selling Traveler’sCollection of casual apparel, she said it has become an“important signature fabric because of its easy care andsoft hand.”

Soma bras, which are designed to meet a target mar-ket of full-figured women sizes 6 to 16, are available incup sizes up to 42DD. Best-selling bra sizes are 36C andD, said Meichner, noting that black and nude, not white,are the top-selling colors because the Soma customer issophisticated and fashion-conscious. Suggested retailfor bras is $32 to $52, panties sell from $8 to $28 andsleepwear is $28 to $128.

Nesbit said several marketing and promotionalstrategies have clicked for Soma, which features a “loy-alty program” called Passport for the company’sChico’s, Soma and WhiteHouse/BlackMarket cus-tomers. It offers savings, including a 5 percent discounton all purchases, free shipping and discounts on giftcertificates.

“We also do inserts in catalogues in test markets inan effort to get customers to go to local Soma stores,”Nesbit said. “We’ve also done stand-alone mailers inmarkets we’re in and tried a number of direct-responsevehicles such as ‘come in and get a free fitting,’ or ‘we’llgive you $5 off if you buy $100.’’’

Innerwear Report

14 WWD, MONDAY, JULY 18, 2005WWD.COM

Chico’s Puts Soma on Fast Track

Custom designed

full-figured bras are

best-selling items.

VF TAPS JARDINE: The VF Intimates division of VF Corp.promoted Anne Jardine to president of the department storeand chain brands business, reporting to Curt Holtz,president of VF’s Intimates Coalition.

She succeeds Ellen Rohde, who was named to the new postof vice president of brand strategy, which includes intimates, aswell as VF’s branded apparel, outdoor products and workwear.Rohde reports to Stephen Dull, vice president of strategy.

Jardine, 54, will absorb her responsibilities as vicepresident of business development. Her new duties willinclude leading the coalition’s department and chain storebrand teams, including the Vanity Fair, Lily of France and thelicensed Tommy Hilfiger intimate apparel brands.

INTIMATE NOTES

Soma stores average 2,000 to 2,200 square feet.

Soma

loungewear

makes a

lifestyle

statement.

By Arthur Zaczkiewicz

NEW YORK — So far, it’s better than good.Although the WWD Composite Stock Index

was down at the midyear mark, it made a signifi-cant recovery as the bulls charged into the retailsector in the second quarter. As a result, theindex showed a loss of just 2.1 percent by the endof the first half.

Even as the index was outpaced by the 7.5 per-cent increase in the broader, S&P 500, individualcompany stock performances within the WWDindex showed impressive gains as investors tookprofits and viewed some stocks as having greaterupward potential.

The top performers during the first half includ-ed Wet Seal Inc., which gained 232.2 percent,Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse, which rose94.8 percent, and Retail Ventures, which climbed90.8 percent.

Of the 88 companies that comprise the WWDComposite Stock Index, 60 had gains in the firsthalf. And 90 percent of those gainers showed in-creases above 5 percent, while 60 percent hadgains above 20 percent.

Still, share prices faced some challenges dur-ing the first half. Same-store sales, a key metricclosely followed by Wall Street, were draggeddown by more difficult year-over-year compar-isons as well as lousy weather, analysts and re-tailers said.

On the vendor side, recent consolidation in theretail sector sent investors fleeing from shares ofcompanies thought to be hurt by the mergers ofFederated Department Stores and MayDepartment Stores as well as Sears and Kmart.

Rising fuel prices also weighed heavily on in-vestment decisions. As the price of crude oilreached and surpassed $55 a barrel, investors


FinancialWWD.COM

52-WEEK VOLUME AMTHIGH LOW P/E (00’S) LAST CHANGE

74.10 27.42 Abercrombie & Fitch 28.0 72404 70.01 -2.1135.46 25.31 Aeropostale 21.5 76410 33.29 1.6634.04 13.75 American Eagle 18.8 96693 32.66 0.7627.80 19.98 Ann Taylor 37.4 39173 25.60 0.3430.97 7.63 Bebe 46.3 32432 28.43 -0.473.59 1.20 Bluefly - 11319 1.53 -0.2220.77 10.62 Bon-Ton 14.9 2945 19.95 -0.5544.08 17.42 Burlington Coat 15.9 15794 39.30 -2.4718.53 10.90 Cache 23.1 2988 17.45 -0.5522.27 13.35 Cato 17.8 7036 20.85 -0.9521.45 8.84 Charlotte Russe 30.9 22530 13.90 1.1412.25 6.23 Charming Shoppes 19.7 134043 11.59 0.5139.43 16.91 Chico's FAS 44.8 56757 38.76 0.7752.94 16.77 Children's Place 29.7 30519 47.25 0.6531.15 19.31 CVS 25.8 226488 30.56 0.3031.35 22.05 Deb Shops 20.7 1750 30.00 -0.1128.60 18.30 Dillard's 19.2 19581 23.89 0.0122.80 17.69 Dollar General 19.1 80758 19.88 -0.4324.10 15.19 Dress Barn 20.7 21960 22.83 -0.9459.21 30.78 eBay 55.6 746999 35.08 0.5835.25 23.68 Family Dollar 18.5 50673 25.33 -0.2876.68 42.80 Federated 18.0 96489 73.79 -1.6729.95 19.97 Foot Locker 15.2 31814 26.23 -0.9023.75 18.12 Gap 16.3 180986 20.72 -0.2511.10 6.75 Goody's 42.1 2693 7.60 0.3912.45 3.85 Gottschalks 25.5 552 10.89 0.0121.12 11.58 Guess 23.5 29808 19.50 -0.292.64 0.95 Harold's Stores - 274 1.67 -0.0323.49 13.85 Hot Topic 22.9 63799 18.77 -0.9556.10 34.03 J.C. Penney 21.1 73154 55.25 -0.1658.90 41.11 Kohl's 26.1 106286 57.43 -0.8027.89 18.65 Limited Brands 16.5 62659 22.40 -0.4841.24 23.04 May Dept. Stores 24.9 122331 40.40 -0.6520.28 11.58 Mothers Work 20.0 676 13.01 0.01100.98 49.52 Neiman Marcus 20.0 9211 97.42 0.4224.41 14.76 New York & Co. 47.9 8303 22.42 -0.5036.25 18.03 Nordstrom 23.1 77364 36.00 0.4529.05 17.25 Pacific Sunwear 16.3 69672 22.98 0.1146.88 33.86 Regis 28.8 9790 40.93 0.3114.20 6.02 Retail Ventures - 54565 13.25 0.4631.37 20.95 Ross Stores 23.2 84421 27.26 -0.3820.70 11.61 Saks 45.9 78166 20.00 0.26161.75 61.76 Sears 12.8 186052 157.49 5.4026.70 14.07 ShopKo 15.4 19385 24.74 0.4048.11 31.22 Stage Stores 15.7 9987 45.70 -0.2626.47 13.71 Stein Mart 22.6 9329 23.40 0.1415.80 9.50 Syms 73.3 1243 15.64 0.7334.09 24.11 Talbots 18.2 20373 32.69 0.7358.97 40.03 Target 26.3 167069 58.70 1.7725.96 20.64 TJX 18.3 157824 23.54 -0.418.50 1.77 United Retail Group - 1816 8.06 0.0660.82 25.78 Urban Outfitters 46.0 66211 58.57 0.2857.89 46.20 Wal-Mart 20.3 454724 50.25 0.357.04 0.69 Wet Seal - 90259 5.72 -0.587.22 2.44 Wilsons Leather 5.5 6161 6.93 -0.1634.13 24.59 Zale 15.6 10529 33.80 0.82

56.31 41.61 Alberto Culver 20.0 19466 43.93 0.7246.25 35.64 Avon 20.4 86442 37.35 0.1226.76 17.56 Benetton 25.1 302 18.73 0.5837.87 23.08 Cherokee 17.4 1590 35.99 -0.0135.95 17.99 Coach 36.6 90447 35.27 0.0162.18 41.90 Columbia Sprtswr 13.9 15431 48.68 1.3326.50 19.16 Elizabeth Arden - 6377 24.12 0.3947.50 36.84 Estee Lauder 20.8 39149 38.27 0.3432.37 18.90 Fossil 17.5 35391 23.65 0.1511.75 5.69 G-III 72.9 352 10.40 0.5243.20 34.90 IFF 18.0 11102 36.94 0.1521.50 11.32 Inter Parfums 27.0 2213 21.39 0.7338.86 29.07 Jones Apparel 13.6 28934 32.87 1.1241.13 24.40 Kellwood 13.3 7482 27.88 0.1334.13 24.66 Kenneth Cole 18.7 2193 33.94 0.4743.82 33.40 Liz Claiborne 14.3 25386 42.23 1.535.08 2.67 Mossimo 20.3 307 4.36 0.1119.80 12.99 Movado 17.5 4185 18.08 -0.9392.43 68.61 Nike 19.0 64673 88.50 2.2646.94 33.34 Oxford 16.4 4584 45.71 -0.1324.65 18.20 Perry Ellis 10.4 1777 23.96 -0.0235.06 17.56 Phillips-Van Heusen 17.4 49056 32.95 -1.9448.55 31.01 Polo Ralph Lauren 25.6 32733 48.13 0.7918.12 9.63 Quiksilver 20.0 55071 15.93 -0.1546.30 31.25 Reebok 12.7 33251 42.52 -0.343.50 1.96 Revlon 111.0 38306 3.39 0.3221.84 16.15 Russell 12.2 20603 18.92 -2.334.00 0.71 Tarrant - 7739 3.26 0.2814.94 8.47 Tommy Hilfiger 12.0 23218 14.32 0.2216.55 0.65 True Religion Apparel 41.6 41824 16.15 2.2060.74 45.87 VF Corp. 13.5 29350 60.00 2.6225.84 17.57 Warnaco 20.6 9880 23.89 0.01

Weekly Stock Index

RETAILERSAbercrombie & FitchAéropostaleAmerican Eagle Ann TaylorBebeBlueflyBon-TonBurlington CoatCachéCatoCharlotte RusseCharming ShoppesChico’s FASChildren’s PlaceCVSDeb ShopsDillard’sDollar GeneralDress BarneBayFamily DollarFederatedFoot LockerGapGoody’sGottschalksGuessHarold’s StoresHot TopicJ.C. PenneyKohl’sLimited BrandsMay Dept. StoresMothers WorkNeiman MarcusNew York & Co.NordstromPacific SunwearRegisRetail VenturesRoss StoresSaksSearsShopKoStage StoresStein MartSymsTalbotsTargetTJX Cos.United Retail GroupUrban OutfittersWal-MartWet SealWilsons LeatherZaleVENDORSAlberto CulverAvonBenettonCherokeeCoachColumbia SprtswrElizabeth ArdenEstée LauderFossilG-IIIIFFInter ParfumsJones ApparelKellwoodKenneth ColeLiz ClaiborneMossimoMovadoNikeOxfordPerry EllisPhillips-Van HeusenPolo Ralph LaurenQuiksilverReebokRevlonRussellTarrantTommy HilfigerTrue Religion ApparelVF Corp.Warnaco

WWDStock Market Index

Largest Gainers Close ChangeTrue Religion 16.15 15.77Revlon 3.39 10.42Tarrant 3.26 9.40Charlotte Russe 13.90 8.93Goody’s 7.60 5.41

Largest Losers Close ChangeBluefly 1.53 -12.57Russell 18.92 -10.96Wet Seal 5.72 -9.21Burlington Coat 39.30 -5.91PVH 32.95 -5.56

Composite:1185.30

9.14

Vendors:1371.59

22.01

Retailers:1151.59

7.24

Index base of 1000 is keyed toclosing prices of Dec. 31, 2002.

Weekly % Changes(ending July 15)

WWD Index Rebounds in 2nd Qtr.

Continued on page 16

Wet Seal was one of the top performers of the first half

of 2005 with a gain of 232.2 percent.


FinancialWWD.COM

withdrew from the retail and consumer sectors.But they came back, lured into red-hot compa-

nies such as True Religion Apparel, Chico’s FASand Abercrombie & Fitch. Each of these stocksjumped, moving 71, 53.2, and 48.4 percent, re-spectively.

Wall Street also approved of the progress madeat Revlon Inc., which watched its shares rise 29.5percent by the end of the second half.

The other notable valuation surges were in thehigh-end sector. Shares of Nordstrom, NeimanMarcus and Coach rose 46.5, 38.1 and 21.9 percent,respectively.

Regarding the back half of 2005, the outlook isbullish. A recent report from equity analysts atA.G. Edwards said “in light of favorable outlookfor same-store sales growth relative to industrialproduction growth, we’re upgrading the [stockstracked by the analysts] to ‘overweight’ [from‘even-weight’].”

The analysts said they expect to see a 12 per-cent growth in retailers’ earnings, which is ex-pected to outrun an 8 percent earnings growthrate for the S&P 500.

“Earnings growth deceleration [last year,earnings advanced 18 percent for retailers and21 percent for the S&P 500] has by now, we be-lieve, been largely discounted by investors,” theanalysts said in their report. “That earningsgrowth deceleration had, until now, given uspause on the group.”

The analysts explained that this growth inrelative retail profits is in contrast to “deceler-

ating industrial production growth, which weuse as a proxy for the nonconsumer side of theeconomy. Such deceleration is typical for thelate stage of an economic cycle, as we are ar-guably in right now.”

Top picks from the analysts include J.C.Penney, Nordstrom, Best Buy and A&F. But thereare some bears out there.

In a report from Deloitte Research, a rising taxburden along with softening home prices willpressure consumer spending.

“The improvement in tax revenues points to astronger economy, but puts a lid on consumerspending growth,” said Carl Steidtmann, chiefeconomist of Deloitte Research.

“Likewise, the dramatic slowdown in home-price appreciation in recent months should re-duce concern over a housing bubble, but weakensone of the most important drivers of consumerspending,” said Steidtmann.

Retail Stocks Post Strong GainsContinued from page 15

Closing Price Closing Price Amount Percent1/3/2005 6/30/2005 Change Change

1. Wet Seal Inc. (R) 2.05 6.81 4.76 232.202. Burlington Coat Factory (R) 21.89 42.64 20.75 94.793. Retail Ventures Inc. (R) 7.15 13.64 6.49 90.774. United Retail Group Inc. (R) 4.34 7.70 3.36 77.425. True Religion Apparel (V) 8.01 13.70 5.69 71.046. Wilsons (R) 3.90 6.64 2.74 70.267. Chico’s FAS Inc. (R) 22.37 34.28 11.91 53.248. Bebe Stores Inc. (R) 17.49 26.47 8.98 51.329. Sears Holdings Corp. (R) 100.10 49.87 49.77 49.7210. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (R) 46.31 68.70 22.39 48.3511. Nordstrom Inc. (R) 23.20 33.99 10.79 46.4912. G-III Apparel Group Ltd. (V) 6.70 9.45 2.75 41.0413. Guess Inc. (R) 11.98 16.58 4.60 38.4014. Neiman Marcus Group Inc. (R) 70.20 96.92 26.72 38.0615. May Dept. Stores Co. (R) 29.12 40.16 11.04 37.9116. Saks Inc. (R) 14.39 18.97 4.58 31.8317. ShopKo Stores Inc. (R) 18.45 24.31 5.86 31.7618. American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (R) 23.37 30.64 7.27 31.1119. Revlon Inc. (V) 2.37 3.07 0.70 29.5420. Children’s Place (R) 36.08 46.67 10.59 29.3521. Urban Outfitters Inc. (R) 43.85 56.69 12.84 29.2822. Stein Mart Inc. (R) 17.01 21.99 4.98 29.2823. Dress Barn Inc. (R) 17.51 22.63 5.12 29.2424. CVS Corp. (R) 22.50 29.07 6.57 29.2025. Gottschalks Inc. (R) 8.73 11.25 2.52 28.8726. Federated (R) 57.54 73.28 15.74 27.3527. Tarrant Apparel Group (V) 2.36 3.00 0.64 27.1228. J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (R) 41.42 52.58 11.16 26.9429. Mossimo Inc. (V) 3.57 4.53 0.96 26.8930. The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. (R) 15.27 19.35 4.08 26.7231. Tommy Hilfiger Corp. (V) 10.90 13.76 2.86 26.2432. Charlotte Russe Holding Corp. (R) 10.06 12.46 2.40 23.8633. New York & Co. Inc. (R) 17.12 21.06 3.94 23.0134. Coach Inc. (V) 27.55 33.57 6.02 21.8535. Inter Parfums Inc. (V) 15.92 19.39 3.47 21.8037. Talbots Inc. (R) 26.67 32.47 5.80 21.7538. Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. (V) 27.18 32.69 5.51 20.2739. Harold’s Stores Inc. (R) 1.42 1.69 0.27 19.0140. Ann Taylor Stores Corp. (R) 20.60 24.28 3.68 17.8641. Syms Corp. (R) 12.50 14.69 2.19 17.5242. Aéropostale Inc. (R) 29.17 33.60 4.43 15.1943. Deb Shops Inc. (R) 25.36 28.97 3.61 14.2444. Perry Ellis International Inc. (V) 20.57 23.39 2.82 13.7145. Kohl’s Corp. (R) 49.27 55.91 6.64 13.4846. Hot Topic Inc. (R) 16.97 19.13 2.16 12.7347. Zale Corp. (R) 29.31 31.69 2.38 8.1248. The Cato Corp. (R) 19.16 20.65 1.49 7.7849. Oxford Industries Inc. (V) 40.19 43.05 2.86 7.1250. Quiksilver Inc. (V) 14.98 15.98 1.01 6.71SOURCE: DATA NETWORKS. (R) INDICATES A RETAILER, (V) INDICATES A VENDOR.

CHARGING BULLSTOP 50 PERFORMERS OF THE WWD COMPOSITE STOCK INDEX

(RANKED BY PERCENT CHANGE)

WWDCOMPOSITE STOCK INDEX VS. S&P 500

WWD COMPOSITE STOCK INDEX

S&P 500

“The improvement in taxrevenues points to a strongereconomy, but puts a lid onconsumer spending growth.”

— Carl Steidtmann,

Deloitte Research

The WWD Composite Stock Index versus the S&P 500 through midyear 2005.

AD PAGE GAUGE: It’s thattime of year again, whenfashion publishers line’em up to see whose isbigger. September issues,

that is. As of Friday, Vogue still hadn’t closed, but the rest ofthe major fashion, beauty and teen magazines were ready togo public with their final ad page tallies, or, at least, withestimates. Nine of the 14 titles will publish bigger issues thisSeptember than last, with the biggest gains coming at TeenVogue, Ellegirl and Glamour. Year to date through September,only one title — Marie Claire — is off more than a few pagesfrom last year; its 2005 running total of 944 represents a 7.4percent decline. Elle, Ellegirl, Glamour and Teen Vogue areall running more than 100 pages ahead of last year’s pace.(Full details in chart at right.) — Jeff Bercovici

SPIES LIKE US: A gaggle of Condé Nast employees couldn’t helpstaring Wednesday morning when two suspicious-looking youngwomen wearing black trenchcoats and fedoras boarded anelevator in the lobby of 4 Times Square. The onlookers’ curiosityturned to mild alarm when, just before the women exited at the14th floor (home to Cargo and Condé Nast Traveler), one ofthem, who was carrying a bulky plastic briefcase and wearingplastic goggles, activated what appeared to be a tiny camera

partly hidden under the brim of her hat. Once the doors hadclosed, the speculation began. Were the women infiltratorshired by Hearst to steal the secret formula of the men’s

shopping magazine? Amish teens on rumspringa, celebratingtheir freedom with gadgets and magazine internships? A TVcrew shooting a “Yentl”-themed reality show?

As it turned out, they were representatives from WildPlanet, a San Francisco-based company that makes science

toys for kids. They were there to pitchproducts for possible inclusion in

Traveler’s holiday gift guide. Thewomen, Robin and Kim, weredressed as secret agents topromote Spy Gear, a line of toysthat includes the MicroPeriscope, Spy Safe Cracker andXP-5 Spy Wallet. “The one they

were probably mistaking for thecamera was the Spy Night Patrol

Listener,” said Kim, reached thatafternoon. “That is a device for seeingin the dark, with a microphone abovethe right ear that amplifies sound.”

Robin and Kim are used to the confusion their outfitssometimes generate. On the day of the London bombings, theywere in Washington, where people assumed they were with thegovernment. But they don’t mind, said Kim. “We get into thewhole spy role-play thing.” — J.B.


By Meredith Derby

WELLINGTON, Fla. — Aéropostale Inc. revealed its firstJimmy’Z test store to a group of cautious but optimisticanalysts on Tuesday.

The new brand has promise, said several of the ana-lysts during a preview of the brand’s debut store here atthe Mall at Wellington Green. That is, as long as compa-ny executives execute the right fashion trends andtweak the brand appropriately as it ages — both ofwhich, Aéropostale executives stressed, are part of theplan for Jimmy’Z.

“We really are going to use the next six months totest,” said Julian Geiger, chairman and president of NewYork-based Aéropostale, addressing the group at the pre-view. The Wellington Green Jimmy’Z store, which openedits doors on July 7, is among a group of six test stores thatofficially opened last week. Other stores are located onthe outskirts of Philadelphia and Los Angeles, Chicago,Houston and Bloomington, Minn.; two outlets will openin August, and six more stores will open for Christmas, aspreviously reported.

Following the first 14 locations, Geiger said, the com-pany expects to open the next round of Jimmy’Z stores inthe third quarter of fiscal 2006. In all, the company ex-pects to open around 800 Jimmy’Z stores eventually.

The concept is retro yet modern, and relaxed whilebeing somewhat formal. Jimmy’Z includes an eclectic mixof Hollywood-, West Hollywood- and New York-inspiredapparel and accessories and is “a unique blend of oppo-sites, if you will,” said Tom Johnson, chief operating officerof Aéropostale. Johnson said despite its blend of celebrity-based styles, the Jimmy’Z concept hopes to attract a widevariety of customers in the 18- to 25 year-old age bracket.

For Eric Beder, equity analyst at Brean Murray & Co.,Jimmy’Z has to be “the next thing” for Aéropostale.Otherwise, he said, the company, which operates 628Aéropostale stores, is going to run out of growth opportu-nities, because its namesake concept should be close toits saturation point in the next two years. The companyhas said its Aéropostale concept will reach maturity at

around 1,000 stores.Gabrielle Kivitz, vice president of equity research at

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., thinks that while theJimmy’Z brand is “trend-relevant,” she stressed at theevent the store is in a test phase. She thinks the morethe Jimmy’Z team can make the store a place whereshoppers want to hang out, the more successful thebrand will be.

The Jimmy’Z stores were in fact designed to be a des-tination for customers. And already, Sean Forte, manag-er of the Jimmy’Z store here, noted shoppers’ enthusi-asm over the store’s four fitting rooms, each of which

plays a different genre of music — alternative, rock, hip-hop or techno. Frequently, he said, shoppers bring theirfriends back to the store to check out the fitting rooms.

So far, denim and graphic T-shirts are the bestsellerssince the store opened, and traffic has been “very posi-tive,” according to Forte.

Beder thinks the brand’s women’s loungewear is astrong area, and he also cited Jimmy’Z blouses, whichhe thinks are differentiated for their color. But he wrotein a subsequent research report that product upgradeswill be necessary “to capture the fashion-driven cus-tomers looking for more fashion-forward looks.”

Aéropostale Rolls Out Jimmy’Z TestWWD.COM

Aéropostale previewed its first Jimmy’Z test store to a group of analysts.

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MEMO PAD Sept. 2005 pages % change YTD ’05 % changeAllure 143 4.2 957 7.4Cosmogirl 112 1.8 572 5.2Cosmopolitan 250 10.6 1362 2.7Elle 347 2.1 1374 12.3Ellegirl* 121 34.5 548 33.5Glamour 236 27.9 1244 10.2Harper’s Bazaar 275 5.4 1091 7.7In Style 369 -3.8 2373 -0.0Jane 111 2.3 577 0.8Lucky 245 -5.9 1241 5.1Marie Claire 170 -8.1 944 -7.4Seventeen 128 -2.1 754 0.8Teen Vogue* 168 35.5 723 29.5W 388 -4.2 1354 -0.7* INDICATES THAT MORE ISSUES WERE PUBLISHED IN 2005 THAN IN 2004. SEPTEMBER 2005AND YEAR-TO-DATE 2005 NUMBERS ARE PUBLISHERS’ BEST ESTIMATES; NOT ALL NUMBERSARE FINAL. 2004 NUMBERS ARE FROM PUBLISHERS INFORMATION BUREAU.

The Spy Night

Patrol Listener.

ended in 1987. “[They were] terrible parents; parents who thought they knewbetter, but had no idea.”

Later in the Nineties, under the then-Vendome division of CompagnieFinancière Richemont, Lagerfeld’s business knew some better years. “But thenthey put in a new management and that was a disaster,” the designer recounted.

Having the right parent or owner has become a hot-button issue for the in-dustry at a time when Lagerfeld’s label is now owned by Tommy Hilfiger Corp.,and Christian Lacroix, after struggling for 18 years under LVMH Moët HennessyLouis Vuitton, is gunning for better fortunes with the Florida-based travel retailfirm Falic Group. And with Prada Group mulling whether to put Helmut Langon the block, that brand also could find itself adopted anew.

What’s more, Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH, in May said he mightagain be ready to welcome some new brands into his group, predicting some ofhis “important” competitors would fall on tough times and that he would beready to buy “at the right price.”

In the near term, though, Arnault has been selling off smaller brands likeLacroix. The Falic family, which bought the brand, has ambitious expansionplans for it, especially in America. "We think it's very well positioned,” SimonFalic, chairman of the Falic Group, told WWD earlier this month. “So muchmoney has been invested in this brand, and Mr. Lacroix is such a highly regard-ed talent in the fashion industry. I honestly believe we can double the sales vol-ume in five years, maybe sooner."

A large part of that will come in the U.S., where Falic already has plans toopen a Lacroix store at the Forum Shops in Las Vegas, perhaps by yearend, andafterward in New York and other cities.

But consultants, executives and analysts caution that luxury groups have sofar had a poor track record of minding large families of brands, despite the madrush in the Nineties to snap up companies left, right and center.

Betsey Pearce, a New York-based lawyer who represents fashion clients incontract negotiations and acquisitions, said questions of compatibility and ex-pectations are rarely addressed when deals are initially struck.

“What’s lacking objectively is what both sides have in mind,” she said. “There’s notenough attention put into constructing the mutual incentives, coming up with a busi-ness that’s going to work for everyone. Too often, you’ve got each side seeking a win.”

For example, she said buying a “beautiful designer” might represent a presti-gious holding for a group, “but it may not hold the attention of the top manage-ment.” There are also important cultural differences to consider, say, when aFrench group tries to manage an Italian or American brand, she added.

That said, observers allow that brands can flourish under new owners. As exam-ples, they cite Bottega Veneta, now owned by Gucci Group; Burberry, only recently de-merged from Great Universal Stores; Louis Vuitton, merged with Moët Hennessy in1987 to become part of Bernard Arnault’s luxury empire, and Chloé, the Richemont-controlled house that has become one of the most admired in the business.

Pearce also said she’s optimistic that Joseph, which had been owned byAlbert Frere’s Compagnie Nationale à Portefeuille, has found the right parentin Onward Kashiyama, its longtime men’s wear partner in Japan.

Another brand that seems to be benefiting from a change of ownership isBlissWorld, one of the niche beauty companies LVMH snapped up in 1999 andflipped last year to hotel and resort operator Starwood.

“I think even the brightest child can’t blossom under parental stifling or re-stricted exposure and investment,” said Ross Klein, senior vice president andchief marketing officer for W Hotels Worldwide, which already has four newBliss spas in the works. “All brands, like offspring, need the nurturing of theirparents and especially parents that aren’t fighting internally while the decisionsthat can make or break the child suffer or go unattended.”

At Starwood, Bliss has received more attention, including new investments intechnology, a dedicated business development team and leader and also whatKlein called the “the ultimate fuel for the brand” —the real estate required toincrease the spa footprint.

Lagerfeld said chemistry and mutual respect are essential between a design-er and the owner of his or her brand.

“Things can only work if everybody works well with everybody. The managementhas to make an effort — and the designers, too — if it is not coming naturally as itdoes at Chanel, where people work perfectly well together,” he said. “Designers

Continued from page one


Parents Make the Difference fo

Moving to new owners: Karl Lagerfeld with Tommy Hilfiger (above) is eager to grow the Lagerfeld Gallery

brand; Christian Lacroix has new owners for his brand in the Falic Group. Below, Lacroix with Jerome and

Simon Falic.


think they are geniuses — and managers often thinkthey know better. That can make a bad mix.

“Groups should only keep companies fittingwith their ‘culture,’ ” added Lagerfeld, who ac-knowledged he’s ended up with the wrong ownersin the past. “But you cannot know before,” he said.“You have to work with the people they give you tomanage the business.”

So far, Lagerfeld seems confident with HilfigerCorp. and seems to be enthusiastic about the set-ting up of his Lagerfeld Gallery label in New York.

But some observers downplayed the ownershipquestion, saying brand potential and scale are themost vital factors of success.

“If you are Helmut Lang and you are trying tofight against Chanel, whether you are owned by agroup or an individual investor, the game is going tobe difficult,” said Antoine Colonna, luxury analystat Merrill Lynch in Paris. “It’s not enough to changethe owner to have a different formula. We’re talkinggenerally about smaller brands and they will in anycase find it difficult to deal with the big ones.”

The fact that Emilio Pucci is thriving underLVMH, whereas Christian Lacroix did not, sug-gests the former had “an incredible differentia-tion factor,” whereas Lacroix could never surpassthe status of a niche brand, he said.

Still, Colonna allowed that having a bunch ofsmall, under-performing brands represents “amanagement distraction” for the groups who“don’t have infinite management reserves.”

Floriane de Saint Pierre, who runs an epony-mous executive search and consulting firm inParis, agreed that failed or stalled brand rejuve-nations are not always the fault of bad parents. “Idon’t think there are ideal owners,” she said.

In fact, reviewing recent transactions, she spied acommon denominator: “When the founding design-er sells his or her company, it is almost always a dis-aster,” she said, mentioning Jil Sander, Helmut Langand Donna Karan as examples. (Notable exceptionswould include Carolina Herrera, vastly improvedunder Puig Group, and Valentino, showing betterprofitability initially under Marzotto SpA and nowthe new Valentino Fashion Group, she noted.)

Designers whose firms become part of biggroups often continue to run companies on theirown terms, though, which is often at odds withnew shareholders seeking a return on their invest-ment. “Also, to take some distance, when a design-er sells his business, are you sure a designer wantshis company to do better?” de Saint Pierre asked.

To be sure, the struggle of smaller, often loss-mak-ing brands has helped contribute to lesser growthprospects for the entire luxury industry, according toMichael Zaoui, managing director and chairman ofmergers and acquisitions for Morgan Stanley inEurope. His calculations suggest that overall earn-ings growth prospects have been reduced by a thirdcompared with what the market expected in 2000.

Other factors raining on luxury’s parade includeintense competition from fast-fashion retailers suchas Zara and H&M, saturation of retail space for lux-ury in the West and growing pressure on margins asmanufacturers are reluctant to raise prices further

or move production to low-cost countries, he added.One of the best solutions for conglomerates is

to divest themselves of loss-making minor brands.However, Zaoui said there have been very fewmergers and acquisitions in European luxury andthat European private equity funds, extremely ac-tive in many other sectors, aren’t participating.

“There are probably more sellers than buyers andsellers are not convinced by the prices in today’s mar-ket,” he said. “Sellers still want the multiples of 2000.”

On the plus side, several observers say con-glomerates, often guilty of applying the same for-mula to all their holdings, are wising up. Hencethe selling off of some smaller brands.

“It’s just not possible for a group to take thatsort of approach,” said Johann Rupert,Richemont’s executive chairman. “Jewelry, watch-es, leather goods, textiles all have different distri-bution strategies and each require a different ex-pertise. Watches are mostly wholesale, but Cartierjewelry is almost never sold wholesale. Textilesare a totally different story. These product cate-gories are as different as wine, beer and Coca-Cola, and have to be treated individually.”

Colonna agreed luxury groups are becomingmore flexible. For example, when LVMH firstbought Donna Karan International, it initially ranit like a European luxury brand, with an Italianmanager, Italian manufacturing and an emphasison directly operated stores. Now, LVMH hasadopted a vastly different model skewed to theU.S. market and the wholesale channel.

Likewise, Gucci Group has sought to create moredifferentiation between its brands, particularly Gucciand Yves Saint Laurent, which then-Gucci Group cre-ative director Tom Ford once distinguished by sayingone store’s format was vertical while the other washorizontal, Colonna recalled. Today, YSL is charting amore distinctive brand image, “which will be morevisible in the years to come,” Colonna added.

“One-size-fits-all does not exist,” said MichaelBurke, chief executive officer of Fendi and a 20-year-plus veteran of LVMH and Christian Dior.“There are things I learned at Dior that are usefulfor Fendi, but it’s not cut and paste. You have ele-ments, but you have to adapt them to each brand.”

To be sure, Fendi’s fortunes have improvedunder sole LVMH ownership. It had faltered whenjointly owned by Prada Group, along with mem-bers of the Fendi family.

“The concept of arm’s length between sister com-panies is crucial,” Burke stressed, describing LVMHas a “federation” of brands, rather than one wherecorporate powers-that-be dictate global positioningfor all brands. “It was always very decentralized andbrand-centric,” he said of the French conglomerate.

But he acknowledged LVMH’s prowess liesmainly with brands that have global potentialacross different channels of distribution.

Lagerfeld agreed: “I think the big groupsshould concentrate on big, global names. Theyare good at that. Developing smaller businesseswith ‘difficult’ designers not so well known by thegeneral public is difficult because of the share-holders and the investment needed.”

for Smaller Brands

F L A T O T E LS T A Y O N T O P

1 3 5 W E S T 5 2 N D S T R E E TN E W Y O R K , N E W Y O R K 1 0 0 1 9

dream a little dream...or possibly a big one.

• T h e l a r g e s t s t a n d a r d g u e s t r o o m s o f a n y M a n h a t t a n h o t e l

• Tw o r e s t a u r a n t s

• 2 4 h o u r b u s i n e s s c e n t e r

• M e e t i n g s / e v e n t s p a c e

• M o r e s t y l e t h a n y o u c a n i m a g i n e

Rese r va t ions a t 212.887.9400 1 .800.F LATOTEL www. f la to te l . com

By Evan Clark

WASHINGTON — Wholesaleprices on U.S.-produced women’sapparel held steady in June, butwere up 0.7 percent from a yearago, the Labor Department re-ported Friday in the ProducerPrice Index.

Prices on all U.S. goods andservices were also flat lastmonth. Stripping out volatilefood and energy prices, pricesfell 0.1 percent.

The report, in conjunction withthe Consumer Price Index report-ed last week showing steady retailprices in June, indicated that in-flation has been contained, saidJohn Mothersole, senior econo-mist at Global Insight. However,he said there might be someweakening in Gross DomesticProduct in the second quarter.

Since the PPI measures theprices of domestically producedgoods, it reflects only a smallportion of the overall apparelbought by U.S. stores and is notnecessarily indicative of overallpricing trends in the market.

Within the women’s apparelcategory, prices for knit shirts andblouses were unchanged for themonth and were up 3 percent froma year earlier. Swimwear pricesslid 2 percent in June, but were up11.3 percent from a year earlier.

Prices for all U.S.-made ap-parel slid 0.1 percent lastmonth, but managed to inch up0.2 percent from June 2004.

In the textile area, prices onsynthetic fibers gained 0.4 per-cent last month and were up 6.3percent from June 2004. Greigefabric prices decreased 0.2 per-cent in June.

Apparel Prices Flat in June

By Jennifer Hirshlag

NEW YORK — Norman Raab,co-founder of the Villager lineof women’s apparel and the off-shoot juniors’ brand, Ladybug,died Saturday at the age of 89 atBroward General Hospital inFort Lauderdale, Fla.

Following a car accident lastyear, Raab had been in and outof the hospital and reenteredthe hospital last week for tests, afamily member said.

Founded by Raab and hisbrother Max in 1959, Villagerquickly became known for itsclassic collegiate style.

The fashion brand got off to arobust start with its offer of a pinkmen’s wear-inspired shirt — onethat was snapped up by teenswithin days, according to an arti-cle published in 2002 in thePhiladelphia Daily News. Thefirm’s assortment was subsequent-ly expanded to comprise lookssuch as shirts with small printsand plaids, crewneck sweaters,and pleated skirts, including kilts.

The brand was highly suc-cessful during the mid-Sixtiesand performed especially wellin affluent suburbs and in storeslike Saks Fifth Avenue.

It also launched SidneyKimmel’s career in sportswear.Kimmel, now chairman of JonesApparel Group, worked at

Villager during the Sixties, risingto the rank of president, beforegoing on to found Jones in 1970.

At its peak, Villager was re-ported to have reached $140 mil-lion in annual sales. The creationof Ladybug followed on the heelsof Villager’s success and sought tobring the same style to a youngermarket during the Sixties.

Since 1992, Villager has beenowned by Liz Claiborne, whichstill markets its dresses and ac-cessories.

After Villager was sold, MaxRaab went on to work as a pro-ducer in Hollywood, on filmssuch as “A Clockwork Orange”and “Walkabout.” In 1974, he re-turned to the sportswear busi-ness and founded J.G. Hook.

Norman Raab was born inPhiladelphia on Nov. 10, 1915,the New York Times reported.He graduated from Simon GratzHigh School in 1934 and attend-ed Penn State University, but didnot receive a degree. He servedas a bombardier navigator inEurope in World War II and wasawarded the DistinguishedFlying Cross and the Air Medal.

Raab retired to Florida at age54, where he became involved inmedical philanthropy.

He is survived by his secondwife, Christine Brooks; his sons,Stephen and Whitney; his broth-er, and four grandchildren.

Villager Founder Norman Raab

WWD.COM

Obituary

You can’t afford not to be there.

WWD DNRCEOSUMMIT

For information: 212.630.4779 or [email protected]

Speakers to date:

WWD|DNR Retail|Apparel CEO Summit

November 2-4, 2005, The Ritz-Carlton, Battery Park, New York City

Sponsored by:

Robert PoletGucci Group NV Robert PoletGucci Group NV

Nicolas GhesquièreBalenciaga SANicolas GhesquièreBalenciaga SA

Myron E. (Mike) Ullman IIIJ.C. Penney Company Inc.Myron E. (Mike) Ullman IIIJ.C. Penney Company Inc.

Kevin RobertsSaatchi & Saatchi WorldwideKevin RobertsSaatchi & Saatchi Worldwide

Eric C. WisemanVF Corp.Eric C. WisemanVF Corp.

Mindy GrossmanNike Inc.Mindy GrossmanNike Inc.

Claudio Del VecchioRetail Brand Alliance Inc.Claudio Del VecchioRetail Brand Alliance Inc.

Terri L. KellyW. L. Gore & Associates Inc.Terri L. KellyW. L. Gore & Associates Inc.

Ronald B. JohnsonApple Computer Inc.Ronald B. JohnsonApple Computer Inc.


PARIS — Galeries Lafayette is sprucing up the beautyfloor of its Boulevard Haussmann flagship here.

On Sept. 1, the department store willunveil a completely revamped beautyspace that is to offer new services andbrands. The floor space for beauty willbe increased by 3,229 square feet, to a total of 26,910square feet.

The new beauty department will carry 260 brands, ofwhich 30 are newcomers, on 66 stands — or 14 morethan before the renovation. The space’s layout will bereworked to revolve around a central area comprisingChristian Dior, Chanel, Lancôme and Guerlain stands. Aseries of aisles running from that central space will di-vide the perfumery into treatment, fragrance and make-up sections.

Other novelties are to include made-to-measure cos-metics by Colorlab; a Shu Uemura lash bar; a 377-square-foot L’Oréal Paris stand that groups the compa-ny’s skin care, makeup and hair care products in onespace; an open-sell treatment and hair care area, plus

a “parfumothèque” showcasing more than 100 fra-grances for customers to sample.

The Galeries Lafayette beauty floormakeover is part of a retail renais-sance now taking place on BoulevardHaussmann. The Printemps depart-

ment store flagship, also on that shopping thorough-fare, created what it calls the world’s largest perfumeryin 2003. And, right down the street, Sephora opened adoor late last year.

— Brid Costello

Kao’s Molton Brown Buy FinalizedLONDON — Japan’s Kao Prestige Ltd., a division of KaoCorp., has finalized its acquisition of the London-basedbeauty marketer Molton Brown.

A Molton Brown statement Friday said the firm wasacquired for 170 million British pounds, or $298 million,at current exchange, which includes repayment of debt.

As reported last Tuesday, Kao Corp. had confirmed it

was negotiating to buy Molton Brown, which markets aline of products and operates retail stores.

“The addition of this brand to Kao Group’s prestigebrand portfolio allows Kao to apply its advanced skincare technology to Molton Brown’s products, thus en-abling Molton Brown to achieve further growth,” statedMotoki Ozaki, president and chief executive of Kao Corp.“As a result of this merger, Kao’s Prestige Cosmetics busi-ness is expected to be able to make inroads into theEuropean prestige cosmetics market.”

Molton Brown is expected to continue to operate asa stand-alone business within Kao’s Prestige Cosmeticsdivision, according to the statement. Michael Warshaw,Molton Brown’s group chairman, will remain with thebusiness during the transition period and CharlesDenton will continue to run the business as ceo.

As reported, Kao is also considering making a bid topurchase Kanebo and Kanebo Cosmetics from thestate-run Industrial Revitalization Organization. Twoyears ago, Kao unsuccessfully tried to acquire KaneboCosmetics from then financially ailing Kanebo Ltd.

Galeries Lafayette Revamping Flagship Beauty DepartmentWWD.COM

BEAUTY BEAT


GREAT OPPTYSales Pro - Est’d NY importer ofcostume jewelry/access seeks exp’dself-starter w/proven following to sellvolume retailers, catalogs, premiumaccounts nationally. Base + comm +benefits. Mr. B T. 212-594-4455F.212-594-4466 email: [email protected]

LINGERIE SALESSales Reps for popular priced ladieslingerie co. Mfr. of sleepwear, loungewear & foundations. All Territories!Please fax resume to: (212) 268-1094or Email: [email protected]

Cash For Retail Stock & Closeouts. No Lot Too Big or Too Small.

Call CLOTHES-OUT:(937) 898-2975

488 7th Avenue (36th Street)SUNNY/LOFT-LIKE SHWRM

Live/WorkWood flrs, Hi ceils, 2 baths, drmnApprox. 1100SF. Immed Occ … $ 3595212.629.8694 – MON-FRI – NO FEE

85 Mercer Street - SOHO1,200 sq. ft. w/high ceiling. Retail Space.

Dumann Realty (212) 505-6300www.dumann.com

For Space in Garment Center

Helmsley-Spear, Inc.212-880-0414

Search For Space In Garment CenterShowroom/Office/Retail - no fee

www.midcomre.comOr Call Paul 212 947-5500 X 100

Showrooms & LoftsBWAY 7TH AVE SIDE STREETS

Great ’New’ Office Space AvailADAMS & CO. 212-679-5500

Showrooms - 5th Ave + Soho to 57th St.Hot Lofts - Wood Fl. + Light

Prime Manhattan Jon 212-268-8043Search- www.manhattanoffices.com

Jewelry MFGNo orders too small. Will do sample work.Quick and great quality production. CallSidney for pricing. 212-697-8299

PATTERN/SAMPLESReliable. High quality. Low cost. Fastwork. Small/ Lrg production 212-629-4808

Patterns/Samples/BeadingDuplicates Cut & Sew

Fast & Full Service- ProductionCall Johnny: 212-278-0608/646-441-0950

PATTERNS, SAMPLES,PRODUCTIONS

All lines, Any styles. Fine Fast Service.Call Sherry 212-719-0622.

PATTERNS, SAMPLES,PRODUCTIONS

Full servcie shop to the trade.Fine fast work. 212-869-2699.

PTTNS/SMPLS/PRODHigh qlty, reasonable price. Any de-

sign & fabric. Fast work. 212-714-2186

Financial Partner forWomen’s Accessory Co.

Offering one retail flagship store inManhattan and current space at

NY wholesale trade shows (ENK, etc).Seeking established and financiallysecured wholesale/retail company to

help with expansion.Minimum capital required $200,000.

Please inquire:[email protected]

I HAVE THE TALENT,U HAVE THE $$...

Intimate/Sleepwear designer withtrack record looking for a financial partnerto produce georgeous line without thedesigner price. Forward all inquiries to:Email: [email protected]

INVESTOR SOUGHTHigh-End Handbags

Rapidly Growing NYC CompanyAdd’l Info & Contact Details At

http://newopp.blogspot.com/

INVESTORThe greatest couture/designer/mid pricedand volume denim lines in the worldare now ready and waiting in NYC fora visionary investor to participate intheir launch. Michael (914) 588-1057

Senior Account Exec.World renowned fashiondesign retail & wholesale companyseeks Senior Account Executive-Ladies Footwear to merchandiseladies footwear & accessories col-lection; Develop & control budgetstrategy; Manage product dvlpmt;Act as a liaison between the de-signers Italy and NY offices; Consultwith the designer on design,future trends, & promotional dvlpmt.REQ.: 4 yrs exp. in high-end ladiesfootwear. M-F 9-5.

Fax resume to:Oscar de la Renta at

212-382-0864

Admin Since 1967

W-I-N-S-T-O-NAPPAREL STAFFING

DESIGN * SALES * MERCHADMIN * TECH * PRODUCTION

(212) 557-5000 F: (212)986-8437

VP GENERAL MERCHANDISER

50M Apparel Mfr. seeksexperienced Retail Missy/Juniors Divisional or GeneralMerchandise Manager forkey account management.Must be passionate aboutthe retail market and havelong standing relationshipsand contacts. Relocation notreq. $200K Strong Incentives.Confidentiality Assured.

Fax [email protected]

Amazing Opportunities!!Designers-Cold Weather NY or LA-55K

Girls Graphic 4-6X - 55-65KBoys Assistant Activewear - 45-50K

Production manager - Handbags - 65KAssistant Production - Jewelry - 35K

ALL IMMEDIATE HIRES!MANY OTHER

POSITIONS AVAILABLE!

500 Seventh AvenueNew York, NY 10018

P. 646-312-8918P. 201-845-6050F. 201-712-0426

AP Manager/Corporate Accounting Major apparel company seeks experi-enced individual to handle heavyaccount analysis, general ledger review &review of company bills. Garment indus-try experience helpful. Individual musthave experience with Microsoft Excel.

Fax resume 212-239-2766

Apparel Staffing, Ltd.*PRODUCTION*DESIGN*FINANCE*

*TECH DESIGN*GRAPHIC DESIGN**MERCHANDISING*PRODUCT DEVEL*

www.apparelstaffing.comCall Alan Wolf

Call: (212) 302-0216 Fax: (212) 302-1161

Assistant DesignerLingerie/RTW co. seeks design asst. w/min. 3 yrs. exp. Ideal candidate knowscolors/trends, has ability to manage allstages of NYC sample making, andunderstands overseas production.Knowledge of sketching, presentationboards, specs, patterns, yields necessary.Computer skills and organized a must.

Fax resume to: 646-349-4506

Associate DesignerMajor apparel company seeksAssociate Designer with minimum 5years experience. Individual shouldhave strong athletic background andbe able to work within designroom/sample room environment.

Fax resume 212-239-2766

International Sportswear Co. seeks

VICE PRESIDENTS (2)and SALES INDIVIDUALS

VP of U.S. licensee of internationally known Italian jeans brand:Tremendous opportunity for highly motivated, enthusiastic candidate toshare in developing and building this brand to its unlimited U.S.potential. Responsibilities include selling and merchandising to betterspecialty and department stores. Proven experience, results and relation-ships within the targeted markets are required.

(2) Sales Positions: Energetic individuals to sell different gender of prod-ucts to specialty & department stores. Minimum 5 yrs sales experience.

West Coast Sales Representative: Exclusively handle West Coast busi-ness. Minimum of 5 years experience.

VP of Private Label Division: Highly motivated, enthusiastic candidate tomanage and sell private label production of jeans wear, casual wear andouterwear to major retailers, including mass, mid-tier, department andspecialty chains. Must have proven track record & established contacts.

Please email resume to: [email protected]

Asst. Bookkeeper/Office Manager

Fashion Photography Studio/CastingCompany seeks Assistant bookkeeper/office manager. Must have someaccounting experience. Daily respon-sibilities include invoicing, A/R, A/P,other administrative office duties.

Please email resumes to:[email protected]

Bookkeeper/Accounts Receivable Man-ager $42-45K. Current exp in apparelco. required. 7th Ave. @ 39th St. Fastpaced. Computerized. Fax 973-379-1275

BOOK KEEPERWell established ladies apparel companyin garment district seeking experiencedpart time book keeper to work inpleasant atmosphere. 2-3 days a week.Min. 3 years experience required.

Please fax resume 212-575-1644

CAD artist $60-65K. Current exp inU4IA, Photoshop. Strong in yarn dyes,prints. Womens or mens or kidswearOK. 7th Ave. @ 35th Street. Call 973-564-9236 Jaral Fashion Agency

CFO- Great Opportunity!Top apparel importer seeks qualifiedperson w/strong financial relationships tojoin our rapidly growing company! Inter-national LC and cash flow responsibilities.Located in L.A. Fax:213-622-7353Email:[email protected]

Chargeback CoordinatorFashion Apparel Co. seeks thoroughindividual for research, analyzing &reconciling customer deductions.Responsibilities include resolution ofall customer discrepancies includingreturns, shortages, M/D, pricing, POD’s& other charge back issues. Competi-tive salary and good benefits.

Fax resume: CR (212) 840-8738

Customer service supervisor to $80K. Cur-rent exp in managing min 5 CS reps. Gar-ment or accessory or footwear exp req’d +large co exp. Call 973-564-9236 Agency.

Design AssistantMajor apparel company seeks experi-enced individual to act as a liaison be-tween design and production. Respon-sibilities include assisting designerswith concepts/layouts, pricing inqui-ries and completing production packages.Must have knowledge of Photoshopand/or Illustrator.

Fax resume 212-239-2766

Designer $120-$140K. Current exp inbetter womens satin sleepwear re-quired. Well known Midtown brandname. Call 973-564-9236 Jaral Agcy

Designer $150-$175k. Current exp. inbetter contemp. handbags. Fashionvision of BCBG, Donna Karan, Theoryetc for dept. store market of toplicensed name. Call 973-564-9236 AGCY.

Designer $150 to $165K. Current exp inbetter bras for dept store market.Creative flair + some teck knowledge.Mdtn co. Call 973-564-9236 AGCY

Designer $80-100K. Current exp in juniorwoven bottoms. Denim, twill, etc. ForG+G, Forever 21, Rampage market.Bway @ 40th St. Large Co. Photoshop/ Il-lustrator. Call 973-564-9236 Jaral Agcy

Designer Assist $40-45K. Min 1-2 yrscurrent exp. in jr sptswr. Proficient inPhotoshop/Illustrator. Bway @ 40thStreet. Call 973-564-9236 Jaral Agcy

Designer Assist to $45K. Min 1-2 yrsexp in 7-16 girls sptswr. Creatingscreenprints, recoloring, nailheaddesigns. Adobe Illustrator reqr’d. Call973-564-9236 Jaral Fahion Agcy

Designer Assoc. to $60K. Current exp.in full-fashion sweaters. JR moderatepriced. Color Matters or Prima Visionreq’d. Call 973-564-9236 Jaral Agency.

Designer - Boys - Infant - Toddler to 65KPhotoshop - Illustrator

Janet * Just Mgmt * [email protected]

DESIGNER-Child footwear mfr seeks2+ yrs in footwear or apparel design/be good w/Photo/Illus/growth. $45-55KLes Richards Agcy Call (212) 221-0870

Designer Dir./Merchandiser $125 to $150K.Current exp in full fashion women’sbranded sweaters for JCPenney, Macy’s,Dillards market. Supervise 3 designers +support staff. Product devel. from incep-tion to completion. Call 973-564-9236 Agcy

Designer-HdbgsAbility to design to price point,

quick and detail driven. We have agreat office environment and perks.

Email resumes to:[email protected]

DESIGNER KNITSWell est’d sweater mfr seeks designer w/3-5 yrs in latest fashion trends. Thor-ough knowledge of novelty yarns, nov-elty stitches, Photoshop/Illust. Fax re-sume: 212-594-9094 [email protected]

DESIGNERS (2) $60-100KBranded Childrens Co. seeksCreative & Passionate CAD

Designers w/Photo & Ill.Immediate Hires!

Anthony Joseph 212-947-3399or email [email protected]

KARLYN FASHION RECRUITERS

DESIGNERS $$$$$$Handbag designer need for new HOTlicense. Must come from contemp mkt

CREATIVE DIRECTORGreat oppty in kids handbags. Top $$$$

[email protected]

Designer to 100K. Current exp indaywear, panties, camisoles, etc. Mustbe able to create first patterns. Call973-564-9236 Jaral Fashion Agcyk

DSNR/MCHR - BOYS SPTS HI $Est’d co seeks exp’d individ for 2-20"cutting edge" branded urban product.

A.D. FORMAN ASSOC.450 7th AVE (AGCY) 268-6123

Ecommerce ContentAssociate

Maxstudio.com a leading brand incontemporary women’s clothing is seekingan Ecommerce Content Associate. TheEcommerce Content Associate will assistthe Director of Marketing & eCommercewith all product photography, digital re-touching and database maintenance.Must be knowledgeable in Photoshop,general photography, and Windows.Must be a team player. Position locatedin Pasadena, CA

Please email your resume [email protected] or fax resume

to 626-797-3251.Maxstudio.com

Excellent opportunities to joinhigh energy rapidly growing

designer handbag line:

SENIOR DESIGNER

Creative, independent, self motivatedand detail oriented individual withminimum of 7 years experience inhigh-end accessories. Ideal candidatewill have strong technical background,great eye, and ability to lead designteam through all stages of samplemaking and development. Experiencewith overseas factories a must. Musthave ability to work well in fast pacedenvironment. Travel required.

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Experienced leader to develop,implement and maintain systemsfor domestic and overseas production.Primary contact for multiple factories.Responsibilities also include newproduct development and sourcing inconjunction with design team. Betteraccessory experience a plus. 5 yearsexperience minimum. Travel required.

Please fax resumes to: (212) 777-5125or Email: [email protected]

Graphic ArtistEstablished Lingerie Co. looking fortalented person with good computerskills and graphic skills. Excellent inPhotoshop and Illustrator. Good Eyefor Color & Trend. Hardworking.Job incl. presentation boards, sketching,re-color, logo and print design. 1-2 yrsexp. Great work environment & excellentbenefits. Apparel background a plus.Send resume: [email protected]

GRAPHIC ARTISTLeading childrenswear mfr searchingfor a Graphic Artist. Candidate willwork along side the Sr. Designer &Merchandiser in the development ofprints, embroideries, appliques andmock sketched bodies for newborn, in-fant & toddler. 6x girls & 7 boys. Will beresponsible for the development ofwovens & board presentations projects.Must have extensive working knowl ofPhotoshop & Illustrator. Knowl of U4iaA+Email resume: [email protected] or

fax: 212-643-2826. No calls please. EOE.

Graphic ArtistMajor childrens apparel companyseeks Graphic Artist to create printsand artworks from a sketch or totweak from existing print/artwork.Position may also include a certainamount of paperwork such as helpingto create product packages. Must knowIllustrator & Photoshop.

Please fax resume 212-239-2766

GRAPHIC DESIGNERExtremely Fast paced trendy accessorycompany seeks highly motivated, crea-tive and organized MAC graphic artist.Specializing in fashion Accessoriespackaging and licensed properties.Junior market flare. Must be able toput art into production. Proficient inIllustrator and Photoshop, Experiencepreferred. Fax resume attn: Jennifer

(212) 869-6927or Email [email protected]

Graphic Designer wanted by children’sclothing co. in NYC. Must haveBachelor’s degree in Graphic Designand 2 years of experience. Please faxresume to 212-643-8127 (agcy)

Inventory Analyst/PlannerLuxury Designer jewelry brand seeksdetail-oriented analyst with excellentcomputer and communication skills.Qualified candidate will produce salesforecasts and analyze stock level /replenishment systems for acct serviceand inventory efficiency. Advancedskills in Access/Excel required, degreepreferred.

Northeast Account ExecLuxury Designer jewelry brand seeksAccount Executive with 3-5 years expe-rience in jewelry or other related fash-ion industry to manage Independentstore business in the Northeast. Quali-fied candidate must possess stronganalytical background and will beexpected to travel 75% of time, expandsales and profitability in the existingacct base, and seek out and developnew accounts.

Salary requirements must besubmitted for consideration.

Apply at www.lagos.com/jobs

23WWD, MONDAY, JULY 18, 2005

Materials CoordinatorCandidate must have 5 yrs exp. Excelcomputer skills a must, excellent organ-izational skills, exp w/ tracking over-seas shipments, Strong verbal/writtencommunication skills. Responsibilitieswill include inventory control of fabric +leather, daily comm. w/ overseas ven-dors, tracking l/dips, and follow up onsample orders. Only exp. need apply.

Please email resume [email protected]

MERCHANDISER TO $125KDenim Specialist Mens and Y/M

Jennifer Glenn SRI Search [email protected]

MERCHANDISING ASST. Women’s Active/Casual apparel companyis looking for hard working, trendspotting individual to assist designdirector with all merchandising tasks.Responsibilities include: research andinterpret market trends, compile sellthrough information, assist in buildingproduct line, direct CAD artist, andcommunicate with sales force. Greatopportunity to be a part of a young andexplosive company. Pay commensuratewith experience. Please fax resume to:

212-221-0368

PATTERNMAKERFast paced import/domestic dress mfrseeks experienced 1st to productionpatternmaker. Fax (212) 564-6280.

PATTERNMAKERNORTH BERGEN, NJ LOCATION

Fashion forward fast paced sportswearmanufacturer seeks 1st to productionpatternmaker. Must be able towork from sketch and drape. Exten-sive exp. necessary in women, men’s &plus sizes. Must be extremely con-scientious & well organized.kExcellent Opportunity and Benefits!

Please fax resume to: (212) 388-1901or Email: [email protected]

Patternmaker to $100K. Current experi-ence in couture required. 1st patterns. Fortop well known NYC designer. Yearlyshows. Call 973-564-9236 Jaral Agcy

Product DevelopmentCoordinator

Major apparel company seeks ProductDevelopment Coordinator with technicalknowledge of knits and woven athleticperformance fabrics. Candidate mustbe highly organized and have an un-derstanding of garment constructionand ability to work with overseas factories.Good computer and communicationskills. Overseas travel essential.

Fax resume 212-239-2766

Product DevelopmentCoordinator

Newborn Sleepwear & Bedding importerseeks an individual w/min. 2 years exp.Responsibilities include establishing &approving lab dips, strike-offs, fabric& embroideries.Coordinate informationbetween design dept. & overseas facto-ries. Must have good organizational,communication, and computer skills aswell as good color sense. Great opportuni-ty for a motivated individual in thisquickly growing company. Westchesterlocation. Fax resume to: 914-428-0610

PRODUCTION (2) $50-70KIMMEDIATE HIRES

* Strong coord needed for P/L Women’s co. Exp w/ leather A+, sptwr a must.* Learn from the best! Fab Kids co. seeks detail oriented, bi-ling Cant/Mand Production Coordinator.* Also: Accounting (4) A/R &A/P. Chargebacks. $35-80K

Call Laurie 212-947-3399or e-mail [email protected]

KARLYN FASHION RECRUITERS

Production AssistantSportswear Co. seeks organized & detailoriented Multi-Tasker. Computer literate;specing & garment knowledge preferred.Bilingual Chinese/English. Please Faxor E-mail resumes to: [email protected]

PRODUCTION ASSTRapidly growing ladies co. seeksprod’n. assistant to handle all detailsfrom development to prod’n. Qualifiedcandidates will be aggressive, a teamplayer, have excellent communication& computer skills & have 1-2 yrexp in a mfg environment. Excellentbenefits. Pls fax resume: 212.730.5845.

Production Coord $42-44K. Currentexp. in scheduling of overseas facto-ries. Hi vol email follow-up. Edison NJLoc. Call 973-564-9236 JARAL AGCY

Production CoordinatorRapidly growing co. in NJ seeksProd’n. Coordinator to track & followup on all inbound shipments. Handledaily comm. w/int’l. & domestic vendors,truckers, brokers, and freight forwarders .Must update database w/new shippinginfo and approve all billing. Min. 3 yrs exp.handling admin. and data entry relatedto prod’n. cycle. Must be team player,detail oriented, work well under pres-sure. Be proficient in Excel, Word, andE-mail. Salary $35-$40K. E-mailresume to: [email protected]

Production Manager To $65KNortheast Location. Knits.

Janet * Just Mgmt * [email protected]

PRODUCTION MANAGERTop apparel importer seeks qualifiedperson w/ strong sourcing, planning,QC/QA & follow through reqd. Fast pace,Overseas travel required. Located inLos Angeles. Fax: 213-622-7353 Email:

[email protected]

Production sourcing manager VP $200-250K. Current exp in sourcing jr. denimbottoms from China, Far East +WWrequired. LA based. 350 mil vol co. Willrelo. Negotiation of prices + tech knowl-edge of washes etc. Call 973-564-9236 Agcy.

RETAIL $45-85KDistrict Mgr/East Coast $85KStore Mgr/Madison Ave $70K+AE - Jr/ Hi-end fshn/ 1 yr exp $45K+FAX: 212-481-4086 [email protected]

Retail AnalystLeading childrenswear company seeksexperienced Retail Analyst to provideanalytical support to sales force.Responsibilities include developingand managing sales and inventory,forecasting models and plans for eachaccount. Must retrieve, analyze andinterpret retail sales data and makerecommendations to maximize salespotential. Must create and analyzeweekly and monthly reports by sku forsales and stock planning and forecast-ing. Knowledge of Kmart Workbenchand Wal-Mart Retail Link web basedsystems req’d. Qualified candidateswill have a minimum of 3 years experi-ence in brand apparel, cosmetics, oraccessory business. Strong retail ana-lytical skills required. Must be profi-cient in Excel, Power Point, DatabaseManagers. Competitive salary andexcellent benefits. Fax resumes withsalary requirements to 732-636-4764 ore-mail: [email protected]

SILK CLUBSales Assistant

Established Better Sptswr firm seeksdetail oriented, highly motivatedindividual to assist the Vice President.Some computer skills required. Pleaseemail / fax resume: 212-921-8888

[email protected] Attn: Farrah

Tech Designer Assist to 50K. Min 1 yr expweb PDM + tech packages of wovensptswr. Write up sewing instructions tobe sent to far east. Call 973-564-9236 Agcy

Tech Designer Asst.Men’s & Women’s Contemporary Sports-wear Co. seeks a Tech Designer Asst. forNY office. Minimum 1 year exp req’d.Must be able to spec garments, and haveknowledge of grading, fit, and garmentconstruction. Will approve/send out techpacks/sewing instructions & follow-upw/overseas factories, etc. Fax or E-mail:212-819-1699 / [email protected]

TECH DESIGNER/ASS’T/to $45K+New position for top branded Girls’line. Req: 2 + years expr. as tech asst.,girl’s (2T-16x) or Jr. backgrd., ability tounderstand design concepts fromsketch, knowl of fit/construction andIllustrator, patternmaking a plus.E-mail resume: [email protected]

Fax: 917-591-2521 Ph: 212-481-1941

TECH DESIGNERSleepwear Manufacturer seeks a F/TTechnical Designer with min. 3 yearsexp. Must have strong patternmakingskills, knowledge of garment construc-tion & graded specs. Computer skills amust. Excel, Word, Daywear experiencea plus. Must be able to follow throughfrom design sketch from sampleroomto final production with overseas facto-ries. Also looking for skilled sewers.

Please fax resume Attn: Keith212-685-4341

Technical DesignerMajor branded & private label girl’sdress/sportswear company seeksTechnical Designer for NY office.Minimum 3-5 years experiencerequired. Must be knowledgeable inspec development, garment construc-tion, grading, and fit approval process.Will work with factories overseas.Pattern making a plus. Need strongcommunication and PC skills. We offercompetitive salary/benefits package.Fax resume with salary requirements

to 212-643-1345 or [email protected]

Vice Presidentof Sourcing

Major apparel company seeks VP ofSourcing. Candidate should possess vastknowledge of different factory matrixin far East. Must be able to interfacewith QC and Production Departments.Manufacturing experience a plus. Bettergarments at mass market pricing.

Fax resume 212-239-2766

Jewelry, Clothing,Fragrance

Exciting GrowthOpportunity...!

Seeking a positive and energeticCorporate Sales Rep to join our salesteam. 2 years experience required;Travel expected. Please Fax or E-mailall resumes to: [email protected] visit: www.sagejewelry.com

Account ExecutiveLINGERIE & SLEEPWEARPfiff Wear, Inc., a fast growing luxurywomen’s lingerie brand, is seeking amotivated & energetic professional tocontribute to the growth & expansionof the Pfiff Lingerie brand and privatelabel. We are looking for experience atthe major Dept. Store level. Experiencewith bigger Specialty Stores a plus.Candidates must have excellent com-munication & follow-up skills, plus aminimum of 2 years selling experience.Job is based out of New York show-room. Please Fax or E-mail all resumes(with salary history) to HR Pfiff at:703-267-6099 / [email protected]

ACCOUNTEXECUTIVE

MAXX NEW YORK HANDBAGS isseeking experienced, energetic, indi-vidual to join our specialty stores salesteam. Candidate must be familiar withour product and be able to immediatelymanage and maintain accounts on alllevels. Handbag experience required.

Pls fax resume: 212-679-0311

Excellent OpportunityShowroom Sales NY & LA

Well established large company. Seek-ing Showroom Sales Pro’s for Jr’s,Men’s, Intimate Apparel & Sportswear.Would like pro w/est’d relationship withinbetter department & speacilty boutique’s.Fun young environment oppty’s forgrowth. Salary based on experience.

Fax or email resumes: [email protected]

Exciting Sales OpptyEst’d girls 2-16, boys 2-18 sportswearimport co. seeks aggressive selfmotivated sales exec w/ min. 5 yrs. exp.Must be detail oriented, and have solidindustry contacts w/ regional & mid tieraccts. Great opportunity. Fax res: attnsales dept. 212-695-9721

FASHION JEWELRY SALESPrestigious Designer Fashion Jewelry Co.seeks exp’d. cadidate w/est’d. followingw/major Dept./Specialty & Private LabelChains. Include note/salary requirementsand mail to: [email protected]

JEWELRY SALES MGRLuxury Fashion Jewelry Co needs asophisticated and exp’d territorialSales Representative for two brandedlines. Brands include a bridal line & aplat / gold fashion line. Must haveluxury client base.Generous salary + commission

Contact us: call [email protected]

Kids Apparel Importerseeks sales person with 3-5 years min.experience to sell budget to moderatepricing boys and girls apparel. Musthave connections with specialty &chain stores. Ben 212-997-7444

E-Mail: [email protected]

SALES EXECUTIVESRapidly expanding licensed Handbagcompany seeks dynamic Specialty Store& Department Store Sales Executivesto build new accounts and manageexisting retail and brand accounts. 2-3years Handbag exp. a must. Qualifiedcandidates must be motivated, detailoriented, multi-taskers capable of work-ing closely with various companydepts. in fast-paced environment. Weoffer competitive salaries & incentivebased compensation packages includ-ing benefits. Please fax resume to:

Jody O’Rourke 212-686-0945

Sales Help WantedTextile group from India w/ warehousefacilites in USA seeks sales rep for bed,bath, tabel & kitchen linen, furnishingfabrics lines. Offer attractive terms.Send Resume to: Fax: 973-597-0317

[email protected]

SALES MANAGERBLOUSE & SWEATERN.Y.C. based; Seeking Sales Managerwith major accounts/following. Must beorganized & energetic, with basic office/computer skills. Minimum 5 years exp.in better market req’d. Extensive domestictravel necessary. Excellent benefits. Faxor E-mail resume & salary requirements:212-268-6049 / [email protected]

SALES REPS WANTEDHI VOLUME BUSINESS!Top apparel importer seeks qualified

reps with strong specialty store following.Territories open:

1) Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana,Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia2) Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico,Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas

Fax: 213-622-7353 or Email:[email protected]

Tritone DesignA textile design service studio seeks

a 1+ year, exp’d salesperson.Please e-mail your resumes to:

[email protected]

Retail Sales ManagerFast-paced 8000 sq ft high-end cloth-ing store in Boca Raton, FL seeks can-didate to manage highly motivatedsales team and build and expand anestablished customer base. Experiencea must. Salary, commission, benefits.

Fax resume 561-994-6333 Henry

ACCESSORIESMfr. of upscale handmade Shawls, Hand-bags, and Cushions seeks Sales Repsfor various territories in the US. E-mailAdel at: [email protected]

Christening WearEstablished Mfr. (25 years) is currentlyunder new management and seekingSales Reps exp’d. w/this line of merchan-dise. All areas open. Call 718-773-6691

Lingerie Sales ProSeeks a showroom sales position. Pro-ven sales leader with ability to openaccounts. Persistent, experienced, andaccomplished. Strong contacts.

Call John: 516-536-8576

Top Accessory ExecutiveMid-Tier & Mass: Looking for SolidOpportunity with Company that wantsgrowth. Call 609-519-1399

Visual Artiste with great excitementand enthusiasm for the creative use ofnew and vintage materials seeks a ful-filling opportunity to create exquisiteand distinctive jewelry in partnershipwith a company that will appreciateand compensate me well for my talents.Please contact Elise at (917) 843-7515.

One city + One location =One MAGIC marketplace bringing record results!

For more information, contact Ralph Erardy, senior v.p., group publisher, at 212-630-4589, or your WWD sales representative.

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From the show floor to the hands of those driving your business, WWD is the ultimate MAGIC must-read, guiding attendees through four

days of unparalleled business, networking and entertainment in Las Vegas.

Drive buyers to your booth or have a presence if you can’t be there.

Bonus Distribution: On-site to all show attendees.

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Section II: August 29Close: August 11

Good To Go - WWD

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